The Suitcase

Months ago, on a trip to Merchant Square, walking the aisles we entered a booth. Randomly we find what is tagged as a metal suitcase. We're not sure if it is actually a case for a suit but we like the base and the again rust marks. The suitcase is similar to the rest of our purchases at antique stores: Old, odd and something no one else wants.


Not knowing what to do with the case it sat in the guestroom while other projects were completed. In the middle of the kitchen destruction Steven came up with the idea with a wall mounted jewelry box. With some scrap wood and remnant velvet it developed into a great piece for the bedroom.

Sewing Nook

We’ve recently been absent. After finishing the kitchen Steven took a furlough from my long list of projects to finish his MBA. He’s done! Meaning we’re back in action. The past two weekends have been very productive. Here is a sneak peak of what is to come:

Adapted part of the kitchen into a sewing nook with ruler thread holders.

Transformed a metal case into a wall mounted jewelry box.

Put another metal piece up for the office wall. The wall is close to being complete.

Steven mentioned touching up the baseboards. (I’ll take what I can get.)

Reinvigorated the atrium.

Let’s take a look at that first project. There is an empty space at the end of our kitchen. It has two windows that look out into a portion of the yard. The space was so lonely and needed some love (aka furniture). We took apart the orange sewing table and reassembled it in the nook. Then we needed to start removing an old project from about a year ago.

The past year we have perused multiple quilting shows with Ona, Steven’s mom. He noticed thread racks for an excessive amount of money. This put a spark in Steven’s mind that he wanted to design his own so I could always find the right thread. This big idea turned into a small budget project. For less than $10 we put the FUN in FUNctional. With a few wooden rulers and a package of screws Steven created his own thread racks. Originally we wanted wooden yard sticks but we settled for the rulers. I think it turned out better that way.

We're done! Almost...

We are all done with the major aspects of the kitchen. We still need to paint the main door and find seating for the kitchen table. Other than that we’re done! Although I wanted the kitchen remodel it is more of a gift for Steven as he is the chef and I am just a line cook, if that. We are finally able to take pleasure in cooking and reminiscing in the kitchen. Now off to eat dinner at the kitchen table. ENJOY!

We updated our eatery so we though Echo should enjoy the same luxury.