When One Becomes Two

A couple of weekends ago we did a bit of work in the ensuite; although it's not a tiny room, it's still not palatial so we have to be careful that the fixtures, fittings and various decorative tat don't make the room feel cluttered or hemmed in. Of course, it helps that the room is painted white and that the tiling within the shower is mostly white metro (aside from the two strips of gorgeous green from Fired Earth).

This storage unit, which worked well in the bathroom of our previous house is a case in point of an item that was too big for this room; although it fitted into the dead space between the sink and the shower, it was too tall and overbearing. And we also wanted to fit our much-loved, auction find, wall-mounted cupboard in to the ensuite somehow and this was really the only workable space. Clearly, something had to give.So, after I cleared off the toiletries, hubby and DC man-handled the overbearing unit out of the ensuite and downstairs into the garage. Then it was time to set to work with the wall cupboard. First holes were drilled, then the little "helper" popped in some rawl plugs.

Then screws were screwed through the holes in the back of the cabinet and into the wall.

And, hey presto, a wall cabinet for some toiletries.

But what about all the other toiletries that were once stored on the hunk-a-chunka wooden unit? Hmm, where to store them? A-ha - lightbulb moment!! Since the wooden unit fitted in the space so neatly apart from heght-wise, why not saw it in (sort of) half to make it into a less obtrusive, but still very useful little item?

So, down to the garage go hubby and his helper and with a bit of sawing here, and a bit of sanding thereTa-da!!!! Two useful storage units/tables, for the price of one!The taller unit shows some saw marks to the corners, but as we're undecided what to do with it in the long run - paint it, add a solid top, put a tray/basket on top - we're not too worried for now.The smaller unit has fared better since the saw marks are on the bottom of the feet and don't show at all.

So, we trotted back upstairs with TWO smaller units tucked under our arms and popped one in the en-suite.

Much better. Not finished, but definitely a step in the right direction. And please excuse our delightful ply wood floor - the Cath Kidston floor tiles we ordered at the end of August - yes, August - have only just arrived and will be fitted in a couple of weeks' time - hooray!

One more little job to do in the ensuite, again with the aid of the little "helper". Can you guess what it is yet?!

The all-important magazine receptacle for easy access to reading material when on the loo! It's an enamel box of some sort that hubby and I picked up some years ago from an antique/junk shop somewhere in the Cotswolds when we were scouring the area looking for somewhere to live. We didn't find a house, but we did find this extremely useful item.

But what of the second storage unit/table I hear you ask? Well, fear not, it was put to use immediately in DC's room replacing the side table where his bedtime books live. Lovely table though it was, it wasn't the most practical for the enormous stack of reading material DC likes to have at his disposal:

But now this square table not only fits the space better, it also has two shelves for all those fabulous books. Much better.

And just in case anyone is in the slightest bit interested, the unit was from IKEA and is still available (in one large piece so you'll have to saw it in half yourself) at the bargain price of £39 http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30203421/