New Buffet

After spending too much time in search for a cabinet or buffet, we finally settled on this one. Yes, it's from Ikea! I promise, I do not work for this company! They just have affordable items that fit well in our house.
This wall in our kitchen has been an eye sore for quite some time. I'm glad to finally have something there that looks nice and is functional. And it costs way less than adding more cabinetry!

New Desks from Ikea

We had a 5-foot brown folding table in our classroom and replaced it with two smaller white desks that we purchased from Ikea. They match the main desk and bookshelves, which makes them a perfect fit. Having two desks is much better for the kids to each have their own space and because they are smaller, we have more floor space.

Chalkboard Ideas

I'm looking for a place to hang or paint a chalkboard in the classroom. Any ideas? We were going to hang cabinets above our square cubbies, but realized that it just didn't look right. So, now I'm thinking about hanging a picture frame on that wall and painting the wall inside of it with chalkboard paint. Another option would be to chalk-paint a lightweight board to fit inside the picture frame for a smoother surface.

I realize that the space looks a bit out of sorts, but it really is functional. The aqua baskets (from Wal-Mart) inside the cubbies (Ikea) are for our library books; one for each child and one for "returns." Each basket has a label on the front and handles on each side that makes them easy to pull out.

Clean Sweep!

Ok. Let's get this out of the way first. Before and after pictures of our home office/classroom.

I know that these photos may not look much different, but look closely. We got rid of the old brown desk that was falling apart and replaced it with a wonderful new (and smaller) desk from Ikea. Because the desk is smaller, we had just enough room for a drawer unit (also Ikea) to the left of the desk. So far, I love it and have managed to keep things tidy.