First things first...

 

Having spent the first several days just getting our possessions in here, and making the outside look somewhat presentable, I was ready for our internet connection to arrive so that I could rejoin the 21st century. In anticipation of this event, I had to come up with a new storage solution for our computer and 'office', as I had repurposed our small little black armoire back into a TV unit, so that we could close the doors on it when not in use, and to hide the wii and the DVD player. I had a little 3 shelf unit that I had picked up at wallyworld when we lived in the apartments, because I needed just a tiny little space to put a few odds and ends. I knew that whatever I came up with I wanted to be able to close, and I had always admired Martha's idea of the clever hidden office concept. This was my jumping off point, so I went and purchased a second bookshelf. Mine differs from hers in that I wanted mine completely moveable, so it is not affixed to the wall. It is simply hinged together, and has a simple gate latch on the other side, to hold it closed while moving. I did embellish her idea by putting mine on wheels, which meant that I needed to stabilize the bottom before adding the casters. I also measured the finished dimensions of the top of the unit, and purchased a piece of MDF that I painted to match, so that when I swung out the one half, I would have an overhanging shelf to act as a desktop to which I could pull up a stool. I shimmed the desktop with a couple of paint stir-sticks, because the first time I swung it open, there was a horrible grating and rending of simulated wood that I knew just wouldn't do. I looked around, saw the paint sticks and had a small epiphany. :) Worked like a charm. To finish the unit, I covered the cardboard backs (cheap wal-mart construction) with linen and black grosgrain ribbon, and added a power strip to the underside of the top shelf beneath the desktop. This hides my external hard drive and all the cords, leaving only the one cord which plugs into the wall. See how the printer hangs out just a little? This is OK, because it makes it 'easy access' for retrieving printed materials, and still fits when the unit is closed, as long as I leave the opposite shelf empty! (All the goodies you see in the little red shelves will be moved to hanging file folders, which will also fit inside the unit. Still undecided how best to use the repurposed pie shelf. Totally utilitarian, totally cute and pretty darn clever. Thanks, Martha!