Flower number 13: an armoire story

This is the story of an armoire that became so much more.

Walking through the Mountain View, California Ikea store, a poor student teacher hunted for the perfect solution for holding a television, dvd player, and a small dvd collection. It had to be cheap, tidy, cute, and above all else, petite-- for, this dream furniture fixture had to fit in a tiny studio apartment.

At last, there it was, in the children's furniture area: a baby armoire. She took it home, built it, and disposed of the clothes-hanging-pole which she had to admit would be awfully cute for baby clothes. But not this time around. The armoire felt very happy to be filled with the well loved films and boxes of letters and unfinished crafts.

The student teacher soon became a real, third grade teacher, and the sweet baby armoire continued to serve its purpose, nestled quietly in that tiny studio apartment, until one day, an envelope arrived. The teacher realized within this envelope was her new apartment lease. Her rent was to be raised by an amount exceeding one hundred dollars. The armoire became nervous. Would she have to move?

Alas, the solution was to relocate to another state, where rent was much cheaper than that of the beautiful California Coast. The quaint baby armoire knew it was for the best when the teacher put it in her parents' garage. She went away to become a fourth grade teacher."I'll be back for you some day" she said.

That day came, and for another year, the baby armoire sat in the teacher's new bedroom. It's purpose changed quickly over many days, as teachers don't have much time for television watching.

Better Homes and Gardens Declutter your craft cupboard

Having found inspiration in this beautiful mama-sized-armoire-turned-craft-cupboard, it was decided that an updated appearance was needed.

First, she painted the baby armoire white, and the inside gray. She taped up areas for gray stripes to be added. The armoire started to feel a little better with a fresh coat of paint! "But what about the inside of the doors?"

The teacher found that she didn't like taping up designs to be painted. She used this paper template for chevron stripes from Billie Monster instead! And, she loved it. She left the sides a little longer to add some lightning-bolt-esque pizazz.

When all of the pieces were dry, the baby armoire was filled with hanging sweater shelves to hold yarn, boxes for paper, and magnetic strips with containers for odds and ends. It became the inspiration point for new and unfinished projects, plans, and happiness. Full and content-- that's how the baby armoire looked. Fabulous-- that's how it felt.