How much of your mortgage or rent, taxes, and upkeep do you pay each month?  If you’re like most people, it’s 100%. But how much of your home sits idle each month? You know, there’s that “guest room” that hasn’t seen a guest in a decade, and would cause you physical pain if you had to host your BFF. There’s a home office, but you still prefer to do most of your work at the kitchen table. There’s the dining room that you only use for two meals each year. There are kitchen cabinets that haven’t been opened in months. And there’s the garage that hasn’t seen a car in, well…you get the point.

I just finished another one-day room transformation, but this time for very demanding (and very small) clients in an impossible space, just 3’x6′, with three doors in the space!  This hallway was really wasted space, leading to nowhere.

When the girls received this art easel for Christmas, I groaned. There is absolutely no space in the house for it to go. And it was not pretty. I mean, who wants kid primary colors in their main living space? Hubby said, maybe upstairs in the hallway???

(You are about to enter an unapologetic pink zone. If you are looking for a reading nook that works a little better for most boys, then head over to this loft reading nook we did for two boys about the same age.)

Then I spotted this chair.

Within 24 hours, I had transformed the back hallway. I reconditioned the floor and stained it darker, painted the walls and trim, installed a chandelier, and just a few accessories…

This one they won’t get till they are a bit older…

I re-imagined the offending (but lovingly given) easel.

The girls agree, it’s the perfect little girl hideaway.

Thanks a million to my collaborators on this one.  I saw Heather Schugar’s adorable chihuahua cutout on her pinterest page and asked, begged, badgered her to make us one.  Thanks, Heather.  And Carrie Hill helped get some decent shots, which is super hard to do in a tiny space filled with this much bling!

No matter whether your space is grand or petite, you are paying for all of it. I’d love for you to enjoy it all, every day.  If you don’t, then I’m here for inspiration or help with inspiration.