Reclaiming The Spudy

I wrote a few days ago how the time has come to stop having paying guests in our spare room. We enjoyed it while it lasted but we need our space and our privacy now. We also want the flexibility of friends and family to be able to stay over. And .... I was so fed up of working all over the salon and dining table.

Before. I had a small armchair and side table in the corner for guests. 

Step one was getting a light and white table to use as a desk. The perfect piece was in IKEA all along but when you live in a different town to the nearest branch and don't have a car it's a problem. I researched small tables and desks in local shops but even allowing for a delivery charge, the cheapest tat was double the price.

There's a guy from Jerusalem who goes to IKEA twice a week and takes orders for people with cars, or without the time to go themselves. I emailed him on Wednesday evening and my table was here ob Friday morning.

I could have paid a bit extra for him to bring up his electric drill and have the 20 screws sorted in about two minutes. I didn't because you're supposed to be able to do these things with allen keys aren't you? Big mistake.

Can you spot the screw that refused to be tightened? 

It took me all day to get those screws fully screwed. Luckily I have strong screw driver but it still took a lot of effort. I'd come back and do two or three rotations and then need to rest my aching hand. If you look carefully you'll see that one screw didn't make it all the way home - I really tried but it reached its limit and so did I.

There it is. Naughty.

So here is my reclaimed spudy. I'm loving it and still room for guests.

Probably need a proper desk chair

The bed was DD's and it came with a child's mattress - 5cm of foam and very uncomfortable - and a trundle bed and two drawers underneath. I got rid of the trundle and the drawers as the whole thing looked too heavy and it was a pain to clean underneath. Also the trundle bed mattress was only about 2cm of foam. Even DD's little friend refused to sleep on it.

Ready for friends and family
(There is space to open the cupboard doors btw)

I gave DD the small double (W1.5m) in her bigger bedroom so she can still have a friend to stay. I bought a proper mattress for the single bed which fits much better in the spudy. I kept the old mattress (you can see it at the side of the bed) for the odd occasion when we have a full house.

Still struggling with the thought of the money I've given up in order to do this but sometimes it's not about the money. Sometimes you have to put your own comfort and needs first.

P.S. The best thing is that due to the tiled floor and niche position, the office area is basically a concrete and ceramic box. Radio 2 on a Sunday morning, I'm singing along to all the old favourite love songs, and the acoustics are fantastic! I never knew I could sing so well.