Peace of Mind Organizing

Easy furniture transformation

14 July 2008

About 15 years ago, my husband and I became a two-computer household, so we bought a computer stand at Office Depot or somewhere. At the time it didn’t seem too ugly (or maybe there was no such thing as pretty computer furniture back then).

We expanded our space and our furniture through a couple of moves and now both computers are on desks. (My husband has two computers on his desk, actually.) We still have that ugly computer stand, which currently houses a laser printer, an inkjet printer, a fax machine and a three-tray inbox for stationery.

When we moved back to St. Louis from New York in 2001, I just couldn’t stand looking at it any more. But is truly a functional piece of furniture. So even though I’m not so crafty (except with yarn), I went to the fabric store with my creative friend, Sally, and picked out some fabric to cover for the stand.

When I repainted the office a couple of years ago, I made a new cover. But the way I’d decided to piece together the cover didn’t work well with my new laser printer. So in the Great Home Office Makeover of June 2008, I fashioned a new cover for it.

I’m inordinately proud of it. We do own a sewing machine, but it’s still in its box. I made the whole thing using Steam-A-Seam fusible tape and a steam iron.

I have to show off some pictures. The new cover comes over the top and reaches to the floor.

If it weren’t for the cover, the contents of the printer stand would be revealed for everyone to see:

Before making this new cover, I had a similar (but different) fabric that covered the sides and top (up one side, across the top, and down the other), like a runner. The front panel was attached with velcro along the front edge. The problem was that when I pulled out the printer paper tray, it would catch on the edge of the top runner. So brilliant Sally suggested I drape the whole top with this new fabric.

The result is that I have two complementary fabrics working together on one piece of furniture, which is way more stylin’ than I usually am. Here’s a photo of a corner, where the two fabrics meet:

If someone as uncrafty as me can fashion something out of fabric to make an ugly but functional piece of furniture usable and even sort of pretty, then anyone can. Next time you’re tempted to toss something because of its looks, think about ways you might be able to gussy it up and enjoy its functionality again.

Tagged with: crafts, furniture, repurposing, sally brown, workspace

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