Sauder Experience: Evolution of a Shared Workspace

I'm very proud to partner with the good folks at Sauder, a manufacturer of affordable furniture you assemble yourself, and participate in the Sauder challenge: to share our experience(s) with Sauder and, hopefully, inspire other families (like mine) who have very little extra and literally, no room, or time to spare.

I've been writing online for 11 years -- my first blog post went live on September 2, 2003 -- which is like forever ago, in the evolution of the blogging community. Today, I enjoy working to help others find online publishing opportunities and, hopefully, help further their blogging endeavors, as well.

buh-bye ugly old folding table. oh and we bought that sauder cabinet 10 years ago, it's a keeper.

I also telecommute from home. Which, with 6 people living in our 7 room house, is no easy feat (especially, during the summertime, when the kids are ALL home and probably bored) trust me!

So, I've claimed a small area in the play room/laundry room/den and it's worked out pretty well -- my teens sharing an old folding table, because the legs on the old kitchen table we re-purposed as a desk finally broke, not so much.

there's a desk in here, somewhere, promise. oh and those bookcases? yep, they're 10 years old and from sauder, too :)

We've purchased (and assembled) Sauder furniture before, so our partnering with the brand to help demonstrate the versatility of their product...like, HEY!!!...if a professional dork like she can do it, YOU can TOO!!!...was a no-brainer.

i also work really well with visual aides, so choosing to shop "by space" was the best way to begin "my" sauder experience.

My husband, Garth (not his real name) and I often times go window shopping together for furniture...just for fun. However, this time...it was ALL me...I can tell you that shopping for furniture online with Sauder is even more fun AND way easier on the feet, just so you know.

i felt like a kid in a virtual candy store, i tell ya'!

I wanted to try and match our existing Sauder pieces, as much as possible, so I hit up their selection filter and expanded my choices to include furniture pieces with a pine finish -- I just love that in an online shopping tool!

looks really prettiful, right?!?

With the help of Sauder's online 360 degree view and because their site also clearly lists product dimensions, I finally settled on their Registry Row Collection: aaaaaand, those 3 drawers are going to come in super-handy. I plan on keeping the kids class/school information, headphones, and other stuff that is usually left on top of the folding table...in those pretty little drawers...and I CANNOT WAIT!!!

all you need for this project: is a hammer and a screwdriver (the instructions clearly state to leave the power tools alone, for this one!)

We've got 4 other Sauder pieces in the house, I'm no newbie assembling Sauder furniture, so trust me when I tell you: ALL YOU NEED IS A HAMMER AND A SCREWDRIVER!!! This time around, however, not all the wood pieces were clearly marked. Meh, just a couple of boards, but I was able to follow along with their step-by-step instructions, easily enough. I figured out the rest of the stuff with their well-labeled illustrations.

protip: count out all the hardware and separate by type into containers -- i gave this job to our youngest, she's a bit of an organization freak.

Prepping for this project was also simple enough: separating each of the screws, bolts, nuts, etc... then lining up each of the labeled wooden pieces from A - Z... the hardest part was trying to keep Doofus-Dawg from sitting on the pieces.

another pro-tip: enlist the help of your teens, they like to turn the screws on their parents...anyways...just saying!

At our house, we watch a lot of DIY shows and I may or may not have a slight girl crush on Nicole Curtis (a.k.a. Rehab Addict), so I especially love it whenever materials are re-purposed or re-used.

I was pleasantly-surprised to learn that Sauder furniture is ALL American-made with 90 percent recyclable materials and has a zero waste-to-landfill philosophy -- that's a-okay with us, too!

from yucky and blah, to warm and inviting in approximately 4 hours.

You know what? The shared workspace looks so gosh-darn cohesive and inviting, I may just move myself in...or not...either way, I'll let you know! Because, IT'S MY HOUSE AND WHAT I SAY GOES!!!

[one beat, two beats]

Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha.... [inhales deeply] ...hahahahahahahahahaha... [wipes tears from eyes] ...a mom can dream, right?!? So, what do you think?!? Nice, huh?!?

psssst, turn around...and you can see my office...a.k.a. laundry room...a.k.a. den...from over here.

Stay tuned for Part II of the Sauder Experience: with 6 people, living in a 7 room house, just how versatile and imaginative we CAN be...YO!

In the meantime, please feel free to visit the good folks at Sauder.com for more information (when you have time, of course!) and tell 'em the professional dork from This Full House sent you :)

Posted in Extreme Home-Do-Over, Reviews & Partnerships | Permalink