Command Center

A project that has been on my list for a while has been making over our kitchen desk area into a more usable space.  Looking for ideas online, I see that one name for the type of area I want is a "Command Center" which I like because it makes it sound exciting and not just like a place for school papers and calendars.  I can say things like "meet me at the Command Center, stat!" and "The Command Center compels you to fill out this form by Tuesday."

Here is a jealousy-inducing photo of one I used as inspiration, and also a great blog:
Command Center

I don't have a real mud room or good entry space that isn't crammed full of coats so I am setting it up with a desk instead of a bench.  Mostly I need a place to keep track of the kids' school and daycare paperwork, but I also want Eric and I to each have our own spot for that odd paperwork that you need to keep for a while but not permanently.  Right now it kind of floats from the fridge to the desk to the entryway and I like consistency.  So I did some online shopping at The Container Store (on my 'wish list' of stores I wish would come to Grand Rapids, along with Ikea and Trader Joe's...someday I may compose a whole love post about Ikea, but also a rant about their terrible online store). I really recommend their folders for heavy use, they seem sturdier and just a little nicer than your standard issue ones.  Target provided a cheap bulletin board.  Eric had wonderful plans to build a cord organizer/charging station to mount on the wall, but I was concerned it would take away focus from the Lego Storage Project (he has now drawn up starting plans for!) so we compromised, by which I mean I bought one from Overstock.com.

I am not a crafty person but my plan was to cover the bulletin board with some cool looking fabric I found on eBay.  I even bought spray adhesive and batting.  That is about as crafty as I get, folks.  I debated also covering it with ribbon like I have seen on some other people's, but  I liked the fabric pattern too much to criss-cross over it with ribbon, and it seemed like work.  Eric suggested sewing pockets into it but I don't have a sewing machine, and although I could get access to one as my mom is a terrific sewer, it was just another added step that I wasn't sure I wanted.  So using his concept I figured out a way to just put one pocket in the bottom by folding it tight and ironing the creases in.



Here is the 'before' picture I took of the whole area:

 And here is the 'after':

 

It has been set up for a few days now and seems to be working pretty well, but I am sure it will get tweaked a bit as we figure out what works about it and what doesn't.  I thought about adding a calendar but we pretty much rely on Google Calendar to keep track of everything now.  I could write a whole post about my love for Google.  We do have a dry erase board on the fridge also that shows one week at a time - partly for Lucas now that he is starting to read, he can keep track of his homework and events, and partly because I still like to see the whole week laid out in front of me.

Maybe I should take another picture in a month so we can see how it will really look when it is being used!