Customized Cat Litter Disguise

Finally!   I successfully envisioned and finished an [almost free] project in one  easy week.

Here’s how it went down:

In this odd basement area that leads from the TV room to the guest bath  and laundry area, I’d already created a pet feeding station, complete with a pet pharmacy.  But the cat  litter boxes just sat there, making the space all kinds of ugly.  Not cool for overnight guests, who have to walk through to use the guest bath.

One fateful day, on my drive home from work, I was inspired to squeeze every inch of function out of that space.  When I got home and rushed to Ryan, saying –  “Come downstairs and let me show you my idea!”  – I called it a wrapping station.

Big mistake.   He proceeded to mock me right here on the blog.

But there was more to my idea than a cutesy display of scissors, paper, and ribbon.   Grabbing a measuring tape, I threw my plan into action.

One trip to home depot, $45, and less than an hour of carpentry later, I’d created this two-tiered hardwood work and storage table that could hide the crappers while storing stuff and providing a useful workspace.  In less than an hour, this table was done.  I was thrilled.

(Want seriously awesome, detailed furniture plans and tips on building?  Go see Ana at Knock-Off Wood.  She provides way better instructions than I ever could.)

I painted the table to match the bookshelf, and added a few coats of poly for extra protection.  To truly hide the litter boxes and the wrapping paper storage bins under the table,  I created a skirt out of some old fabric and a leftover tension rod.  I sewed the fabric into curtains and slipped them on the rod which snapped into place under the tabletop.

I stashed all my ribbon and tape in a large glass jar, and put some pens and markers and scissors in a smaller one.   A grid of critter photos, hung in old frames from my Goodwill donation pile, provided the perfect art for the pet-friendly space.

And some more old fabric and curtain rods provided a decorative touch on the little window.

This space not only looks cute now, but it’s multifunctional-as-heck.  I can fold my laundry, wrap gifts, groom the cats, or riffle through the storage that is stashed in the neighboring bookshelf.

A bookshelf, I might add, that looks much better now than it did when all this mess started.

So that’s my fabulous mini space-makeover that I’ve been dying to share.   Yes, I know it’s just a workspace / wrapping station.   Hidden in the corner of my basement, centered over two [sometimes stinky] cat toilets. But with the way my bedroom redo has been lagging, I just needed a fun, quick before-and-after.  It was easy, I was inspired, and supplies were cheap.   And now my house guests don’t have to see the cat litter on their way to their bathroom.

They may still smell it, but that’s a project for another week.

The best part?  Aside from the wood for the table, I used junk that was sitting around.  The entire transformation cost me $45.

Psst:  In case you missed it, here’s Part 1 and Part 2 of the Pet Feeding Station project.  Want to see more of our new borrowed abode?  Check out the tour.

I shared this at All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee – Craft Edition, and Coastal Charm.