One of the best parts of this process of getting our place finished is finally getting rid of a lot of clutter and junk that we had been accumulating that we really never use. We do have a storage locker in our basement so we’ve been using that to store mostly seasonal items, such as our camping gear. It really makes a big difference in terms of space in our apartment!

We finally finished off the “Sports Room”. Really the easiest way to show the change is to show before and after pictures. Here is the “before”. Previously, as you can see, this room was basically a catch-all for our gear. 3 surfboards, 4 snowboards, 2 sets of wetsuit gear, 2 sets of snowboarding gear, 2 sets of ice hockey gear, 2 sets of golf clubs, plus camping gear and miscellaneous items. Phew! It was a lot of stuff to cram into one room.

And here is the “after” photo! We really wanted the room to feel more like a fun, bright place where we could show off some of our gear but also be functional in terms of storing everything.

That’s when we came up with the idea of mounting our gear to the walls. When we originally measured out the surfboards, we realized that Allan’s longboard was WAY too big for the walls. Then we noticed that there was a strip of wall that actually went above the door… and bingo, the surfboards all fit on the far wall.

We mounted the surfboards using handmade wooden racks made by Hawaiian Gun Racks. They’ve got some padded material on top to keep them from denting the boards, and also a dowel on the end to prevent them from slipping off just in case. They really are both beautiful and sturdy.

We also mounted the snowboards to the other wall. Mounting everything to the walls really freed up a ton of space, and also I think it looks pretty neat. We installed a cabinet to the wall as well, and put all our books and DVDs in there to save space from the living room. We also are using it to hold some of our snowboard gear such as boots and goggles. It’s also a great place to display some photos of some of our adventures.

From left to right… 2010 Men’s Burton Supermodel, 2007 Women’s Burton Feelgood, 2010 Women’s Burton Malolo… Boots: 2009 Burton Men’s Serow Japanese Exclusive Model, 2010 Burton Women’s Supreme Boots

The snowboards were mounted using HangtimeUSA wall mounts. They are plastic mounts that basically hold to the width of the board, so they are easy to pull in and out of the clips. They can also be mounted diagonally. We were really impressed by how sturdy they were, and the mounting hardware that came with them was awesome.

We fit a couple more things into the room like my golf clubs and the skim boards, but most of our gear is still tucked away in the closet in that room. We purchased a used red microfiber sofa that I LOVE and a couple lamps to complete the room. Not pictured are all the game plaques that Allan and I have from working in the video game industry… you get one when you “ship” a game. It’s kind of a fun addition to the room.

The last part of the room I wanted to talk about is probably my favourite… the coffee tables. We covered one of the coffee tables in all the sporting goods stickers that I had accumulated over the past few years, and that Allan has accumulated pretty much his whole life. There’s a lot of history on that table. Not only is it covered with our favourite brands, but it’s covered in memories of accomplishments, events, special milestones in our lives, and our favourite activities. It really completes the room for us.

So what do you think of the transformation?