Most Awesome Dining Room Makeover. Ever.
A reader recently sent in pictures of their dining room makeover. Let’s begin by looking at this rather conventional dining room:
And now, let’s take a look at the same dining room, after its recent makeover:
Let’s take a closer look at a few of those jerseys, shall we?
Yes, that is a real Lance race-worn ‘05 Tour jersey and one of Landis’ podium tunics.
The Extra-Awesome Part
This dining room would be awesome under any circumstance, but — at least to me — what makes it doubly-extra-awesome is that the driving force behind this makeover was the female half of the marriage.
Says Bent022, “I told my husband he can never ever complain about how I decorate the house. Not many women would want their dining room to look like a sports bar.”
Shyeah.
The Conversion of Bent022
The only thing that made me sad about this whole thing was that Bent022 — as you might have figured from her commenting handle — is a recumbent rider.
Well, she was a recumbent rider….She just bought Carlos Sastre’s 2007 Team CSC Cervelo. Which she intends to ride.
All hail Bent022, queen of pro cycling memorabilia collectors!
Comment by Jeremy | 12.12.2007 | 2:32 pm
Swap the dining table out with a pool table and this would be the King of all make overs.
Comment by monkeywebb | 12.12.2007 | 2:32 pm
Oi vey. I was just trying to explain to my wife how a friend had “tastefully” decorated their house using cycling art and memorabilia. She didn’t get it. I think I’m going to have to stick to our unspoken agreement that I’ll keep the bikes in the garage as long as she keeps the candles and pictures of friends’ babies in the house.
But I’ll still send her a link to try to offer some vague inspiration…
Comment by Bobby | 12.12.2007 | 2:35 pm
So the creepy dolls are where now? I’ve seen this movie.
You put them in the box in the attic. Then they come to life and eat your family….
Comment by Gordon in Melbourne | 12.12.2007 | 2:35 pm
Can you let me know if she is ever single again.
I am lucky enough to be allowed one signed Eddy Merckx poster in our kitchen, but it was hard work.
Comment by bikemike | 12.12.2007 | 2:41 pm
replace the (tasteful?) hanging light thingy with a 600 lumen rechargable headlight and we’re golden.
Comment by Big Boned | 12.12.2007 | 2:55 pm
I started reading this thinking “Fatty has really lost it, 1st the fruity post, now home makeovers….he’s daft. I wonder what’s on Versus…” Then, after scrolling down – “WOWZER….Look at THAT!”.
Comment by chtrich | 12.12.2007 | 3:09 pm
Holy Cha-Ching $$$$$
Comment by RoadChica | 12.12.2007 | 3:27 pm
Bent022 — Tell us whose jerseys the others are? I see Voigt…awesome!
Comment by Anonymous | 12.12.2007 | 3:35 pm
agreed! tell us about these jerseys. i’m sure you have story about many of them.
Comment by mark | 12.12.2007 | 3:37 pm
And with Lycra hanging in the dining room, it’s a constant reminder not to overindulge lest one embarrass one’s self the next time one dons said fabric. Tasteful yet subversive–I sense a decorating revolution coming on here!
Comment by je | 12.12.2007 | 3:43 pm
reminds me…
I want to redo the downstairs family room as my new office/off-season workout room. Does eBay have many TdF worn jerseys listed?
Comment by Miles Archer | 12.12.2007 | 4:00 pm
Where’s the pink FC jersey?
Comment by Clydesdale | 12.12.2007 | 4:05 pm
I was going to say it must be one of FC’s recently divorced, do to cycling widow syndrome, readers. Now I know why he is still married to her… other than the recument ailment that is.
Comment by Danno | 12.12.2007 | 4:18 pm
I can verify that the jersey’s are legit and awesome. Let’s not forget this years Contador podium jersey (without the white outline around the logo, only two made and one worn at the final ceremony). What you don’t see is that her husband has almost as awesome collection of wine so it’s a Sports Bar with good taste!
Comment by Bent022 | 12.12.2007 | 4:56 pm
Road Chica – The jerseys are (going top left to bottom right): Eric Zabel Telecom, Jens Voigt CSC, Axel Merckx T Mobile, CSC Shirt signed by the 9 Tour de France 07 riders at the London Team Presentation, Christophe Laurent (in 08 he will be riding for Slipstream) Tour of Calif KOM, (second row) Frank and Andy Schleck CSC, Jens Voigt Tour of Germany Leader, Armstrong 05 Tour, Landis 06 Tour Podium, Contador 07 Tour Podium, Boonen Rainbow Quick Step, Armstrong Motorola, (bottom row) Axel Merckx Phonak, Robbie McEwen 06 Green, and Carlos Sastre CSC.
Bobby – the creepy dolls are in the bedroom not the atic.
BikeMike – thanks for the suggestion, I’ve been wanting to get rid of that thing.
Miles Archer – I need to have one jersey I can wear when I am riding.
Fatty – thanks for not giving me too hard of a time for riding a bent.
Comment by cyclingphun.blogspot.com | 12.12.2007 | 5:54 pm
So that’s the bent022 who dropped 6800 for Carlos’s bike, eh? Nice. I couldn’t get my wife to understand how cool it was, or sell her on the benefit to Velokhaya. Oh well, hope she enjoys it!
I would love to know if this is the entire collection, and if not what else there is. I’m sure she makes her insurance agent happy, man the policies to be had to insure that.
Comment by Stan | 12.12.2007 | 5:54 pm
So, on a purely practical level, what kind of frames you you use for a jersey? I might consider putting my old racing jersey up on the wall along with some of my racing pictures.
Comment by Bluenoser | 12.12.2007 | 6:02 pm
I wondering about the recumbent thing. A person is sitting down/laying back? Like when you sit in a car you are driving. When sitting, on top of, a bike you are riding. Like on a horse.
Shouldn’t they come up with a new word for navigating those things down the road?
Just asking.
-B
Comment by Stainless Ed | 12.12.2007 | 6:03 pm
Times have certainly changed. When I married this bent rider she didn’t ride and wasn’t too keen on me keeping my Paramount built Schwinn on top of the piano in the old house.
Comment by Born4Lycra | 12.12.2007 | 6:18 pm
Nice
Comment by Gordon in Melbourne | 12.12.2007 | 7:00 pm
Thanks Danno now we have a problem….if there is a seperation (which I don’t wish for) I may have to come out of the closet.
What do I like more those cycling jerseys or a good wine collection? Our new garage, which houses a number of bikes, also has a heavily insulated walk in wine storage room.
Decisions decisions !!!!!
Comment by Al Maviva | 12.12.2007 | 7:05 pm
Don’t look now but Team Discovery’s Trek Madone 6.5+’es are on sale on EBay. Starting bids are at >$10k.
I surely hope these are intended to be museum pieces. Anybody who buys an expensive bike off a roadracer is a FOOL. Yes, in all caps. We love bicycles but we beat them mercilessly. I wouldn’t pay more than 25% of retail for a bike ridden a year by a Cat IV, much less paying twice retail for a bike ridden by a UCI Protour rider for a year. (In fact I don’t know any racers that are okay with paying retail, for that matter; we’re just too rough on equipment to be able to afford it).
And, you want to know the really funny thing about the sale? They’re asking the same price for Vladi Gusev’s bike. Gusev is one of the legendary hardmen of the peloton. He *never* has an off-season, and nearly never takes days off. His teammates comment with awe on how he thrives on an absolutely relentless workload – they ride five hours, he rides seven. They ride for five days, he rides for seven. They take a month off, he goes and rides in the mountains for a month. He is relentless on the bike.
Would you buy a roadbike that was Vladi’s daily ride for a year? Bad, bad, bad idea, unless you’re planning on hanging it on the wall – very, very gingerly.
Comment by Philly Jen | 12.12.2007 | 7:27 pm
Nice to see that you are saving room in the bottom row for some Team Slipstream jerseys in the future. (Though you might want to skip trying to nab Taylor Phinney’s ride — he’s 6′4″ and counting.)
Comment by Solo | 12.12.2007 | 9:03 pm
One of the first thoughts that clicked into my noggin after the wow….. was I sure hope they have a really good smoke detector in the kitchen right next to this shrine
Comment by bradk | 12.12.2007 | 9:24 pm
I feel like such and amateur bike dork now.
Comment by DNAtsol | 12.12.2007 | 10:15 pm
Fan of Susan would never ask this but I’ll do it for her…..
How much would you take for that Voigt Jersey? He is her freebie and I’m thinkin’ if I can get you to part with it and with a little role play….. errrrr well we’ll leave the rest for adult imaginations :)
Comment by Big Mike In Oz | 12.13.2007 | 1:49 am
I see I’m too late. The line is already around the corner for potential suitors waiting to make a marriage proposal.
I’ll take another tack… jealousy shrouded in a derogatory outpouring.
That’s not real cycling paraphernalia. Real cycling paraphernalia is identifiable by it’s very close resemblance to the deprise on the floor of the condemned tenement in that suburb we never visit.
Comment by cheapie | 12.13.2007 | 4:25 am
a good wine collection? you have an cellartracker link?
Comment by Mike Roadie | 12.13.2007 | 4:34 am
Some guys have all the luck…………
Comment by StevenNYC | 12.13.2007 | 5:02 am
I wonder if Floyd left anything “good” in the pockets! Another practical redo would be to use the dining table for firewood (she couldn’t possibly be a good cook too!!!) which would make room for a double bike repair stand.
Comment by will | 12.13.2007 | 6:35 am
No Bowl of Clementines on the table?
Fantastic room – well done
Comment by Sprocketboy | 12.13.2007 | 8:09 am
As someone who has only two signed pro jerseys (Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi) in frames, I am very impressed at the effort it took to organize the framing of this vast and admirable collection. Everyone needs a cycling shrine–well done!
Comment by Bent022 | 12.13.2007 | 9:14 am
Stan – Shadow box frames
Stainless Ed – Sweetie, let’s not talk about your confirmed bachelor décor that was in your old house when I moved in, the bike on the piano was the least of the problems. :)
Gordon – Depending on your preference in wines you may not have to come out of the closet. If we separated Stainless Ed would most certainly take all of the big, bold reds. So if you are a Zin drinker then you may want to loosen your wrist a bit.
DNAtsol – Neither of Jens’ jerseys are for sale, he is my favorite rider, sexiest legs in the peloton.
Mike Roadie – I keep telling him that, but you know men, they never listen to their wives.
StevenNYC – I am a FAT cyclist of course I can cook. In fact the word fantastic has been used on several occasions to describe my dinner parties. No need for a double bike repair stand in the dining room anyway since my husband’s bike will stay in the garage, it’s a Lemond.
Everyone thanks for all the wonderful comments. It was a lot of work, but my husband and I are enjoying it so much. Danno and his fabulous wife (an interior designer) came over on Thanksgiving to help me with the layout before having the Thanksgiving feast, which included Fatty’s mashed potatoes.
Comment by BotchedExperiment | 12.13.2007 | 9:28 am
tour de force!
But now you’ve got a serious, serious, serious problem:
Before, in the case of fire, you only had to grab mammals of all species and run out the door. Now there’s a 86% chance that your remains will be found near that wall with a bunch of little piles of melted lycra all around you.
Comment by KT | 12.13.2007 | 9:37 am
Whoa… now THAT is an amazing room. I’m in awe.
And you add to that a fabulous wine collection, and well… can I come over for Christmas dinner??? I won’t proposition you, either, even if this is the 00’s.
I don’t have any jerseys to hang on the wall, and for 11.3 months out of the year our family room decor includes two bikes on trainers (or two empty trainers, depending on if we’re out riding). We had to move them out to install the Christmas tree. By which I mean we put them away on their nice hanging rack or in the office, which is where we store the nice bikes. Trainers in the closet.
Jens does have a nice set of sexy legs, but Alberto has great flanks. By which, of course, I mean the part of the rider we always get to see on the TV during the individual TTs because the motorcycle cameras aren’t allowed to pass the rider. :)
Comment by Badder | 12.13.2007 | 9:48 am
My first thought when I saw the two pictures was “Someone’s getting divorced”. Then I find out it’s the wife’s decorations!?!?!
I get in crap for leaving a Velonews on the coffee table. I can’t imagine even being able to pull off one of the classic b/w TDF posters let alone what you have done Bent022.
I envy your collection!
Comment by Philly Jen | 12.13.2007 | 10:11 am
I’ve discovered the secret to obtaining deeee-lux signed jerseys: go ask Bent Santa to put one in your stocking.
As all the photo evidence demonstrates, Bent Santa is far more powerful than the Fat Reindeerist. And has great flanks.
Comment by runride | 12.13.2007 | 10:52 am
Bobby Says: So the creepy dolls are where now?…
Too Funny, LOL!
Also, I now feel like a milquetoast since all my biking/running stuff
is in the basement or garage. I will need to show the wifey these pictures…thanks for sharing FC.
Comment by Fan of Susan | 12.13.2007 | 12:17 pm
Mmmmmmm. Jens…….
Bent022, I can fully understand why you wouldn’t want to part with those jerseys, even for the sake of mine and dna’s marital bliss. :-)
Comment by Gordon in Melbourne | 12.13.2007 | 1:55 pm
Bent022,
Now I’m even more confused, nothing like a big bold red or some French Champagne (or the Aussies do some good sparkling) or my favourite Pinot from a winery about 20 km’s from home or a crisp Sav Blanc on a hot day, should I go on….. but those jersey’s do look great.
I think I’ll ride home, discuss my dilemma with my wife over a bottle of something while looking at my signed Merckx poster and ponder the true meaning of life.
Enjoy your new bike and have a glass for me this weekend, I’ll do likewise.
Comment by Clydesteve | 12.13.2007 | 2:19 pm
fab collection, bent, but somehow, the color balance is off… maybe put the Quickstep jersey on the bottom row (wait, that Tomka, right, so top row, with jens moving dowstairs next to Jens, and another yellow needs to be in the middle row… never mind I can’t seriously 2nd guess this great collection, but replacing the chandolier with track lighting to highlight….
And all I have by way of memoribilia is a signed Clydesteve-worn 2003 Tour of Hope top fundraiser tee shirt. But Lance signed his name on it for me!
Comment by Josh | 12.13.2007 | 2:25 pm
Re: buying Sastre’s ride
Someone used to the plush comfort of a ‘bent is _not_ going to like the aero tuck, skinny tires and harsh ride of a plastic racing bike. Baby steps. Start with a Rivendell, if you still desire more performance, get a steel Colnago. A regimen of sacrificing comfort for performance has to progress slowly, so as to not shock the system.
Comment by blinddrew | 12.13.2007 | 4:21 pm
Hail!
Comment by cyclingphun.blogspot.com | 12.13.2007 | 7:26 pm
I have to ask, is there a secret to your acquiring so many cool things, or is it just a lot of luck, a ton of money and ebay? A few of my big wants are an Armstrong signed jersey, a Boonen signed jersey, a Bettini signed jersey and one of the Specialized angels. Im still working on approval from the wife on the latter.
Comment by lyne | 12.13.2007 | 9:06 pm
Wow. very cool. Okay I have a signed jersey that I want to frame too. Did you do anything special to the jersey before putting it in the shadow frame? by that I mean to make the signature doesn’t disappear?
Comment by ibisss | 12.13.2007 | 10:19 pm
I say the next step is to get little jerseys made for those poncy dolls–then you could move them back to the living room–if for some reason you wanted them back, watching you as you eat, that stuck-up bitch look on their collective faces, as if they never just pick up a chicken leg and eat it clean….
M Burdge
Comment by Donald | 12.14.2007 | 6:18 am
WOW! Right now I have just one autographed poster of George Hincapie. It’s framed and sitting on the floor. I’m pretty sure I may get to hang it in the garage. I was told I’d have a “Man” room when we moved into our home 6 years ago. Six years later… no “Man” room. I still love my wife dearly. And I will still keep up the fight!
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