An Office to Work In

Though I'm actually quite enjoying my blogging hiatus, I realize that I never gave you the "after" pictures of the office that I started complaining about last summer). We finally purchased the furniture in February and then spent the next few weeks putting everything together, but my energy apparently stalled right before I blogged about here. So, a few months late, here is our new and improved office.

(See here for my inspiration and here for the before pictures.)

[Beware: super long and photo-heavy post follows.]

This is the view as you first look in the room from the hallway with our desks on the left and the bookshelves (which you can't see yet) on the right. On the wall as you walk in on the right you see this:

Yep, that's Molly's handiwork. I wanted this room to be colorful and comfortable, and Molly's sweet art work seemed to strike the perfect balance of that. Plus they match the curtains, which were really the basis of the colors in the room.

Once you enter the room, our desks are on the left. Virtually everything in here came from Ikea, including the desks. The set up here is perfect for us. By putting the drawers in the middle and the printer on top of them, it created a distinct break between David's desk and mine, so neither of us has to worry about each other's stuff encroaching on our space.

David's desk in the one on the left and this is probably the cleanest it's ever been.

The poster on the wall is from a Hemingway conference I went to in Spain in 2006. It was Dave's first time out of the US, so it has sentimental meaning for the two of us. Likewise, he helped his mom make the quilt hanging on the back of his chair as a gift to me in the early days of our relationship.

One of the things I love most about my side is that it has a distinct "work" area and a distinct "craft" area. The drawers have been amazingly helpful in staying organized.

I even have an entire drawer dedicated to nothing but the eighty-million things we have that plug into our computers. (FYI, they're all wrapped up with basic binder clips - super handy!) Feeling organized makes my life so much easier.

The right side of my area is a dedicated sewing area. It makes it so much easier for me to be crafty when I don't have to pull out and put back my sewing machine (and/or leave it sitting out on the dining room table) every time I want to use it. And having all of my supplies within arm reach is even better.

Above the sewing machine is my craftiest moment. Are you ready for this? I painted that! I stole the idea directly from Elise Joy and used colors from the curtains (which you can see to the right - Ikea!). When I first hung it up, I thought it was just a temporary solution while we had some visitors; I wanted to fill it out some more. But it turns out that I love it just the way it is, so it's staying.

I also, believe it or not, made the curtains. (Don't you just love the curtain fabric? I absolutely do.) I used Young House Love's No-Sew curtain tutorial; easy peasy.

Under the curtains is Molly's own little table with a simple crate full of books and toys beside it. I got the idea for the hanging buckets from my friend Stephanie; the buckets themselves were $1 clearance buys from Target's after-Easter sale. They hold her collection of play fruit (which is one of Potter's favorite things to steal, so it's important to keep it up off the floor or even table). It's so cute to see her sit and draw at the table while David and I work (or, more likely, peruse the internet).

Do you see all of those shelves? AMAZING! This is as close to an in-house library I'm going to get anytime soon. You know what else? There is still TONS of space. More of the shelves on the side of the bookshelf you can't see are empty as are all four of the storage boxes. It's amazing and SO organized. I love them. Love, love, love them.

There are still lots of things I want to do, from hanging something on the wall where the guitar is (I'm thinking of getting some cheap-o diploma frames, painting them a funky color, and then hanging our diplomas there) as well as figuring out how to accessorize the top of the largest bookshelf.

The original goal of this re-do was to give me a place that would encourage productivity at home. And you know what? It has completely worked. I get so much more done in this space than I ever got done in our cramped, dark, disorganized office. I am so happy with how it turned out.