Welcome welcome welcome...
First off a special THANK YOU to Lisa for featuring my blog on Informal Home today. If you have a moment please stop in and see her beautiful home, creative projects, and witty sense of humor!
It has been a long week and weekend and we are positively pooped!
Though my office isn't exactly complete, I felt the need to show the progress I have made thus far. Here is a few before shots to show the sad, sad, and very desperate state my office was in:
My office had become a sort of catch-all for all things construction...Hello Dremel case and power drill! I put my fabric covered shelf up (more on that here), cleared out some clutter, and my office began to take shape:
Better...but not exactly what I was looking for...off to Google I went. I started searching the internet for inspiration and came across many fabulous ideas but none more appealing to my eye than this image from Martha Stewart Online. The photo was taken from a house tour of famed photographer William Abranowicz's home...this is actually his wife Andrea's office:
With a $500 budget and no time to spare (I REALLY needed this thing done!) I set out to accomplish my dream office. After much debate I realized the corner option wouldn't work for me...see my battle with that dilemma here and here. I wanted to create a really nice workspace but I also needed to be able to share that space with some kind of sleeping or lounging area. In comes the daybed. I could have purchased something new...a settee or a mini couch to fit the space but ya'll know I wasn't going to be spending any more than the allotted amount for this project. I picked this daybed up a few months ago (Craigslist find!!) and knew I had to incorporate it somehow. After much deliberation (also shown in those past posts) I decided to forgo the hacking of the daybed (to make it more narrow) and went with the full twin size daybed and the straight office desk...there is no reason why these two can't get along and live happily ever after!
Here is the West Elm Daybed with all the cheap-o Ikea and Walmart pillows I bought (more on that here) ...that green polka dotted one is dying for a slipcover!!
And here is the office side :
And here they are together as one...
Overall the space turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself! I left a long portion of desk with nothing above it so I could put some kind of pegboard, decorations, mirrors, or open shelving later. Time to get the old sewing machine out!! I still need some trim and eventually we plan to mount my new computer monitor to the wall which would free up some desk space.
The desk and cabinets have yet to be secured to the wall as we finish up some last minute details but, don't worry, they are pretty stable right now! The plan is to push the cabinets all the way back so the ledge will stick out far enough for me to use the entire length as a workspace. Leaving the desk as it is now means I cant get my legs under the top except for the desk portion and you know that won't work for me when I am trying to utilize as much square footage as possible! Here is the side view to see how it is now compared to what I am thinking for the future:
Plan of action? Switch out the cabinet feet for a more decorative set (no need for a toe kick now), screw a 2x4 the length of the desk, screw the cabinets into the 2x4, put the counter top over 2x4 and the cabinets and screw cabinets to the counter top. OK - it may sound like a lot but it should only take about 15 minutes once we get the 2x4 and the new feet. Once the cabinets are back and secure, the counter top will hang 6.5 inches over the cabinets which is plenty of room for my knees and feet (my feet can go even further under the cabinets).
Here is a side by side of my office and my inspiration pic:
I could definitely use some more accessories and perhaps a plant or two...those will come in time. Stay tuned for the mini terrarium I plan to make - I already have THE perfect base for it!
Here is a budget breakdown:
Well, that total certainly settles the score! I have PLENTY of $$ to paint this room AND get a few (more cohesive) accessories!
So what do you guys think? Did I do the inspiration pic justice so far? Feel free to leave a comment and also let me know what you have been working on...
Bianca
PS - I am linking up to many fabulous linky parties - please take a minute to check them out here...so much inspiration every single week!!!
PSS - Thanks, again, Lisa!!
First off a special THANK YOU to Lisa for featuring my blog on Informal Home today. If you have a moment please stop in and see her beautiful home, creative projects, and witty sense of humor!
 |
| Driver Testing out the Newly Placed Daybed! |
It has been a long week and weekend and we are positively pooped!
Though my office isn't exactly complete, I felt the need to show the progress I have made thus far. Here is a few before shots to show the sad, sad, and very desperate state my office was in:
My office had become a sort of catch-all for all things construction...Hello Dremel case and power drill! I put my fabric covered shelf up (more on that here), cleared out some clutter, and my office began to take shape:
Better...but not exactly what I was looking for...off to Google I went. I started searching the internet for inspiration and came across many fabulous ideas but none more appealing to my eye than this image from Martha Stewart Online. The photo was taken from a house tour of famed photographer William Abranowicz's home...this is actually his wife Andrea's office:
Here is the West Elm Daybed with all the cheap-o Ikea and Walmart pillows I bought (more on that here) ...that green polka dotted one is dying for a slipcover!!
And here is the office side :
And here they are together as one...
Overall the space turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself! I left a long portion of desk with nothing above it so I could put some kind of pegboard, decorations, mirrors, or open shelving later. Time to get the old sewing machine out!! I still need some trim and eventually we plan to mount my new computer monitor to the wall which would free up some desk space.
The desk and cabinets have yet to be secured to the wall as we finish up some last minute details but, don't worry, they are pretty stable right now! The plan is to push the cabinets all the way back so the ledge will stick out far enough for me to use the entire length as a workspace. Leaving the desk as it is now means I cant get my legs under the top except for the desk portion and you know that won't work for me when I am trying to utilize as much square footage as possible! Here is the side view to see how it is now compared to what I am thinking for the future:
Plan of action? Switch out the cabinet feet for a more decorative set (no need for a toe kick now), screw a 2x4 the length of the desk, screw the cabinets into the 2x4, put the counter top over 2x4 and the cabinets and screw cabinets to the counter top. OK - it may sound like a lot but it should only take about 15 minutes once we get the 2x4 and the new feet. Once the cabinets are back and secure, the counter top will hang 6.5 inches over the cabinets which is plenty of room for my knees and feet (my feet can go even further under the cabinets).
Here is a side by side of my office and my inspiration pic:
I could definitely use some more accessories and perhaps a plant or two...those will come in time. Stay tuned for the mini terrarium I plan to make - I already have THE perfect base for it!
Here is a budget breakdown:
- AKURUM cabinets, shelves, suspension rail, feet, APPLAD doors, PRAGEL counter top, and door dampers from IKEA - $327.39
- West Elm Daybed, sheets, and coverlet- FREE! I doubled over a queen size coverlet we weren't using...
- Ikea Pillows for Daybed (ALL in As-Is section for $5 a pop!) - $27.38
- Walmart body pillow for the daybed (sooo needs a cover!) - $10.95
- Wood screws for Ikea suspension rail - $6.55 (I got a big box so we have PLENTY left!
Well, that total certainly settles the score! I have PLENTY of $$ to paint this room AND get a few (more cohesive) accessories!
So what do you guys think? Did I do the inspiration pic justice so far? Feel free to leave a comment and also let me know what you have been working on...
Bianca
PS - I am linking up to many fabulous linky parties - please take a minute to check them out here...so much inspiration every single week!!!
PSS - Thanks, again, Lisa!!
