My new office

Remember my old office?  Well, I got moved to a different building this semester, and I am not thrilled about my new digs.  And I mean that literally.  My office gives the impression of scurrying animal activity.  I envision squirrels storing up acorns and deer pawing at the undergrowth.  Here's why:

I do not understand this mural.  This is not the environmental science building.  This is a humanities building, you know, philosophy and literature and religion and such.

Oh well.  No redeeming this, I guess.  I will say it is a conversation starter when students show up for office hours.

Before & After - Filing cabinet

In our slow transformation of one of our bedrooms into a home office, we've added a couch and a new desk.  Next up: a filing cabinet.  I bought a basic black filing cabinet but was looking for a way to make it stand out less, so I decided to paint it the same color as the desk.  This was a pretty fast project; I painted it in an afternoon, let it dry overnight, and had it back in the office the following day.

Here is what I started with: a new filing cabinet (although since you're going to be painting it, an old one would work just fine too).

For this project I used some newspaper and frog tape, a Kilz primer (although I probably would have used Zinsser if the store would have had it in stock), and a couple cans of Rustoleum white gloss enamel spray paint.

First step: tape off all the parts you don't want painted (since this is spray paint, it will go everywhere, so take time to thoroughly cover everything.)  In case you're wondering, I popped out the plastic handles and taped behind the opening, then sprayed the handles separately.

Next, I applied one coat of spray primer.  This actually changed the surface from being smooth and glossy to a little more "grippy" or sandpapery, which I liked.  Read the product description carefully; this type of primer needed to dry for over an hour, so I applied it, moved the cabinet into the shade, and went back inside to let it dry.

After a couple hours of drying time (it was a humid day), I went back outside and applied two light coats of white spray paint.  To get a less blotchy look, start spraying off the surface and then move evenly across the surface, slightly overlapping your last line.  Also, try to maintain the same distance between the spray paint can and the surface so the paint isn't thicker in some places than others.  I was glad I took the time to carefully tape off my cabinet; the lock and the sides of the drawers show that the frog tape works well--there was no leaking of paint underneath the tape.

The white matches the color of the desk very closely; here you can see the two pieces of furniture side by side.

I may still go back and add a couple coats of clear poly just to even out the finish and make it a bit more durable, but I'm pretty happy with the final product.  Here are a couple before and afters of the filing cabinet in its new place in our office:

Before

 After

Doesn't that look better?  I feel like having the desk and filing cabinet the same color makes them look more like a set, and the white makes them look less obtrusive in the room.  In fact, I am feeling more organized just looking at all that white!

IKEA MICKE desk

We are in the process of slowly making over a small bedroom to function as a home office (see the tentative plan here).  The latest thing we did was to put in an actual desk instead of the kitchen table we'd been using for about four years!  I actually really liked the table as it was roomy enough for two laptops and a bunch of books, but it didn't have any storage or drawers and was really too big for the small room (especially once we moved a full-size couch in!).

Here's what my desk looked like a few weeks ago.  I was working (well, kind of...notice the IKEA website up on the laptop?) and realized how surrounded I was by electronic devices.  All those electronics mean cords and cables, which kind of drive me crazy.  So when we were up in Minneapolis recently, we stopped by the Twin Cities IKEA store and picked up the MICKE desk in white.  IKEA has a couple new variations on the MICKE, including some with deeper drawers, a small one-person desk, and a corner workstation.  Prices are really affordable, $150 and below, which means we certainly didn't pay for an assembled product!

The IKEA man from the directions and and my husband were not on speaking terms for a few hours.  But once put together, the desk has been really sturdy, and I am happy with the dimensions, especially the depth since the desk doesn't stick out very far from the wall.  The best part, however, is the built-in (and hidden!) tray along the back for storing all those USB cables and power cords.  There is a hole in the top right corner of the desktop so all the cords can be dropped down into that tray.

I think I might like to eventually add a piece of glass to the surface, but for now we are pretty happy with this desk!  Now on to the next project: a desk chair!

Pencils and cases

Willow Blue Damask pencil case

How fun are these laminated pencil cases by Anna Griffin?  She has several fabric choices, which I think would look great with some of these bright pencils from See Jane Work tucked inside.

A few combinations I like:

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Carmen Orange pencil case ($15) and bundle of See Jane Work basic pencils in "grass" or "pumpkin"- $7 for set of 12 (here)

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Willow Black Toile pencil case ($15) and kate spade assorted color pencils (here) ($8)

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Carmen Green pencil case ($15) and personalized dark green pencils from Lillian Vernon ($7)

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Carmen Yellow pencil case ($15) and Jonathan Adler pencils (here) ($10.50)

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Willow Blue Toile pencil case and Lillian Vernon turqoise personalized pencils ($7) (here)

Anna Griffin also carries iPad and iPhone cases made out of the same laminated fabric.

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Carmen Pink iPad sleeve ($20) and white iPad 2

Wouldn't any of these combos make a fun and easy birthday or graduation present?

(Especially the iPad and cover - ha!)

Check out all the Anna Griffin home office accessories at her website here.

Wingback chairs + desks

So I have an old wingback chair that I am in the process of redoing.  I was going to reupholster it, but now I am thinking of slipcovering it instead.  Either way, I was wondering if it would work as a (comfy!) desk chair, perhaps with casters added to the legs to raise the height a bit.  The following pictures are encouraging this idea...

(All images from Decor Pad)

Home office design

A couple of weeks ago I found a great vintage sofa for sale.  For now the sofa is in our home office, though at some point I would like to put it in a "sunroom" of sorts when we finish the basement (that probably sounds weird, but our basement has decent windows...it would be hard to have a sunroom without any sun!).  In the meantime, this purchase has led to a lot of shifting of furniture from room to room, and I am now trying to figure out how to incorporate this large sofa into a fairly small room.

Here is a close-up picture of the sofa fabric.  It has a yellow background with pink, blue, and green flowers.

 I am trying to pull those colors out in the room design.  Here is what I'm thinking now:

Sources:

Couch - vintage Henredon

Throw pillows - Furbish (here and here)

Bamboo end table - Amazon

Wing chair - IVG

Parsons desk - Home Decorators Collection

Parquet table lamp - Lamps Plus

Mirror - IKEA

What do you think?  Any suggestions?  I am contemplating putting a shelving unit in the closet so we can store the printer and most of our books and papers there, leaving the room open for a desk, chair, and the sofa.  I also really want to incorporate some kind of space for houseplants, maybe on an end table or a sofa table.

I think the couch itself has a definite sunroom vibe to it, so I'd kind of like to play up the plants and the colors in the room itself.

Ideas for temporary decor

Working on my office makeover got me thinking about ways to decorate a temporary space or one in which you have a lot of limitations (rentals, offices, etc.).   Here are a few ideas for transforming temporary spaces on a budget:

1. Improve your functionality.  What do you need?  More storage space?  More organization?  Better lighting?  More spots to seat people?  As you plan, be sure to incorporate ways to address these problems.  In my case, I had a lot of built-in functionality but did need to work on making the space more organized (so I added some inboxes, magazine organizers, labels, and a large calendar).  The room was also only lit with fluorescent light, so I added some lamps to warm it up a bit.

{Desk in my revamped office: I added a lamp for better reading conditions, hung a large calendar within easy reach, tucked a box on top of the filing cabinet for extra storage, and bought an inexpensive organizer set to store post-its, pens, and paper clips}

2. Try to go big.  If possible, incorporating a big element in the room goes a long way towards making your space feel like it wasn't furnished out of a suitcase.  Buy a cheap palm or other potted plant and drop it in a basket or more decorative pot.  You can get large (4- to 6-foot) plants for very good prices ($10-20 depending on where you shop).  Use big artwork (see #3).

{This is a gigantic map for $150, and it's already ready to hang -- no framing required}

3. Cover things up.  If you don't like the table that you got stuck with in a furnished space, cover it with a tablecloth or table skirt.

{In my office I had a lot of empty shelves, so I took some down, moved the rest higher to make the room feel bigger, and covered the lowest shelf with a table skirt.  Another benefit: I can store my recycling bin under the skirt to keep it out of the way.}

If you have bad windows, add some colorful curtains.

{I love the bright blue leaves on this set of curtains}

If you have a huge blank wall or a weird window that overlooks a boring view, hang something up to fill in the space.  IKEA is a good source for large pieces of artwork that are relatively inexpensive for their size.

{This New York City map poster is a little over 3 feet tall}

{This set of framed Picasso Prints is ready to hang}

Even using a cheap poster (available pretty much everywhere) can be a good option; if you mount it on a piece of foamboard, that little bit of added dimension will make it look nicer.

{These botanical prints from AllPosters.com would look nice mounted on pieces of black foamboard to make a "frame" of sorts.  They definitely don't scream "college dorm room!!"}

In my office, I added a couple pieces of art that I already had, which brought in some color and helped cover the big vanilla walls.  I also made a set of framed book covers to bring in some more pattern and color.  This was really inexpensive: I bought 8x10 frames at Walmart, then downloaded some vintage book covers from Vintage Printable.  I scanned a few books that I owned and added them to the mix, then took the images to a local printer and had them printed there.  I think they charged something like 30 cents per print, which was a great price for the much higher quality print job.  Then I just trimmed the images to fit inside the mats and hung them in a grid.  To eliminate making a lot of nail holes in your temporary space, use 3M Command products.

{Grid of book covers in my office -- the whole project cost me less than $30}

4. Be bold.  If a space is temporary, it might be a good place to do something that you might not want to invest a lot of money in or that seems to be a bit out of your comfort zone.  For example, this bulletin board in my office uses a red/pink floral fabric that is a bit bold for me.  I really hesitated about buying it, but ultimately decided that it would be a fun way to try using something a little bit different from what I have in my own home.  And I actually really like it!

{Another simple project: paint the frame of a large bulletin board, glue or staple fabric onto the corkboard part, cover the edge of the fabric with strips of ribbon}

A temporary space is a good place to use a brighter color or bolder design than what you might select for a more permanent space.  Throw a patterned textile over your old sofa and add some bright pillows from Target or Homegoods / TJ Maxx.

  

{Urban Outfitters is a good source of inexpensive tapestries that can be hung on the wall, used as a light bed cover, or tucked into a sofa as an informal slipcover}


Do you have any other ideas for decorating and furnishing temporary spaces?  Please share in the comment section below!