Office Finished!

Well, my office is finished .... Sorry about the glare from the light. Pics were taken late in the day. Also, the picture looks like its too high, right? Somehow, standing in front of it in the room, it actually looks fine.


Here's what I started out with ... Not horrible, but not organized in the least and I hated the tan. I don't work in here much so this was primarily Mr. T's space, but I will eventually work-at-home and I needed this to be more functional.


I don't typically like fans, but they're a necessity in the summer especially in this room where the computers contribute to the heat in the room. While I would have preferred something prettier, I actually don't mind how this one looks and it is much brighter than the old fixture.
Same shot "before" ... I think that light fixture was the last light fixure in the house that hadn't been replaced.


We installed these shelves (IKEA) ...


Mr. T insisted that these mugs (souveniers from trips) stay so there they are. The cabinet is actually not the one I'd intended to purchase, but after my trip to IKEA, this one was right next to the one I'd planned to buy. I started wondering if the first one was too big so I got this one instead and I'm happy with it. I'm also happy with the price - $300 less!

See me in the glass below? Hello! All the boxes are from IKEA as well and they're all empty so there's plenty of space to store more office supplies. I really love the little hat boxes.


That's it for the office. It no longer a room where I feel like I have to keep the door closed so I don't have to think about it.

I've linked to Metamorphosis Monday on Between Naps on the Porch, Make it Your Monday on Twice Remembered and DIY Day on A Soft Place to Land.

Cork Board

One more addition to the Office ... I made this cork board out of a frame I had that I wasn't using for anything else. I purchased cork squares rather than the roll. Its less expensive and since I planned to cover it with fabric, you can't see the seams.

The calendar on the board was a major bone of contention believe it or not. Prior to this, Mr. T had it tacked on the wall and I wasn't a huge fan of that. So, this was what I came up with just for that calender.

I actually like to use the back side of fabric because I like the faded look of it.

Last but not least, this is how my new cork board started out just before I painted it. Great frame, but I no longer needed it for anything.

I have 2 things left to complete in the room - Purchasing a bookcase and installing a ceiling fan. Fingers crossed that these two things are accomplished this weekend.

Office Supply Organization

So last night, I was in my office trying to resolve a work computer issue. Of course, the help desk wasn't much help and I had to wait for someone who knew what to do to call me. Since it was going to be a long wait, I started organizing and rearranging.

My mom has retired and was cleaning out her home office so she offered me some office supplies. I accepted a few things I could use. I should have known better. Considering the fact that my work uses minimal paper, my mom gave me enough office supplies to last until I retire. Space is limited and its such a hassle having all these little packages in a drawer that is already full to capacity.

Then a light bulb went off. 3 boxes of paper clips? 4 boxes of staples? No problem for the vintage Crown jars I had that were sitting empty.

I've seen large Ball jars at Michaels and thought those would be great for the hundreds of pens and pencils I also inherited. (Note: Beware Googling Large Balls Jar!) Its amazing how many uses there are for these jars. I'm wondering if I'll have luck getting more jars once flea market season resumes.

Office Work

I'm still working on my office and completion is delayed. I'd hope to have an extra hand this week to pick up my bookcase and a few other things, but my kids are sick and I don't want to spread the plague to another person.

I always meant to share this little guy I picked up and just remembered him as I was in the office. I picked him up in Delaware last summer and used him briefly as a soap dish before it got too messy and it got repurposed into a business card holder and a place to put my tags.


I'll be sharing what I've completed soon. Also, it looks like I'm approaching 400 followers (thank you all!) and I haven't had a giveaway in a while. I'll be giving away something anyone will be able to use. Stay tuned ...

Office (Under Constuction)

Well, it seems that I'm working on two projects at once now. My laundry room still needs work, but my dad is coming for a few days to help me finish up some of the non-fun part which is the ceiling drywall. I'm also waiting for material to make a sink skirt for the sink.

In the meantime, I decided to start painting my office and I ended up finishing it. Since I was painting over tan, it looked scary at first, but now that its done we both love it. The lighting isn't so great in this picture, but the color is like a Tiffany box bluish turquoise.

I still have quite a bit to do including hanging shelves and possibly getting a large bookcase (still undecided) but I'll share the results once I'm done. My plan is to have both projects completely finished before the end of the month which is fast approaching.

P.S. I'm sure there will be tan lovers that will give me the old, "I liked it better before." but that's OK! I know its not for everyone. I know people out there like the sort of "model home tan" but I'm just not one of them.

The Office Project

Well, the snow is melting, but our street is pretty much impassible without AWD/4WD and Mr. T had to take my car to work so I'm still stranded here at home. I can't go out until tomorrow for things I need to continue on my laundry room so I thought I'd share what I'm planning for our office which is the next project on my list.

In addition to cabinets for my laundry room, I think I'm going to pick up this bookcase at Ikea with glass doors for some additional storage.

I originally chose a paint sample called Balmy Seas by Behr, but after testing it on the wall, Mr. T noted that it was a little too bright for a room that we'd need to work in and he reminded me of how schools are painted calmer colors so people can concentrate. I have so much light blue in the house, but I had to agree with him so I've chosen a still-bright but slightly toned down Cool Jazz instead.




We also desperately need some shelving. There were some shelves in our laundry room that were probably a couple of the original closet doors from our bedroom closets. I really think they made surprisingly strong shelves with all the junk we'd piled on them. They're also very long and deeper than most shelves so I think they'd be better for our storage challenges. I might clean them up, spruce them up with some trim and hang them over the desk.

As usual, I'd love something beautiful like a chandelier, but it gets hot in all the rooms on our second floor despite the fact that we have central air, so a ceiling fan is the only option. The room is very small so my options are pretty limited here unfortunately.

We have a nice Pottery Barn corner desk and lateral file, but other than that, the room is in desperate need of additional storage and organization. This is Mr. T's space at the moment and I just keep the door closed right now. I'll probably be working here full-time at some point and I simply can't work will all the distracting "stuff" around. I'm totally in love with the furniture though. It was a smart investment for us. Also, I can't wait to banish the tan paint which does nothing to brighten up this dark room.

I do admit though, that I tend to dump things here like gifts. See the pink Valentine's Day bags for my girls? You should have seen this room during Christmas.



The office and laundry room were my 2 big projects for the year and I'd love to get them both done before spring fever strikes so I can spend more time in my garden.

Have a good weekend!

Two Projects/Two Paints

I stopped by Home Depot today to browse the paint chips and ended up bringing home two samples. I really loved the Behr Ultra paint when I used it in my half-bath so I'm going to use it again particularly because I need some serious coverage on the walls there. I also picked up a color sample for our office (another project on the horizon). So, what's inside?


Yellow (Summer Harvest) for the Laundry Room and a Turquoise Blue (Balmy Seas) for the Office.

I've already tested the yellow on the walls and I really love it. The turquoise looks great too. The office is the darkest room in the house and it needs something to bring it to life. Its not much but its a start ...

Shutter Project

I may have mentioned before that my parents have a rustic cabin in Vermont on 9 acres. Mr. T and I used to go there in the winter every year to ski. We've only been back once since having children. However, my parents continue to go every few months and have had a great time treasure hunting there. So they picked up a bunch of these shutters ($2 or $3 each) and they gave me two of them.

Just like the mantle I purchased, I thought I could leave the finish as is, but the paint was literally crumbling off. I started sanding these and realized that what I really needed was a spackle spatula like the kind you use for joint compound. I just ran the blade over the paint and it just crumbled off into powder.


After that, I washed them and let them dry overnight. Then, I gave them a single light coat of my favorite spa blue spray paint and sanded them lightly.

I also picked up these clothespins at the $1 store ...

... and painted them to match the shutters.

I brought the shutters up to our office and put them next to my craft space. I plan to hang them at some point, but I don't have the hardware. I think they turned out pretty good.

Next, I turned to the whole reason for this project. The pile of artwork from the Wild One's school. Its accumulated like this for an entire year. I don't want to throw them away, but I had no place to put them either.

I started to hang a few of them with the clothespins.

I filled both shutters and I still have a ton more!

I have got to part with some of these especially since school is beginning again soon and another round of artwork will be making its way into our house. I feel better about parting with some of them though since now I can display a few.

Speaking of the office and the craft space, I got the Flax and Spindle pillow that I won yesterday! Isn't it adorable?

Have a good weekend!

Office Closet Finished!

I'm SO EXCITED to share this project. This is really my favorite of anything I've posted so far.

So, I've mentioned that I've been wanting a little office in our office closet for a while. Why an office within an office? Well, Mr. T works from home some days and he uses our main desk. I want a space mainly for crafting and gift wrapping. When my girls go back to school, I will also work from home so desk space is not going to be wasted in our house. Mr. T tried to do the shelving for the space a few weeks ago when I was away, but I don't think he understood what I meant. So, I gave Mr. T this drawing to explain what I wanted in the Office closet.


What the heck is that??? Explanation: 3 shelves on the top and a desk for the bottom "shelf". The back of the wall where the desk is is pegboard. Mr. T is a miracle worker and from that drawing, he did this:




Mr. T worked so hard and I'm so happy with it. He really deserves all the credit for this. I stayed up until 12:30 AM last night painting it all and organizing and I'm still not done. I will eventually label all the bins once I arrange everything in them a little better. I left the rod up in the closet so that if someday we move, this can easily just turn back into a closet. The shelves and desk lift right out and voila! Closet again.

The trim is something I looked at a few years ago to put up as chair rail in the nursery. I ended up just deciding against it. Mr. T called me from the store and started describing this moulding and I knew exactly what he was talking about. I told him that was perfect. When I painted it, the vine design disappeared. I contemplated how to bring it back out and thought about painting the leaves. I ended up rubbing some gel stain over it and like how it turned out.



This chest under the desk is something that's been all over the house and its perfect for larger things that won't fit in the bins. I can't put anything large or permanent there because there's a panel for our plumbing that needs to be accessible.

This chair is actually a match to the chest and has also been all over the house. I pulled it up from our basement where it was being used as a jungle gym by our girls and serving no other purpose.


When the doors are closed, the chair can sit in that corner and be extra seating. I hate it when two people are looking at something on a computer and there's no extra chair. Problem solved. Its not the perfect space, but it works and its better than what it was previously being used for.


I need to get a better lamp, but for now I just stole one of the milk glass lamps that was unused in the nursery.

Why am I so excited about this? Because this is how it was before:



Actually, the picture above is after I cleaned out some of what was in there! I have decided to keep this area just for crafting, gift wrapping and storage. We have so many photos that I've relocated them to shelving in our basement. Organizing that is going to be another project in itself. There is also more to do in the office itself - more organizing and a desperately needed ceiling fan. It gets very hot in that room, but Mr. T needs to mount the an electrical box to the beam and its probably 150 degrees in the attic so that's going to have to wait.

I'm just so happy to have the scary mess lurking in the closet gone!

Be sure to check out all the other transformations at Between Naps on the Porch and A Soft Place to Land!

The Office - Part II

Well, I haven't organized much, but I made a discovery last night that almost made me cry! While going through my mess of stuff and moving things around, I found this ...

They're my Happy Girl's footprints from the hospital. I had no idea I even had this and was always sad that I never had them. I had a c-section and thought maybe they just forgot the extra set for me with everything going on. While going through a folder of things given to me after I left the hospital, I found it. I was in a lot of pain, in a fog from all the drugs and extremely busy with 2 little ones that I guess I just never bothered to look through the folder. What a happy discovery - a true treasure.

Anyway, I've arranged the bins and boxes to maximize the amount of storage I have. It actually took some time to get it like this! Here's the result.


Much better than before, don't you think? I didn't photograph the lowest shelf because that will be changed. When all is said and done, I'm hoping for something like this.



Mr. T is working-at-home in the office so I can't work in there today. What can I do ... hmmm ...

The Office Project ..

I'm ashamed to post this ... Here's a peek into what was lurking in the closet of our office.

I had been planning to organize the space forever and between going through the mess, building shelves and painting its going to take weeks because I need Mr. T to work on it and I only have so much time myself.

Here's one piece of the project .... I kept buying boxes and more boxes, but never got around to actually doing anything with most of them. I didn't have enough boxes and some of the stuff was too big to fit in them. I could never find more than a couple of boxes in one color that I liked either. Frustrated, I abandoned the project. That's what I do when I don't know what to do next. ;-)



Mr. T and I had talked about what we would do in the closet. He tried to do the shelving for me while I was away so it would be all done when I got back (sweet husband!) but one shelf wasn't right. The project remained neglected.

Then, I came across some bins on sale on bins at Michaels. I found the perfect bin with blue and green stripes. One problem. They only had a couple. Over the course of the next week, I went to a different Michaels every. single. day. in search of the ever elusive bins picking some up here and there. I finally gave up and got other bins with similar colors.

Next, I spray painted all the mis-matched boxes to match the bin colors. The paper ones were easy. The fabric ones were not so easy. Rather than spray paint, I had to brush on the primer, but the spray paint worked on top of that. They didn't turn out as nice, but they work. Better than what I had before! I can always just go buy more of the paper boxes since they're pretty inexpensive. The learning experience here is this - if you can't find enough boxes in the color you want, buy them and spray paint them (but make sure they're paper boxes!

So, here are all the boxes painted to match the bins!


Next step is to go through all that mess in the first photo in addition to what you can't see on the bottom ... Ugh!

To Be Continued ...