mini project: cork board

I actually managed to get both of the kidlets to sleep at the same time this afternoon, so I did a little project I've been meaning to do for awhile: a cork board for my office. Super simple - just some paint and tape. I wanted to do dots originally, but I have a bit of a compulsion for having straight lines so I decided to keep it straight.*

I made two boards with two different pink chevrons. I keep saying that I'm over the chevron thing but they keep calling back to me.

Et voila! I had a pair of pictures in this spot before, but I moved them to the other wall for now. I still need frames for them anyway.

*I realized looking at this picture that my top chevron is in fact not straight... This might end up bothering me, but I think I'll just tell myself I was going for a checkmark look instead.

sunroom office revamp: the desk

Would love to get rid of that big black screen but I need it for work!

You didn't think I would clean up one part of the office without touching the other side did you? It was a disaster as well. We took the big photo down and added some shelves. There are still a few things to do here like find some frames for those posters I taped up under the shelf, make a new pillow cover for the chair pillow, put up a bulletin board and clean up those f^&%ing cords under the table - blah! I hate cords. I also need a filing system of some sort for the desk. I had one here but moved it to the desk in the basement for paper for the kids and now I don't have an 'inbox' for bills etc.

Anyway it's way better than it was! Judge for yourself!

and the fabric winner is...

Waverly Cross Section!

I'll be honest, I prefer the Geo Maze, but I don't think the colour is right (might look more brown next to my grey chair), it was significantly more expensive than the Cross Section, and the Cross Section description says it has a soil and stain resistant finish, very important for a family with kids and a furry cat.

So that's the winner for my sunroom/office bench! I should get it this week and then I'll get to work!

Happy week!

new project: sunroom office

It's time to work on my next project - the sunroom! It's been a bit of a sore spot because it always seems to be the gathering place for everything that doesn't fit anywhere else. I'm always trying to keep stuff to a minimum, but it never seems to work. It's where I work so I'm looking to make it a place that's fun and inviting.

I'm pretty sure I know the culprit - the bench! 

It always looks messy because I've been using it as a shelf for some of my papers and things, but I'm ready to make a change. I'm going to put a cushion on it (a la this bench from I Heart Organizing) with pillows and find somewhere else for all the stuff (it's questionable I even need this stuff!).

I also want to get this room cleaned up because you can see it from the dining room so something a bit more inviting would be nice.

A couple more shots of the really neat space :).

I want to keep the bench fabric pretty neutral and I'll dress it up with some pillows. Here are some options from Tonic Living I'm looking at:

Courtyard, Oyster

Cross Section, Charcoal

Geo Maze, Ash

Graphic Fret, Flax

Small Ikat Dot, Buff

What do you think? What would you choose? Any others from the site? The Geo Maze, Ash and Courtyard, Oyster are speaking to me, but I'd love to know your thoughts!

ps-Thanks to Shannon for giving me some tips on taking pictures of windows! Getting there!

chair swap

(still need to figure out those darn cords!)

I decided to do a bit of a chair swap yesterday. I moved my new basement office chair to my upstairs office because it's the room that gets the most light for picture taking, and I really like the look of the chair in there now! Oh what to do? I think I'll keep it up there for now since it's on the main floor.

This is what was here before - I think it's a change for the better, no?

the chair games

I came over to my desk to pack up my computer for the office tomorrow and of course I got flipping around through the net, wasting more time when I should really be curled up on my couch reading The Hunger Games. The more I moved from site to site, the more my neck began to strain because the chair I'm using is too high and I'm hunched over. I need a new chair girls and boys (are there boys here?).

This is still my favourite office shot.

Source: bhg.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I love this chair and would love to find something comfy like it to add to my little desk nook (pics coming soon - I'm almost done adding fixing it up!).

This one is pretty but since the rest of the room is kind of rustic it's likely a bit much

Source: restorationhardware.com via Nevalee on Pinterest

How fun would this be?! (I'm a bit over the chevron thing though...)

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Kind of cool and would go with the playroom part of the room (Leo could paint on it and you wouldn't be able to tell! ;))

Source: theglitterguide.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

This one is perfect!

Source: wanelo.com via Janie on Pinterest

Just kidding...

This is such a pretty chair - but not for the office (see how I get distracted?)

Source: countryliving.com via Motoko on Pinterest

Ok time to follow-up on what Katniss is up to...

blackboard borders

So there's a little area in the basement I don't think I showed you and that's our little desk/play area. It's not finished yet and I'm excited to get it done because when I start work again in a couple months, I'll likely be working down here a lot of the time.

One of the projects I want to get started on is the chalkboard wall. Originally I thought I wanted to paint the whole wall on the left side of the bulk head in chalkboard paint, but then I got thinking it would be fun to try something different. I started poking around on Pinterest to see if I could find some fun chalkboard border ideas.

Source: sweethomestyle.tumblr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I love this over all look, especially because it's an office setting.

Source: None via Stephanie on Pinterest

This is cute for the play look and feel I'm going for.

But then I found this...

Source: littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

...and I fell in love with the shape. So my idea now is to paint this shape onto the wall. I was looking around the 'net for border ideas and found this:

...and then I was on gap.ca and found this!

This is turning into quite the run on post! Anyway so you get the idea now so stay tuned for the final project!

office love

My office is located in a back sunporch type room in my house which I love because I can look out into the garden, but I'm just loving this office -- it's so organized and I love the rustic desk paired with the fun ikat blue chair. Love it.

Source: bhg.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Getting there...

Bit by bit we're getting there with the house... this weekend we were able to add more to the kitchen to really make it feel more like home. I still have to make a roman shade for the window and then I'm done! I've ordered this fabric and can't wait to get the room finalized.

Until then, here is a pic of our new shelf!

We mostly put it here to fill up the space above the stove... I recently bought the print from Eva Juliet called Les Cuilleres which I am totally in love with. I also put some limoncello bottles from our wedding/honeymoon as well as an oil carafe from my husband's relatives there.

I also thought I'd share a couple pics of my home office.

I spend a zillion hours a day here because I work at home four days a week, so I really wanted to be a reflection of me. The walls are grey (I have a slight obsession with grey...), the main pic is one my husband took on a trip to Newfoundland a couple years ago, and the side pic is one from printspace called bird stack in red... My computer wall paper (which is covered by a bunch of icons...) is actually a pic from Alicia Bock from the Kindred site. I find it so calming.

So we're getting there! If you want to see more pics of the house so far I've set up a Flickr set here. After the upstairs is done I hope to have some befores and afters ('cause we've just ripped up all of the carpet and will be replacing the hardwood in the fall and right now it ain't pretty!).

Happy Monday!