2.04.2014

A Post From the Corner Office


Back in March of 2012 I wrote a post entitled, "Paging Virginia Woolf," a reference to the essay in which Woolf posits that, "a woman must have... a room of her own if she is to write..."

My post was in response to one written by Karianne at Thistlewood who had asked, "Where do you blog?"

At the time, I was blogging in my kitchen:


Admittedly, it was not a bad little spot, but I desperately wished for a "room of my own" in which to write.  

After reading the post, my daughters generously offered me their playroom.  As sweet a gesture as that was, I knew that if I took over the playroom, their toys would take over the rest of my house (and that was a scary prospect).

So my husband suggested that I put an office in the corner of our bedroom.  

This was also a sweet offer.  I thought about it for a long time, weighing the pros and the cons, and while I ultimately decided that I should do it, I actually did nothing for a year-and-a-half.  

Silly as it sounds, this paralysis was due to the fact that a giant (heavy) armoire occupied the space where my "office" would go.

Finally my husband and I tilted the beast on its side and slid it into our hallway.  (You can read about how we eventually got rid of it HERE.)


With the armoire out of the way I was left with a beautiful open space to play with:



And that empty space now looks like this:


Isn't it great?  

Allow me to take you on a tour.  

I knew that I wanted a Parsons style corner desk and was lucky enough to find one at Pottery Barn Teen on clearance.  The white version was sold out but I guess teenage girls weren't so interested in the espresso because I got it for under $300!

With the desk in place, it was really just a matter of creating a functional (and beautiful) work space using (mostly) what I already had.  Loyal readers will recognize these letters that I made back in October of 2012:


Right below them hangs a cute canvas, celebrating my addiction to love of coffee, that I bought at a local craft fair.  


Decorating with the things that I love is important to me and so is the ability to switch things up when the mood strikes.  For that reason I decided to hang the DIY Linen Pin Board that I made back in June of 2013 above my desk:


I ended up liking it so much, that my daughter and I made two more for the adjacent wall.  You can see them in the picture below.   (Want to make one of your own?  Learn how HERE.) 


The board immediately above my desk contains both important schedules and little tid-bits that I enjoy such as fun postcards or pages clipped from a catalog.  


I even keep a cute pair of scissors on the board so it's always at arm's reach.  


The pin boards aren't the only DIY in my corner:  it shouldn't surprise anyone that I turned an old salsa jar into a pen holder.  The jar rests upon a coaster that my daughter made in school.  (Gotta start 'em crafting young.)


Of course not everything is DIY'ed or recycled.  I purchased this three tiered tray at Target as a repository for all of the little things that can accumulate on a work surface.  


I love that the third tier is actually a bowl.  It's just perfect for paperclips and other tiny things.  I also keep pins for my pin board there.  I've stuck them in a cork which just happens to have my name on it.  :)


Another item I bought is this mouse pad.  I got it from the Mulberry Press Etsy Shop.  I hadn't used a mouse in years but recently bought one with an external keyboard.   As I browsed etsy for a mouse pad I was thrilled to come upon this one.   The quote is something I say to my girls all. the. time.  (Just ask them!)  I thought it was a particularly good reminder to have next to my computer while I browse other people's blogs and Facebook pages, drooling over their beautiful and seemingly perfect lives...  ;)


After admiring THIS accordion collator from Anthropologie, I was thrilled to find one (for far less than $58) on a clearance end cap at Target.


It holds these pretty file folders...


...and sits upon a "Flat File Coffee Table" from Cost Plus World Market.  I'd always wanted a flat file--somewhere that I could store all of those oversized pieces of the girls' artwork I've collected over the years--and while this is really meant to be a coffee table, it serves my needs just fine!


So there you have it,  I finally have a room of my own!

Okay, okay, it's a corner.

But a corner office is kind of a big deal, right?

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20 comments

  1. Wow. You look like a professional blogger. Don't forget about us little people :). I lover your nook. It's perfect. Filled with so many sweet and interesting details.

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  2. I love it! It's so clean and organized and beautiful! I think that everyone needs a bit of space of their own, if they can't have a room. :)

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  3. It looks fantastic what a great redo! I really like the wall art letters and your use of the cake stand. Very creative :)

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  4. Such a perfect space, Elena. I love all your little touches as well. I almost purchased that same three tiered tray from Target the other day. It looks perfect on your desk. Enjoy!

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  5. Such a creative space! Love all of the details (zinc letters, art work, etc)!

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  7. This is so nice! I agree, it's nice to have a spot of your own!

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  8. What a gorgeous work space! I turned the closet in our playroom into my office/craft space but I'm still trying to find ways to make it more functional.

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    1. Thanks, Danielle! It's still a bit small for crafting (I mostly do that in the garage) but I was able to move my Silhouette there and that has been really nice! :)

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  9. Love how you broke it down step by step - having something beautiful often takes a lot of work and is a long road - congrats on seeing it through all the way! I'm jealous as I had to surrender my office to my husband when he began working at home this past summer. We have a spare room and I'm entertaining the idea of turning part of it into a work space that will look nice, uncluttered enough to host Google Hangouts on Air..... gotta keep visualizing this so it will come to fruition!

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    1. Thanks, Joann. It took a long time to get to this point but it's been worth it. Good luck with your work space. I hope it is everything you want it to be!

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  10. This is such an awesome space you have created. LOVE everything about it! Great job!

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  11. What a wonderful space. It looks like a great place to be inspired. I wish I had a space to carve out, but definitely not in our tiny condo we have now. Great job.

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  12. I'm playing around with a corner/wall office area too. I like what you have done and am thinking of doing the same. I was thinking of a corner desk, that could only be in a corner or having 2 desks side by side. I think I'm going to play around with the ideas more before I go to IKEA to get the desks. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I think my fave things here are your letters and the pin board! I love that you have three! I would do the same thing too. There's so much to see here, yet everything is very well-organized. I love your space. Very inspirational!

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