Wednesday 25 April 2012

A Micro Office of One's Own

Morning all! I'm back!

Don't ask me why, but life has felt particularly busy these last few weeks, and I haven't spent nearly enough time writing. It's hard to believe how much I've missed it!

While I could certainly benefit from some extra free time, and perhaps a bit more self-discipline, I really think a little workspace to call my own would help me stay on track.

It seems laughable to admit, but unless I'm sitting at our dining room table typing (like I am right now), I do the better part of my writing on my iPhone while commuting!

These aren't unbearable conditions for the creative process by any means, but with distractions like the hustle and bustle of the city or the TV on in our combined living/dining room, I wouldn't call either of these scenarios 'ideal'.

Often I come across photos of nooks and crannies that people have converted into desktops or 'micro offices' like these ones below, and I'm completely enamoured.

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How cute are these?!
I think creating a workspace like one of these would be such a fun DIY project, and not at all hard to do, but I honestly just don't have the space for it with our current floor plan and layout.

While they're not necessarily used to their fullest potential at the moment, the only two spots that might do the trick in our place are already very much spoken for...

There's the front entry way "closet", which is essentially a crawl space hiding behind my West Elm sheers, and the laundry nook off the washroom.

But who feels like writing in a windowless space, squished between storage shelves and a stacked washer/dryer set?

Not this girl! 

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Perhaps one day I'll make something of this daydream, but for now I suppose I'll just have to make do!

Have you created a home office for yourself or a special space to hide away for a little R&R? How did you make it work?

More importantly, how did it make you work?

KLI | NofW




Monday 9 April 2012

My Next Project!

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From what I've heard around the blogosphere, I'm not alone in my tendency to leave bedroom items at the bottom of my design wishlist.

Well, that's not exactly true...

I have plenty of ideas and items on my to do list for this room that I'd love to see through, but seeing as any guests we have over generally stick to our other rooms (all three or four of them!), those spaces seem to take precedence.

One thing that I have been pining for over the last few years is an honest to God nightstand.

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It took me a while but I've finally succumbed to the fact that MLo has absolutely no intention of to relocating or repurposing the little shelf he's long used as his bedside table.

In other words, I must accept that a matching set is not just not in the cards.

Having said that, I now have the luxury of choosing whatever I want for my side of the bed, no ifs ands or buts about it. Not a bad trade off, if you ask me!


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Since I haven't quite fallen in love with any particular piece yet (and certainly not their prices), I've thought a lot about restoring a garage sale find or giving a makeover to a nice second hand piece.

This would be significantly cheaper, give me a project to tackle and hopefully add a unique dimension to the room.

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Then as luck would have it, our friend announced he was getting rid of all kinds of furniture and housewares before relocating to China, including some modest end tables and I jumped at the chance to claim one for myself! 

Making the time to actually get to this project is the hard part, so stay tuned, but for now these are a few photos I'm looking to for inspiration as I gear up for the this DIY project...


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Obviously I have some varied taste when it comes to bedside decor, so I'll have to give it some more thought before I get to work.  

While I continue to brainstorm, tell me, do any of these pieces stand out to you? What do you look for in a nightstand? Storage, style or something else altogether? Do tell! 

KLI | NofW