Yes, this is where the *magic* happens. The basement computer cave — walls painted with Sherwin Williams avocado — where I research and write the blog every day. Yes, I cleaned everything up (see stories where I come out of the closet about my mortifying office mess aka vintage hoarding.) Overall, this office — which measures just a tad larger than 9′ x 14′ — works quite well for me. In 2011, I added an Ergotron standing work station, the rya rug, and in bursts, I started putting up some of my vintage finds on the wall. Now, though, as a continuing outgrowth of my *project fever* (see living room lighting project also launched), I am also going to do some major project work on this room.
Basically, the plan is to: Take out the 10′ row of bookshelves…. put them into my husband’s office… and add lots of working space for collage projects. I think there will be lots of moving stuff around — to create a large U-shaped work space that maximizes every inch of available wall space. There may be cabinetry, shelves, peg board and cork board involved. I may do a few things to improve the heating situation $$. We’ll see what I come up with. I am not sure. I am going to start by moving out the bookshelves, then I will see how it all “feels” and figure out next steps. There will be *chaos* and *indecision* and *researching 8,000 alternatives* and *second guessing*. Haha. Welcome to the way I make decorating decisions.
Right now, doing my collages regularly is hard, because I use the dining room table. We keep that space very tidy — so I have to keep moving my collage equipment in and out, from boxes on shelves in the basement to the dining room and back again. By added a dedicated crafting space to my office, I will be able to work on my collages a bit each day, and to keep all my materials organized (haha) and at hand.
Fortunately, DH’s office needs reorganization, too. About 7 years ago, he became a high school teacher. He took over the guest bedroom (also in the basement) for his office. We never “designed” it to suit his needs — and like me, he spends a significant amount of time there. So there is actually a third household project project this spring: (1) Living room lighting, (2) Pam’s office, (3) David’s office — a “his and hers” home office remodel series! The first step, though, starts in my office. This week I will be going through all these bookshelves … tossing out what we don’t need anymore … giving away some books … and moving some of the stuff to other storage locations in part of the basement that is unfinished.
Above: The view toward the door(s). We use this tall dresser for office supplies. It’s vintage Conant Ball — and actually may be Russel Wright… valuable. I am not sure if we’ll keep it in this spot or not…. The size is actually great — there are doors swinging in from both the right and left. That vintage rag rug, picked up at an estate sale in Pittsfield, is kind of clashy, I know. But, it’s quite functional — the door on the right leads outside, where Astro goes to do his business. I need a landing space to wipe his muddy feet.
I want to try to complete this project without spending much money at all. We have a lot of things around the house that I might be able to use to create my crafting space. Alternatively, I’ll look for vintage at the Re-Store. Also, this is a working space. I want it to be pretty, yes, but it doesn’t need to look like a home office in a magazine shoot. I want it to be functional and personal to me. I’m aiming for tidy, yes, but I think there will likely be a lot of open shelving and the like — because I want to see what I have to work with. I want the office to be a collage with lots of layers, lots of visual complexity.
So, my home office remodel is under way. I work fulltime on the blog now, so this is a room where I spend a ridiculous amount of time. I just about live in this room. I’m very excited about adapting it even better to make it *my happy place* falalalala.