the fox moved on up...and so did our office

The Fox got a new job. A working from home job. And what do you need for a working from home job? A place to work!

Yep, project mode was officially on.

The room we chose for the home office was the catch-all room. It was where many of my decor items went to vacation. It's where I housed all my craft stuff. It was Mr. Poose's room...

The Fox accepted his new position around Christmas. So, after celebrating the holidays with family, we swiftly came back and began the transformation. First, a plan. I knew for sure it needed 4 distinct areas:

1. First and foremost it needed to be functional for The Fox. After all, we were doing all of this because of his job. 
2. It had to accommodate all of my craft junk goodness. I can't pitch it! How else would I create my Halloween costumes? That mask, collar and wings are all leaf/moss encrusted... What was I? Great question. I went with forest fairy...yeah, I know.
   
   
   
   
   
3. I needed a space for my computer. Otherwise, where would I blog and edit pictures??
4. And Poose had to stay. We didn't have any other room for him. 

After some serious planning (and rummaging through random pieces of wood that my parents gave us when they moved this summer), we were able to easily design a layout that would work great for all 3 of us! Hooray! 

The kicker was storage. The room doesn't have a closet. Which is good and bad. Good because otherwise it would eat into the square footage of an already tiny room (9 x 9.5). Bad because it left us with zero storage. My immediate thought was bookshelves. I had the industrial look in my head. Like this:

(Source: Here)

But after pricing out piping and opting out of large, anchoring holes in my plaster walls, we went for option B - tabletop, freestanding, copper shelves. Surprisingly, the copper was cheaper - weird. 

It took us a good week to measure, cut, glue and paint all the pieces and parts, but in the end it turned out pretty good. I give you the mostly final office/craft room/cat lair. Can you guess who sits where???

Disregard the left side...we're still in working mode there. We've got to figure out what works and what doesn't for The Fox. So, let's focus on my side :).

Mr. Poose isn't quite ready to showcase his side either, so stay tuned for his post. 

The wall color is Eagle Rock by Benjamin Moore, but I had it created at Sherwin Williams since they were having a sale. Everything is something we had in the house or had gotten when my parents moved. In fact, the only thing we purchased for this project was the copper piping. It was a little costly, but it didn't break the bank. 

The things left on the wish list for this room are:

• More lighting - the limited table space makes having lamps difficult. I'd like to do either pendant or wall hung lighting.
• Better chairs - the chairs are some we had, but I'd like to spend a little money on more comfortable ones. 
• More organization - My stuff is mostly organized, but it's not perfect. There is a hidden bookshelf behind the door, but I just need to get my ducks in a row before showing that one :). 
• Get The Fox's side in order. It's killing me!

But other than that, that's it! The new home office. I'd like to say it's 1/2 The Fox's side and 1/2 my side, but let's be honest...It's probably more 1/3rd his and 2/3rds mine :). 

Happy decorating (and working), all! xoxox

curtains or bust

As we close out 2014, I figured one last blog post was fitting. There's no significance, but it seems like a pretty good topic on which to end; a fresh look for a drab room. So here it is! Enjoy!

I don't normally buy expensive (or new) items for my house. Things in my home are usually from yard sales, thrift stores or the side of the road, but there are some things that you just need to splurge on. In fact, shopping the way I do allows me to spend a little extra money on other things. Like curtains.

If you've never heard anyone say, "curtains make a room," let me be the first. CURTAINS COMPLETELY MAKE A ROOM! It doesn't always make sense to have curtains, like in a bathroom for instance, but when a room is lacking that special something, curtains are usually an instant transformer.

It turns out that curtains are one of those things that you get what you pay for. If you're talented enough to sew your own, good for you. Do it. Otherwise you'll spend a FORTUNE on store bought ones. Not to mention you've got limited options when it comes to fabric, pattern and length. Enter Tuesday Morning.  Not only did they have cute patterns in a decent weight, they had 3 lengths to choose from - 84" (standard), 96" and 108". Score!! I'd been looking for curtains 96" or longer for months! You can find them at IKEA, but they are usually either super modern or very bland.

Ack!

Blah...

Now, most of the foursquare's rooms are 95% complete (I don't think they are ever 100%, especially when you're a decorator), but there was one room that was screaming "HELP!" The dining room...

Yuck, right?! It kinda resembles a padded cell, without the padding... Also, this was taken after a party, so please disregard my hodge podge of junk on the table..

Now, I wasn't necessarily looking for curtains at the time, but curtains are one of those things that when you find them at a good price, buy them! And thank goodness I did. When I finally put them up, it was instant style. I didn't event need to paint the room! It's crazy!!

So, you wanna see the after? Do ya? Do ya?? Ok, here you go!

Notice I took them straight to the ceiling. I wanted to elongate the room and allow the curtains to puddle the floor. I HATE when curtains are too short...

See how short curtains just cut a room! It's like wearing high waters! No, sir. 

I digress.

Hanging curtains added a whole new dimension to the room. And I didn't even have to paint! Crazy, right?!

The runner is from Carolina Pottery and the china is my grandmothers. The candlesticks and pitcher in the middle are from a family member on The Fox's side, and the other items are from yard sales. Like I said, I don't buy expensive often.

This is our flow over bar area. See our main one here (scroll to the bottom). The mirror is from Goodwill, cart from a flea market. Other items were picked up here and there...

I leave you with an artsy shot :). I got a new tripod for Christmas so I was testing it out! I hope you all had a great Christmas! I sure did. 

Stay tuned for upcoming projects....next is the office! Ekk!

Happy New Year!