Office Reveal

I am excited about showing y'all the office today!  There hasn't been an update about our house in a long time.  It feels good to have the space finished and organized.

Most of the decor and furniture I already had.  The only purchases I made for the space were the DIY filing cabinet desk (bought materials and filing cabinets), the 2 navy chairs, and some office supplies.

Here is what the space looked like when we bought the house.

This is what it has looked like for the past 12 months.

AHHH!  And sadly that is the clean version of how it looked.


But now it looks like this.

This dresser holds all my craft, sewing, and miscellaneous supplies.  I love using dressers for storage.  Its a great way to keep everything hidden in plain sight.  This dresser was part of the set that included the armoire I used for the dog feeding station.

The closet is used for storage and organization.  I have had the blue and cream storage boxes since I had my first tiny home office that was in a closet.  :)

My first home office...which was in a closet.  I am very thankful for my entire room home office.

The closet in the home office has my ironing board, iron, sewing machine, work out equipment, extra electronic chords and items, camera equipment and other important materials.  The room feels much bigger and the closet is much more usable with the doors removed.

I am obsessed with the navy chairs I found at Homegoods.  Love them and want enough for my dining room.  Not only are they pretty, they are comfortable.  I have a great place to work and there is an extra chair for Blittle to sit and talk to me or vice versa.

This office has to be and stay organized.  I am now running more than one small business out of the same place plus our personal papers arena the space.  I meal plan, coupon and budget so I essentially have 3 businesses in one office.  To keep things straight and organized, I have the new business calendar, files, to do list, etc on the left and Fisherman's Wife Furniture on the right.  Our menu calendar is in the kitchen but I have files for coupons, menu planning and budgeting in the office.

There are a few small things I still need to get done but it is mostly finished.

I need to sew/buy a curtain.  Nothing crazy and fancy.  Just something to add character and block light or give privacy if needed.

The rug probably won't stay.   I need something to protect my floors but this one is an incorrect size for the space.  Also, the texture is not that great for moving a chair.  A low profile, smooth rug would be perfect.  

The other is a project for the blank wall.

There is a plan but I can't tell you what it is just yet.  That will come when I can tell you about the other business.  Its very scary and exciting at the same time when starting a business.  I am so proud of my husband for having a dream and sticking with it. There have been some bumps in the road but things have smoothed out and are looking good.  Fingers crossed we will have success.

Hopefully, I can share the details on that soon.  :)

Filing Cabinet Desk

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Some of you might even have today off, too.  Blittle does so we are finally going to see Unbroken and get a few chores done around the house.

Over the weekend, I used my new office several times!  It is so nice to have an organized, beautiful space to work in.  Something about it makes me want to work harder.  Silly, I know, but true.  I posted this picture on Instagram yesterday of me using the desk for the first time writing tomorrow's blog post and you got a small sneak peek of the room.

Now to tell you about the filing cabinets and desk.

I have been using the plastic crates filing system for our important papers but I have never loved it.  It is nice that it is portable, especially during hurricane season, and that's about it.  Having a filing cabinet in the office was a must so I decided to go with a filing cabinet desk.


I shopped around on Craigslist and a few local forums for some cheap used filing cabinets but could not find any.  This project was on some what of a time crunch so I bought new.  I found this filing cabinet at Office Depot for $25.  At that price, I didn't mind putting holes in it and painting it.  :)  I bought two and got to work.

Several things needed to happen for this cabinet to be functional for us.  First thing, I needed to add height.  I am tall with long legs and I like to cross my legs when I sit.  I know that's a bad habit...I am working on it.  Anyway, tables and desks are sometimes my enemy.  I hit my legs on them all the time and often they are too short for me to cross my legs under them.  To create height, I added 2x1's to the top and bottom of the cabinet.  I forgot to take a picture of this.  FAIL.  I was in a hurry.  I used the Kreg Jig to create pocket screw holes and made two rectangles.  One sits on top of the filing cabinet.  The other on the bottom.  I glued and screwed them into the filing cabinet.

To cover the added wood, I framed the top and bottom with moulding then caulked and filled the seams.  The paint what was left over from the dresser that is also in the office.   The generic plastic pulls were replaced with some pretty chrome ones.

To protect my floors and help keep things level, I added some adjustable feet.

The top of the desk is made of poplar 1x6's glued and screwed together.  I decided on an aged, driftwood treatment.  I love the dark stains but I wanted something a little lighter and beachy for this room.  I love it!

Yes, that is me in my wedding dress on a boat.  :)

The desk chair has dark legs so I am thinking about sanding them down and doing the same driftwood treatment on them.  I'll let you know what I decide.

The desk is a perfect place for me to blog, do paper work, sew, meal plan, etc.  I am so excited to have a designated work space.

That is all I am showing you today because tomorrow, I am revealing the entire office!

Monday - Inspire Me Monday (Sand & Sisal,  My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Domestically Speaking, Sweet C’s Designs)  Made by you Monday (Skip To My Lou)

Tuesday - The Makers (Tiny Sidekick, Persia Lou, Upcycled Treasures) Show and Share (Coastal Charm)

Wednesday:Wow Us Wednesday (Savvy Southern Style), Inspire Me Wednesday (Seven Thirty Three, Happiness is Homemade) Be You tiful (Art is Beauty)

Thursday: What To Do Weekends (Crafts ala Mode ), Friday Favorites Link Party  (I’m Not a Trophy Wife),  The Best DIY Party at the Handmade Hangout (A Glimpse Inside, Christina’s Adventures, From Gardners to Bergers, Redoux Interiors, Too Much Time on My Hands), Inspire Me Please, (Liz Marie Blog) Catch as Catch Can (My Repurposed Life), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode, and The DIY Village)

Friday:  The Party Bunch (The Idea Room, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry, The 36th Avenue),  Anything Goes (Bacon Time),  Be. You. Tiful Link Party (Chic California), Creativity Unleashed (Practically Functional, Shaken Together, One Project Closer, The Bold Abode)  Fabulously Creative Friday (Jennifer Rizzo Blog)  Anonymous Weekend Party (Remodelaholic) Little Friday Link Up (The Grits Blog,  Living Lavender, Fleurty and Fit), Anything Blue Friday (The Dedicated House)

Finally Organized the Office

I have fallen off the blogging band wagon.  Again.  Over the past few months, finding time and energy to blog has been a struggle.  One of my goals for 2015 is to be more consistent at blogging and sharing work.  Now I have a pretty office to work in so hopefully that will help me stay focused.  :)

A year ago I did a post called My Dirty Little Secret and showed all of you my "office."

Yeah.  It was bad.  I don't want to talk about it.

I made some progress getting it cleaned up and organized.

I lost steam on making it the office so it became the catch all room that I tried to hide from guests.  Over the past year it has been in various stages of messy and clean but has never been a functioning office....even though we still called it the office...hilarious.  Anyway, my husband and I have started another business venture, I'll fill you in on that another day, and we NEED a home office.

The room needed a desk/work station, a filing cabinet/system, a surface for a large printer and it needed to be pretty.  I wanted to get this done on a small budget and tried to use items we already had.  Remember, I had a junk room full of stuff that could be used.  :)

The blue dresser will stay in the room.  It has all my craft and sewing supplies and its a great place to put the large printer.

Filing cabinets are not that attractive so I wanted to incorporate them some way in the room and not have an ugly filing cabinet standing in the corner.  A filing cabinet desk came to mind immediately.  Something like this....

I couldn't find filing cabinets on Craigslist or on our neighborhood forum and was on a bit of a time crunch so I bought new.  This filing cabinet was only $25 at Office Depot.  I bought two to make my base for the desk.

The only problem is the filing cabinet is boring and not a great color.  I added to some detail to them and painted them!

Monday I'll show you the details on the filing cabinets' makeover and the desk.

Tuesday I'll show you the entire office.

Have a great weekend everyone and check back on Monday.  Also, be sure to follow me on Instagram to see special sneak peeks and what I am up to.  Facebook hides my posts from most of my followers so Instagram is the better choice.

Dining Room Table & Banquette Seating Area

Happy Thursday!  I hope everyone is finishing up their Christmas shopping and getting things wrapped. :)

Over the past few days, I have shared a hutch to wine bar makeover and a custom coffee table.  This same client needed dining room furniture.  We decided to go with the same rustic, farmhouse feel I created with the coffee table for the dining room table.

Back to this picture.  The dining room table is the second something beautiful I made with these supplies.

I am obsessed with these legs! 

I love this table so much, I am thinking of building myself a new table just like it.  :)

Now there is the issue of seating.  Traditional dining chairs are always an option but her dining space is on the small size and is in a corner.  Also, there is a backdoor to the outside and the entryway to the master that can not be blocked.  Things were going to feel cramped with chairs.  She has two young kids and entertains regularly so plenty of seating was a must.  I suggested an L-shaped bench to wrap around the corner and provide plenty of stationary seating.  This is a great way to provide tons of seating in a small space.


I built two independent benches that fit into the corner to create one large, L-shaped bench.

Also, the space is very neutral and a pop of color was needed to give the space some interest.  There is a huge blank wall so I asked her if she liked the banquette look.  After showing her some examples on Pinterest she said she wanted to try it.  EEEKK!  I love when clients are adventurous.


Here is the back of the banquette.  Yes, that is what this picture was about.  This is fabric was used for the throw pillows in the living room and is where we pulled the colors for the coffee table and wine bar.

I was so excited about all of these peices.  This project is out of the norm for me and I loved seeing everything come together.  I also loved seeing this neutral new house become a home with character and color.

I have had dinner at this table and sat on these benches several times already.  It is comfortable and fits plenty of people.

I want to thank my client for trusting me with all the design suggestions and projects.