I like to think Ikea got the idea from me

Spotted this desk and children's work space layout in the hot off the press 2014 Ikea catalogue.
Looks a little familiar, me thinks Ikea stylists might be looking in the pages of this little blog for inspiration.  This is Ikea's directly below, scroll down to see mine or check out the original post Where Miss J & I work which I posted in March 2013. 

The workspace Miss E, Miss J and I share in the family room.  How is that for a similarity! 

Don't worry Ikea, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.  It is possible that I saw a similar layout in a previous catalogue, but I am notching this score up to me.

home office inspiration

We may not need a formal dining room in our modern homes but we all need a home office.  How gorgeous would it be to work in these beautiful spaces every day.

Love the placement of this desk in the middle of the room facing out, a very luxurious use of space.

I am not a huge fan of the ghost chairs, mainly because they have been used everywhere, but they would look good in an office space like this. 

 I love everything about this office space and the antique Chinese chair I found to go with it.  I saw a pair of these come up at auction of few weeks ago but didn't have any clue what to do with them at the time.  The desk looks like it could be an auction find too, ugly but good ugly.

These spaces would certainly make paying the bills slightly sweeter.  Which is your favourite?


|  Aerin Lauder home on DesignRulz  |  Marie Olssen Nylander House on StyleKoo  | Ghost Chairs  |  Marie Olssen Nylander House on StyleKoo  |  Antique Chinese Chairs  |

where Miss J and I work

This is where I post from.  Usually Miss J is seated next to me in her little lavender chair busily drawing with her crayons.  A pad of office paper covers her entire table so she can draw anywhere she likes but I have to keep an eye on her because she does like to draw on the floor.

A gallery of far flung family and friends watches over us.  

When Miss E is home in the afternoons she can sit at the twin desk to mine, on the other side of Miss J.  Three busy B's in a row.

This side of the room is mostly tidy, if things are not put away in the draws they get moved by Miss J.  But don't be fooled, the other side of the room where the toys are is not as serene.  More storage is on my to do list!!  But for now I can turn away from the maelstrom and dream organised blog dreams.

Realised that everything white is from Ikea, all the desks and the frames.  I am hoping they have the solution to my toy storage too.

All photos by Eva of BuildHouseHome
Have a lovely weekend everybody.

in search of serenity again

I was thinking of the beach, driftwood and seaweed.  Birds, a hint of green.  Sepia, a hint of horns.

Have a lovely weekend, sip some wine, laugh a lot, snooze a little, love those dear ones, life is to short.

Deer print by Nan Lawson, Bird vase designed by Gemma Orkin from West Elm, Seaweed botanicalsI found this restful desk space on Father Rabbit, and was wondering what I would put in the shelves if they were mine.   If you could see my desk right now you would know why this appeals!  I am going to get it clear and enjoy this lovely spring sunshine with my family. 

Don't you love.....double the function

A friend of mine has had me thinking about furniture layouts for smaller living spaces, with fewer, larger pieces of furniture, investment pieces to use in a future home.

So I am thinking - dining table doubles as console or desk.

Image via Number Nineteen
Cute set up as a desk for two.Images via Shannon Berrey from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles 2008 Designer Showhouse
Works as eating space for two.  Pull table clear and place chairs all around when more people come over.  What do you think?  Any ideas?

How to protect a timber floor?

MrB's bench press has been in the alfresco for months ... as he has already filled up his detached garage with cars... and there is no way I am letting him put it in any of the spare bedrooms since I am trying to eaven out the floor colour ...

Do any of you have gym equipment or weights on timber floor? If so, what have you got in between in order to protect your floor?

I've been looking at amazon.com and although there are a few options such as rubber tiles and mats, I am not sold on their looks as they will be taking up a portion of our home office/study :(

Amazon.com

B

Home office progress ...

So this is as far as I got with our home office. Disappointing, I know :(

I am once again second guessing my decisions and am wondering if I should stick with my original idea of floating shelves above the computer desk, or if I should perhaps go with some art work instead? What do you think? 

Also, we originally planned to have the computer desk closer to the window, which is why we put the power points more to that side. I've now moved the desk so it is in the centre of the wall, but the problem now is that the two power points on the right now stick out. Do you think this is a biggie? Would you rather have power points on the right of the desk or have the desk of centre?

Please excuse the modem. It will eventually be hidden in the cinema built in unit but for now it will have to stay here.

I would love to hear your suggestions as to how to pretty up the desk? I recently bought a small fish bowl vase, would that work, with some flowers in it of course? Also, where can I buy pretty mouse pads?

You can see here how the power points stick out ...

Any ideas on how to conceal the cables?

Bulkhead all around the room

B

I'm sure I would be more organised if... I had this desk

It might not make me more organised but it would make me happy.

Just needs a bunch of peonies to make it perfect.

via Decorpad

Making the most of Expedits in our Home office/gym

The door of our home office/gym faces North and the window faces West. The computer desk has to be along the wall where the door is as that's where all the computer/telephone/internet etc access points are.

We've got a couple of Ikea Expedit bookcases and I would love to hear your suggestions as to where they would look best... I've come up with some possibilities but would love to hear your suggestions as always :)

• An Expedit on either side of the computer desk - although I would love the symmetry of this... I am unsure of spending so much effort on something which won't be seen from the door *shy*
• An Expedit on either side of the window - some of it will be seen from the door, but the fit will be tight
• Both Expedits along the North facing wall 
• An Expedit along the North facing wall and another one along the wall where the door is (next to the desk)

Some more info:

• The room is 4.3m long and 3m wide
• The ceiling is 2.7m high
• 300x300 bulkheads all around
• The window is 2.4m high (goes all the way to the bulkhead)

An Expedit on either side of the window

An expedit on either side of the desk

What do you think?

B