The home office.  Do you have one?  What do you use it for?  Over the years, my office has been used for my wedding planning business, for writing and blogging, for Dan’s MBA studying and as the center of home operations.  But it truly became the dumping ground for all things unknown.  If I didn’t know where to put it, it went in the office and it became quite a mess.

Then back in January on the airplane to Disney World, I caught glimpse of a magazine photo with an IKEA cubed shelf.  Could this possibly be the beginning of a solution to my storage and book shelf mess?  I saved up the money, threw the kids in the car one very early morning and made a run to IKEA.

Later that night, the four of us put together the shelf and the office renovation project was started.  I looked at colors, thinned out what I had, and organized more papers (the endless game).   And the end product:  love!

But first, I must show you the before pictures and I have to tell you that my stomach is churning for even revealing these photos to those outside my most immediate family.  So let embarrassment run over me, because you have to see the “Before” photos to see how far the transformation has come!

Prepare yourself:  it is quite a mess.

I had too many books, too many papers, too many little things that I didn’t know what to do with them.

And then, deep breath of fresh air!

The color is Robin’s Nest by Benjamin Moore and I am in love with it.  It is relaxing and revitalizing at the same time.  The black makes a striking balance with a little red thrown in for fun.

A carpenter friend made this table top for my two filing cabinets (I know the cabinets don’t match, but I’m not about to attempt painting metal . . . for now anyway).  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut vinyl for the quote and as stencils for the embellishments on the table top, which I carried to a couple places in the room.  This surface has been great for crafts and also using my Cameo (a great improvement over my dining room table).

The quote, “Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?” was a perfect fit for my personality and comes from Peter Pan.  (Incidentally, Amazon has a new starter bundle if you’ve been thinking of getting a Silhouette Cameo.  It is a couple bucks cheaper than usual and includes an extra mat, extra cutting blade, metallic pens and pick me up tool.  Bonus!)

The silver, wall-hanging buckets from IKEA now hold my scissors, sharpies (yes, they get a whole devoted bucket – another love!) and pens.  I’m enjoying having the pen holder off my desk and working area.

Ah, the wonderful IKEA shelf that saved my books’ lives.  The baskets and containers now hold:  my “active” binders, the magazines I have yet to read, Dan’s miscellaneous and even two empty for future growth.  Don’t worry, I’ll fill them eventually.

The little nightstand (also from IKEA) is the perfect fit for all my paper and cardstock.  Plus it holds one of my Thirty-One bags to collect little items that need to be returned around the house.  Now, only to not let it get too full.  And my Jar O’Broken Pieces is so much better than random heads and legs thrown in a drawer.

 Allume friends, remember this little freebie?  Fits well in the room!

Now, you may be thinking . . . why did she do it all right before moving?  Well, when I started this, I didn’t know we’d be listing our house so soon and preparing to be on the way out.  But I loved doing it and truthfully, my next office will be the same color.  I do have a nice black shelf that was to be put above the three bulletin boards, but the thought of messing up a wall for a couple months . . . well, it isn’t worth the frustration Dan and I would have trying to put it up!

Special Thanks to Sarah of Taylor Design Studio for helping me decide between two shades of paint and giving great advice for where to hang things on the walls!  You are amazingly talented!!

Have you organized or renovated a room lately?  What are your new loves about it?