His and Hers Office

This is our actual working office/sewingroom/craftroom/library/studyhall so it may not be perfect, but it's at least organized (don't open the closet door) and I love organization that can last more than a day! Oh and I'm sharing it with a man so it's really the best I can do. ;)

So speaking of sharing, for our "His and Her's" Office Space I wanted to represent us both. So after some thought I knew that I loved Neoclassical design, he also loves U.S. history (same time period) and we both like modern clean furnitures so I went something a little like this....

But first.

-The desk is a life savor! I love that each of us has a place to work.

-The chairs are also from IKEA and I added the "his" and "hers" to the back.







Above on the wall is a glass board (IKEA) that I use as a whipe board and calender. It's great!

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There are also boards above each of our work space were we can tack things.
I've put up there places we've been and places we want to go, and projects I'm working on.

And no work space would be complete without baskets with cute chalk board labels.
We already had these 2 shelves so we put one on each side of the table to create our own "unit"

I just fell in love with this bunting when I saw it on Whipperberry.com and knew I wanted to make it (see below). I think it incorperates a hint of Neoclassical inspiration without going overboard

(dining room, Mt. Vernon)

Some of my inspiration the color of room and the bunting came from Mt. Vernon, MD. George Washington's home. We went there last fall and I fell in love with it because each room is painted an amazing shade of blue or green.

I have a feeling Martha W. and I would have been great friends.

So again, the use Neoclassical style and US History, combining 2 things we love!


I also love the raw fabics since I love to sew.

How-to: Take one Lloonngg piece of fabric the length of the what you want and then tie other scraps of fabric to it. I stuck with cream, whites, blues and greens.


Neoclassical wouldn't be complete without a couple of Busts!

The man and woman I found at the thrift store work great in my His and Her office.
Neoclassical also has a profound use of Symmetry

(notice the picture of the dining room above also). I also have a profound LOVE of Symmetry. I was inspired by that for our little reading/studying nook below.

And the desk area above is also rockin' the symmetry.

We love to sit here and read or study. To see how I did this wall, go HERE.

(I promise those lights are at the same height but for some reason it doesn't look that way in the picture)


This is also a little Ode to Neo C. a table with a little fluted column.

Notice when I talk about this room I say "inspired", not reproduced. I wouldn't say the room is Neoclassical, but was more or less influenced

My suggestion for doing a His/Hers space is to make a list for each of you with everything that you love- to do, colors, style, jobs, hobbies or whatever until you see common thread. Shouldn't be to hards since you're married right? You should have something in common! Once you find that thing run with it! But try to do it in a more subtle or fun way.

Oh and more Neoclassical, just because I can.

Where do you blog from? and Dealing with a Kitchen Office

At my house the office is in the kitchen.  There are pros and cons to this floor plan.  Since I am stuck with having my office here   I might as well try to make it look nice. Currently I can't do anything about these 90's oak cabinets, but a few accessories and a burlap bulletin board I made brighten it up. 

I'm still looking for a cute mug or something to replace my pencil holder next to my urn aka treat stash, and topiary

(never mind all those receipts back there that need a home... and chords that need to be concealed:-))

I often see these wooden office organizers at Marshalls.  This was a bigger one but still only $14.  (Office max types will run around $21 & up.)

Now, why get a pretty file organizer and put boring manila files int it?  Micheals sometimes has files in the dollar bins, usually 4 or 5 for $1. 

One of my most favorite things about getting organized  is the folder I made that has a special tab for "Husbands Stuff." 

 Gone are the days of him asking me where I put his stuff,  because I just point to the folder, and now he doesn't ask me anymore:-) 
I love when simple things make your life easier.  

...and just because I am missing my old house here's a little photo of my old office, a little more roomy than my pseudo office now:-)  It still needed paint but it had room for a sofa and I just finished making the window treatment... and I lived down the street from our grandma... it was great and I miss it.

I've been on a huge organizing kick lately, I'd love to hear any tips you have to share!

Office Graphic Wall

This is a wall in our office/craftroom/library!

To see the whole office go HERE.

I would have done wallpaper or paint but since this is not "my" house I had to come up with a different, less permanent way.... So after searching through stores I found this heavy duty WRAPPING PAPER! $3 a roll! It also had to be wide enough so the frames wouldn't overlap the edges.

How-To: So at the top I folded over the edge of the paper and put thumb tacks through. The fold hides the thumb tacks. It worked great, ABOVE: I've pulled out the paper so you could see.

It still needed a bit more to make the paper lay completely flat so I bought BLUE paint and PAINTED the thumb tacks and stuck them along the top and sides. Crazy I know! You can't even see them! I also put a tack on each side at the bottom.

This is a frame from IKEA, I never liked it black so I painted it white. I was lucky enough to find an un-damaged one there too.


I also found these lamps in the AS-IS at Ikea, I can't even tell that something is wrong with them. They were $2.99! Taking a page out of Laurens book I added some ruffled fabric around the bottom of the lamp shade.

We just love to sit here and read and study.

If I ever want to change out the "wallpaper" for a different color I can always go to the party store ;).