Work space reveal

Before now, we didn’t have a work space in our apartment. We would sit in front of the TV with searing laptops on our laps and hazily go back and forth between staring at the TV and the occasional burst of work on the laptop. Enough was enough and I felt we needed a work space area in our living room. No more TV distractions. A place to sit and pound on the keyboard. So one lazy Sunday we traveled to IKEA where I scoped out options, measured, made decisions, stuffed my face with Swedish delights, swore at flatpacks, assembled, tweaked, designed, snapped branches, and finally, sat down. And here is what I ended up with … 

Our very own mini office nook! What was in this space beforehand was a tall shelving unit holding our vast DVD and game collection. This corner got a lot of neglect, but it was a great spot to add a little work space. It’s more so perfect because it is easily hidden behind our living room door which is always kept open {as seen on the right}, so you don’t see the work space until you walk right into the room. 

Thanks to my inspiration pictures, there were some basics / key pieces I had in mind for our desk to make it feel more encouraging to sit at …


1 – I added a bulletin board to give height to the desk space as well as somewhere to pin {the real meaning of pin my friends} my favourite stuff up. I decorated the bulletin board itself by spray painting thumb tacks / push pins and adding them as a decorative border as well as painting the wood trim in a deep charcoal colour.  2 – One of our wedding invitations gets pride of place. 3 – Our new lamp, especially thrifted for the new nook. 4 – My new business cards {that I still can’t hand out in a professional manner. So much cringe}. 5 – My fool-proof quick and cheap revamp – an empty hot chocolate tin covered in electrical tape6 – I added a stack of my favourite books and magazines. Some are for visual purposes only {that top one is a catalogue and is going on 3 years old, but I love the colours on it}, along with some of my favourite magazines. Along with a desert rose I picked up on our Tunisian travels. 7 – My framed QR code cross stitch, perfect for any desk. 8 – Stay strong as one of my favourite pillow sets, picked up from TK Maxx. 9 – I went with the ALEX desk from IKEA. It was the perfect size for the limited amount of space we had in our living room, and I mean really, do I have to state the obvious? It’s called ALEX. Plus it was on sale for €79. Hells yes. 

I’m pleased as punch with our mini office nook and I feel like such a grown up sitting at it. All we need now is to frame both our college degrees and hang them above the bulletin board. Too legit to quit.

xx A

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14 Comments

  1. May 7, 2013 / 18:34

    Cuteness! I did the same type of desk of Hubby's comic room/office, and he ended up getting all cray-cray with the label maker on the drawers. Nice, eh?

    Yours is the perfect size. Too big, and it gets cluttered. Love it.

    • May 9, 2013 / 16:21

      Shut. Up. I was going to use a label maker and put little labels on the corner of each drawer. This is getting scary.

    • May 10, 2013 / 17:01

      I just hung some of Mo's comic book art in his office. I will post it soon and try and get a photo of his label-love in the process.

  2. May 7, 2013 / 21:06

    Oh I just love it!!! Such a gorgeous space, it looks so inviting, welcoming you to sit down and blog! Good job! The desk is perfect – sometimes we just have to go with things that have our name already on them, right? My wedding dress was called Holly too, so that kinda made that an easy decision!

    • May 9, 2013 / 16:23

      Woah, that's crazy Holly! You just can't fight something like that. As sappy as it sounds, it was meant to be! And it makes for an awesome story.

    • May 10, 2013 / 16:59

      To add to that – but not really.. my dress was by Mori Lee, and my Hubby's name is Morley. I thought it was funny at the time, but now maybe it is a stretch?

    • May 12, 2013 / 08:29

      Not a stretch whatsoever. I think that's awesome and just adds to the day. I however don't remember the name of my dress, and I got married only 6 months ago. Fail.

  3. May 7, 2013 / 22:26

    Wow – that looks great. Very organised and stylish! It all works really well together, you must be so chuffed with it!

    Yes, you are right about my big purchase! Hopefully it won't be too much longer now… and there will be before and after shots on the blog as the decoration progresses! Although, don't expect the kind of quality of your interior design – I just haven't got your knack!!!

    xx

    • May 9, 2013 / 16:25

      Maria you have such gorgeous and colourful ideas and designs. Your handmade stuff is so inspirational, I have no doubt you will fill your new home to the ceiling with incredible personal details. So jealous, and congrats again!

  4. May 11, 2013 / 08:03

    Now that is cute, I did have a wee giggle about the desk being called Alex, that is kismet. Gorgeous styling.

  5. May 13, 2013 / 12:50

    So neat and organised! I love how it's practical and inviting, unlike most home office spaces!