Over the summer of 2010 I had the Hubz build me a fabulous “shelf-desk” – I painted it, and I bought a filing cabinet to work with the “shelf-desk system”… I decided early on that I needed something on the wall, above the desk, (the room has slanted ceilings, which you’ll see in the pictures below). So I hunted around the web a bit and learned I could make custom bulletin boards out of a product called, homosote (available at your local Home Depot, and often used for sound proofing). I had the homosote cut by the staff at HD, brought it home, upholstered it, and had it hung all while my husband was away on a business trip!
I generally like my custom office space, but over the past few years the space has gotten increasingly cluttered. I love the functionality and “custom-ness” of the desk, but I totally wish I had drawers and cabinets that close…(I need to get rid of some junk). The used filing cabinet looks, well – used. And the fabric pattern on the boards is beginning to wear on me.
Office Overhaul #2 :: The Plan
Weeding/Decluttering
I’m spending a weekend weeding and deciding what I really want around me while I work. I know I don’t want the overflowing desk “organizer” (you know, of of these divided bins for paperclips, staples, and other such stuff). I read an article here that totally supports how I feel about this:
“Decorate a home office with items that are both beautiful and essential.”
I want to work in an environment that is aesthetically pleasing and functional.
Over Desk Bulletins – Take 2
As mentioned above, I’ve decided that the bulletin board fabric (the orange/white floral business) just doesn’t suit me. Although, it does add a pop of color and some function, (which was my original intention). I like the orange color, I didn’t realize it had little birds all over it until I unfolded it and started upholstering. [The fabric is actually outdoor furniture upholstery. Using outdoor fabric is recommended because it can take thumbtack abuse that regular fabric just can’t.] In any case, I now find the pattern too busy, and am ready for a change…. and in terms of functionality I might not even use the boards for pinning, because that gets messy looking too. The boards were becoming the equivalent of a vertical exposed *junk drawer*. ///You might consider asking why I don’t paint the wall itself or hang other artwork. Well, the walls are original to the house (more than 100 years old in some parts) and are in pretty bad shape. It’s one of few rooms that hasn’t had the horsehair removed, (something my California compats know nothing of); a fresh coat of paint might actually highlight the walls’ imperfections even more and hanging anything in this room is a challenge because screws and nails are not easily anchored. ///
Sooo, I am going to paint the boards and then stencil (!!) them, with this cool stencil! I am uber excited, and plan to do some overlay of the image… in at least 3 pleasing-to-me colors.
Filing Cabinet Make-Over
I really love my filing cabinet. At the time of the original office overhaul, I bought said cabinet at a used office furniture supply for about $70. New cabinets from Staples, are super cheap in construction (do you know these that easily dent and warp?). One can buy new more industrial cabinets, but they tend to be WAY expensive…. I love mine because it is super sturdy and it doesn’t require hanging files since it has these sliding levers – check it out at right.
I’m not sure I knew of this style of cabinet until I read Getting Things Done a few years ago. The hanging files take up a lot of space, and the added bulk takes away from the ease of using the cabinet as part of a “system.” ///Reading GTD also helped me simplify the way the files are set up. I just label them what they are and don’t over think categories like I used to. Before I might have “household” as a hanging file, and a bunch of individual files in it. Now, I just file alphabetically, by exactly what the thing is. Furniture is with all the other “Fs” and Paint Swatches are with all the other “Ps” – oh, and I bought a cool Brother labeler at the time too. LOVE being able to read the labels. The cabinet insides look good (almost pleasing) and I no longer loathe the thought of having to find something within – and oh oh, I recently needed my license plate number and was not near my car. The Hubz, was able to easily find a file that contained the information!!///
ANYWAY – I plan to paint the filing cabinet!
Painting it isn’t such a big deal, but emptying it, getting it downstairs, and having a weekend nice enough means this might not happen until the end of April. I will use a high quality spray paint, probably in a dark gray tone. I will remove the handles and attempt to clean the heck out of them. (The cabinet suffers from a poor paint job; only the front was painted, and the handles were not removed!)
Inspiration/Vision Board – a minor change
In the last year or more, I decided to hang my remaining bit of homosote as a vision board. I LOVE my giant board, (and it’s been interesting to see its evolution in terms of what I like to visualize) but I think it needs to be lowered, so this task is on the list too.
Desk Organization
I will look for some cool jars, cups, whatever to house my pens, rubber bands, and tacks. I have also seen some cool hanging file holders, that I might use as an “inbox”… and maybe a cool magazine holder for those I don’t want to toss. Pinterest and Houzz.com are great for ideas here. I took a look at what Target has in the desk org category and wasn’t too inspired. I plan to go to Christmas Tree Shops (Big Lots) to find cool jars and other “containers” not necessarily designed for office space.
Have I mentioned I am super excited about this overhaul?
I am so excited that I want to plan another office overhaul in the near future!!
So, I am running a little campaign – why not let me help YOU overhaul your space to be more functional and pleasing??
Read more about the contest and complete application here.
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