Displaying posts labeled "Workspace"

Hot off the presses – Mae Brunken is at it again. Her peeps emailed us this evening to show us Mae’s latest project. It’s such an amazing transformation that I wanted to post it ASAP.

Here’s a bit of info on the space: “Mae Brunken Design is adding the finishing polish to the guest quarters of a Pacific Palisades estate. Previously tasked to re-design the main property, Mae Brunken returned to update the poolside guest quarters. Re-designed to be a writer’s office and artistic escape, housing the owners’ additional guests as well as providing extra storage, the project is a great example of the new interior design trend: Maintaining luxury through practicality.”

Some before photos…

And VOILA, here’s the space after Mae worked her magic…

Here are some specifics as to what Mae did to transform the room: “Natural linen window treatments with contrasting yellow trim soften the space while providing privacy. The furnishings are both versatile and comfortable, with a custom daybed doubling as a resting place for both the afternoon writer and the overnight guest. The Eames ivory lounge chair and ottoman accentuate this versatility, implementing a vintage modern office aesthetic and maximum at-home comfort. The desk is the functional focal point of the room, made of rich macassar ebony zebrawood and offset by a polished stainless task lamp. A Suzanne Sharp rug from The Rug Company in yellow, gray and ivory warms up the room and also presents a graphic background. In addition to accommodating a writer and guests, the guest quarters also delivers additional storage space. Made of the same macassar ebony wood as the desk, the opposing wall has been fitted with filing drawers that also double as nightstands, and bookshelves that house awards and reference.” Summed up in one word – PERFECTION.

One of the few rooms in my house that is somewhat finished is my home office. Back in May I posted about painting the floors and the frame of the door. Before I began the kitchen renovation I had managed to complete the space with some revamped furnishings and lots of vintage finds. I think it’s about time I share the progress.

It’s a pretty small room – 10 ft long by 11.5 ft wide, with a 5ft square bathroom in one corner, making the room L-shaped. One part of the L is my office, and the other part is an entrance from the back deck. Here is what it looked like right after I moved in.

It was awful. Pale blue walls, unpainted trim (the entire house had unpainted trim – WHY???), and the hardwood was totally uninspiring. It was a really fun room to redo and since it gets alot of sun I wanted it to be cheerful and bright. First thing I did was paint the floors, trim, walls and ceiling white. My pink laptop should be on the desk in the photos below but it’s a cold room in the winter so I’ve been working on the dining table since the kitchen was completed.

Below is in the left corner as soon as you walk in the room.

I love piles of fabric. I love piles of anything really. Fabric, books, magazines… (the 2 beaded boxes on top of the books hold the ashes of 2 of my cats that have passed away in the last few years)

The desk is an Ikea table top wrapped in vintage retro fabric, and topped with a piece of glass (some photos were taken before the glass was bought). The inspiration board over my desk is made from some trim I found at Home Depot that I spray painted and made into a frame and I nailed a large piece of cork to the wall behind it.

The chair is a vintage Herman Miller Eames that came upholstered in green fabric, that I found at a local antique market for $160. The souvenir pillow cover I found on eBay. It is now in the trash, as Felix, gawd love him, peed all over it. The lamp I found at a local mid-century shop for $40.

Below are some tchotchkes I have on my desk. The grapes I found on eBay, the dog letter holder in Etsy, and the clock I bought several years ago at an antique fair. I write with markers as often as I can.

Next is an armoire I spent alot of time reworking. I found it at a flea market in a town about an hour from here for $159. It was a darkish brown wood (see here), so I dry-brushed it with the
teal paint I used in my dressing room. I removed the door and built shelves for the section that you would ordinarily hang clothes in. I bought some vintage wrapping paper on Etsy and mod-podged it to the shelves. It stores my copier/scanner on the bottom shelf, and behind that is my modem/router and all that fun stuff hidden away. Everything you see is either from eBay, Etsy, local vintage shops and an Asian shop in the Byward Market.

I walk through Chinatown and Little Italy on my way home from work. I stopped in a shop in Chinatown one day, found the pot below and another one, and carried them home (HEAVY!). The yellow Eames shell chair I bought on eBay from the same shop where I bought the green lamp. The curtain fabric I found on Etsy, and since I don’t sew I used that iron-on tape to make a hem and used curtain clips to attach them to the rod. Easy peasy.

Jo had suggested I paint the frame of the back door yellow, and it is one of my favourite touches in the room. When the kitchen was renovated I tore out the only closet on the main floor, so this back corner is where I stash my outerwear. Below is also a photo I took standing against the window, looking into the (new) kitchen. (I haven’t gotten around to painting that little ramp into the office yet).

So that’s my office in its current state. It’s an addition to the house and since it’s not very well insulated, ideally I’d love to tear it down and rebuild it bigger and properly insulated. I may settle for making the powder room smaller, and building a closet where the coat hooks are (it’s currently not wide enough there to have a closet where coats could hang). The powder room is hideous, hence the lack of photos. So there’s still work to do. The list somehow seems to keep growing no matter what I get done…

… what were they thinking? A study in the bathroom? Forget the idea of a parents’ retreat, even a phone by the toilet or a TV above the bath. Is this taking it a bit far? The only person I know how corresponded from the bathroom met a sticky (or should that be soggy) end. I’ll be back with more retro bathing beauties from Making the most of Bedrooms & Bathrooms, by Mary Gilliatt, Orbis Publishing, London, 1983 later in the week.

Like Jo, I have been so busy the last week or so trying to get some work done in my house. There are some exciting things coming up that involve my place and Jo’s that we’ll tell you about when we can. But in the meantime instead of doing a regular post (since I am lacking in time) I thought I’d post what I’ve been working on, and purchasing, lately.

For starters, I spent a few hours yesterday (with some help…thanks Jeff!!) putting up a forest mural in my living room. It was painstaking, and worrisome because we ended up with alot of bubbling, but this morning when I went downstairs, I was relieved to find out they pretty much all flattened out once it dried. PHEW. I love the result. It’s kind of wacky, and that’s my style. The cat on the couch is a pillow I bought on Etsy. Nah, just kidding, that’s Jo’s favourite cat Lucky.

Now for the office. Last weekend I painted the office floor-to-ceiling white. I finally said buh bye to pale blue walls, and ugly light oak hardwood. The room is SO MUCH BRIGHTER now. It gets alot of sunlight throughout the day, and with everything white, it’s just such a nice room to spend time in, as I do…ALOT. My desk was super long, so I cut it down and covered it in some eBay fabric I’ve had for a while. Jo suggested I paint the door leading to the back deck yellow, and it looks awesome. I have a ton more work to do in there but it’s a good start.

I’ve gone a little nuts lately on eBay and Etsy (and local shops) looking for trinkets and furniture to finish off some rooms with. Today I received 3 parcels, and am waiting for a bunch more. They included the pincushion chair, the resin grapes and the metal tray. The lamp I bought yesterday at a mid-century modern store here, and the table I bought last week at Value Village. It really needs a coat of paint, and I’m not sure what to do with it. I also have 2 chair cushions at an upholsterer so more photos to come hopefully later in the week.

Jeff of ChiefHomeOfficer wrote us on Christmas Eve with a story and photo of one of the most thought-out and organized home offices I’ve ever seen. I have to post it along with his detailed email because I am quite jealous baffled that someone can be that organized and have such attention to detail. Thanks Jeff!

Greetings and salutations from South Florida. I’m Jeff Zbar, a two-decade veteran of the work-at-home experience. I thought I would forward you an image of the home office from which I work as a freelance writer and business expert.

Trust me, this office is NOT the stuff of some Ikea Winter 2007 catalog. My current home office – my fourth since I started working from home in 1989 – is the result of every other space from which I’ve worked, including loft condos, townhomes and our former quaint, starter home. The desk itself it was borne of my own designs and years of experience. No Home Depot kitchen-counter-turned-office-desk here, as was the case in one of my first offices. This baby was designed by me and custom built with attention to a variety of otherwise “little” detains. At 10 feet long, it has plenty of room for both working at the PC or writing on and reading paper materials. At the left side, the corner angles away from the wall, so my monitor can rest the requisite 18 inches from my face (ergonomists everywhere would appreciate that). Among the other features any work-at-home dad would appreciate are locking cabinets and drawers to keep my then-toddler and preschooler fingers out (today, I’m not as concerned about where my 10-, 13- and 16-year old kids’ fingers go; the less they bug me for office supplies or use of my printer, the better). The desk includes an under-desk CPU cabinet with doors that close and latch (originally designed to keep our then-little kids’ fingers from pushing those enticing green buttons or pulling on all those wires and cables in the back). The doors both have cut-aways at the top to ensure sufficient air from an under-desk fan blows through to cool the CPU. It also features grommets leading to a wirechase that runs the entire 10-foot length from the CPU cabinet all the way to the enclosure at the other end that houses my color printer and other supplies. A task lamp has been fashioned as part of the desk itself, and my phone is mounted to the wall to clear additional space – including two inches for the four-port USB hub so I can stop reaching under the desk to plug in accessories. The Broadband fax machine [a VERY cool device, if you haven’t written about it in the past] actually sits on a pedestal, designed just wide enough to slip two plastic inbox trays under it for even more storage).

In my closet, I have a scratched-and-dent discounted Hon four-drawer file cabinet, and built shelving to add additional storage. I also installed two shelves above my desk to get other accessories, knicknacks and momentos off my workspace. The walls also are like a quilt made of my kids’ art, pictures of family life, and a few lithographs of distinction in my feeble attempt at culture. To my left while seated is a large window, providing a view of the front yard, my kids at play, and passersby all (after all, home officers should be the workday eyes and ears of the neighborhood, no?). To might right is what I consider the power tool of any home office: My doors leading to the home itself (“power tool” because when I’m working and the house is haywire, I can close them in a feeble attempt to stifle the ruckus, and when my day’s done or the weekend’s come, I can close them again, in a feeble attempt to keep myself from reading just one more email or filing just one more article).

A black leather loveseat sits behind me for when my kids return from school and want to chat – assuming, of course, the terrier has vacated his space and agreed to the intrusion. And, of course, my drum kit rests mere feet away. Some execs have their treadmill. I have my kit. Hey, if you’re gonna work from home, you might as well work from a space that’s efficient, comfortable – and fun.