I’m all about designing and organizing my home office lately. And, it has been more than a year in the making.

When we moved last year, I had to sell my handsome, yet functional HON (That spells quality for those of you who are not “in the know.”) executive corner desk with low hutch, multi-drawer unit and 2-drawer lateral file. You might have seen the Craigslist posting.

The desk was gi-nourmous and had distinctive style . . . plus, enough drawer/storage space to make Oprah jealous! Okay, maybe not that much, but it was alot of space. In fact, listen closely and you may hear Home Improvement’s Tim Allen grunting his signature “hrr, hrr, hrr” right now.

Anyway, I’ve suffered this last year with a small spec of a rectangle and a 5-shelf  ‘over the door’ wire hanging system. Yeah, the kind in your kitchen pantry.

Then, after months of searching for just the right desk to fit my awkward and relatively small home office space, IKEA entered my life.

IKEA (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/) opened their Charlotte, NC store location just shy of two months ago, on February 23rd. The Swedish home furnishing products retailer offers a wide range of well-designed, functional and exceptional quality home furnishings at prices so low that everyone can afford them. Unbeknownst to some of my best interior design and professional organizer friends, I had never stepped foot into this amazing “amusement park for adults,” as my husband calls it.

I’m sure your words echoed mine, on your first visit: “Oh, I’m only here to look.” And look I did. And touch. And feel. And oooooh. And aaaaah.

Needless to say, our vehicle could barely inch it’s way home when we left — as it was crammed full of cardboard boxes. I found the perfect (and very stylish, I might add . . . ) desk/bookcase combo with lots of storage for an unbelievably reasonable price.

Talk about a cure for the work at home “blues!”

Immediately, I felt more productive. It’s funny how new office furniture can do that for you, eh? I got more done today than well, in a long time. I purged and filed things that may have been growing mold.

Now, I’m hunting for paint colors.