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.
2 Responses
Thanks for posting the article about your home office. I have a standard “Office Max” (assemble by the numbers) setup in my office. I am considering upgrading and giving it to my kids for their work area.
With all the hype about IKEA I was afraid to set foot in the store. I figured I would see EVERYTHING I wanted and then the next thing you know, I’d need another job just to keep the lights on. 🙂
Based on your comments I’m going to see what type of ideas I can get from IKEA (and most importantly) stay within my budget.
Thanks…
Charles M….
IKEA Home Office Rescue update:
I have successfully started the separation of my office and the kids work-area. Thanks to IKEA and some of their creative products the kids have their own work-area and more importantly I have my office back to myself. I am still going to enhance and expand my office with the multi-functional bookshelves that IKEA has.
I see a great friendship between IKEA and myself building. 🙂