Feathering my nest

It is finally starting to turn cold. Not that I object to the 70 degree weather we have been experiencing here in St. Louis; just remarkably balmy for this time of year. What a gift it has been! But I knew winter would eventually arrive. Whenever the nights grow long and there is a chill in the air, I have this overwhelming urge to work on the house, redecorate, move furniture, clean closets, and organize. I feel like I am settling in and feathering my nest.

This year my efforts have focused on our offices. Since John and I both work out of the home, office space is very important to us and to date we haven't gotten it right. Although we have been able to do our jobs, I think we both felt somewhat compromised in our set ups. I felt like I wanted to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing look, something that suited my personality. And John was making due with a crappy old desk that wasn't nearly big enough and didn't begin to meet his needs.

So, major reorganization has begun in the Shaw household. First of all, I knew for sure that I didn't really want the teak furniture anymore. Incredibly, all this furniture used to be jammed into my tiny office. It is lovely, but not my thing and thankfully John wanted it. The photo shows him hard at work at his "new" desk.

I wasn't quite sure what I wanted instead. It was one of those deals where I felt I would know it when I saw it. My ideas, as usual, were all over the board, but included - shabby chic, sort of retro, a little kitschy, but also homey. All the while maintaining a fresh and organized appearance. I wanted a place to hang out in comfort, a refuge of sorts. The kind of spot where I would walk in and sigh with comfort knowing I am home.

This blue table was the first step. I saw it and immediately knew. Of course I didn't realize it would be such a major league pain in the ass to move into the room but that's a story for another day. Geez. And the little green chest of drawers belonged to John's mom, one of her many antiquing projects. I found the star wall hanging at the same shop where I bought the table. And the "bookcase" at the side of my "desk" is actually the hutch from the crappy old desk John was previously using. That was John's idea, to sit it directly on the floor(he's so smart thinking out of the box). It works perfectly and allows me to have all the office stuff that I need (printer, scanner, working files, paper stuff) right at hand. Not shown in this picture is the rest of the desk, a large table that houses my mongo size Epson printer and my light box.

I have still not made decisions on paint. If you look closely at the picture with the star, you will see some of the contenders, all taped to the wall. John's office also needs to be painted and transformed from a child's room into a more elegant executive space. He has chosen a warmed taupe that will be lovely with his eggplant futon couch (not shown, it's where the cats and I hang to watch him work). And I still need to find the perfect cozy chair for my space plus a bookcase. But we are on our way - I will post more photos as we refine our efforts. This is just the beginning.