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Saturday, January 26, 2013

The Embarrassment & the Inspiration

 
We have been lucky in that we haven’t had to move much in our married life.  Before December, our last move was 9 years and 3 children ago!  And although the house we moved from and the house we moved to are of similar sizes, nothing ever fits in just right.  You know what I’m talking about, right??
 
So there is one room (OK, maybe there are two…) that became the “catch-all” room…you know, the one where you put everything that doesn’t have a home yet. 
 
For us, it’s the “formal living” room, which is just to the left of the front door as you come in the house.
 
office 004
 
We do have a plan for the room…it’s to become our NEW “front-room-turned-home-office.”
 
The last one ended up like this:
 
Red Hen Home Office
 

You can see my other office projects here:

**  Wooden Folding Chairs **  Plank Wall ** Map Wall ** The Desk

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What happened to my beautiful desk, you ask?  Well, the buyers of our Utah home wanted it—who can blame them?  And we let them.  I regret that now sometimes!
 
Because…if you need a reminder…this is what the room looks like now…
office 003
Snow White loves the camera!
 
office 002
 
So I’m sure you can see why fixing up the office space is our highest priority in our new home.  My husband is not enjoying on a card table!
 
He would have been happy with IKEA furniture, and we even looked at some a couple of weeks ago.  But I’m not “eclectic” enough to match this:
Red Hen Home card catalog 1
 
with this:
GALANT corner desk-left, silver color, birch veneer Length: 63 " Width: 47 1/4 " Min. height: 23 5/8 " Length: 160 cm Width: 120 cm Min. height: 60 cm
 
…which is what my husband wanted.  A big empty table to spread out on, and room for more than one computer.  But I told him that the thought of all those exposed CORDS and WIRES gave me HIVES!  Really.
 
So in case by now you’re wondering what the point is to all this, I’m going to tell you.  We’re compromising.  I’m getting built-ins, and he’s getting a big desk space.
 
This is my inspiration photo this time around:
 
 

The biggest difference will be that our desk space will be 6 feet wide and have a wood surface (not painted).

I’m super excited to have found a local carpenter to build this for me, and it should be done in two to three weeks!  Because until now, I have spent FAR too much time drooling over office spaces on Houzz and Pinterest, and laying awake fretting over it all.

Although there are still LOTS of decision to make in putting the room together! 

Hope you’re up for the journey with me!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Still breathing

A few of my sweet virtual friends have wondered what happened to me  ;-)

Well, I’m still around!

But the Red Hen Home has officially changed locations…from Utah to Washington!  When did all this happen?  In December, right before Christmas!  So it has been a very busy time for my family, and the blog kind of fell by the wayside.

So here’s a little update for those who are interested.

We moved in on the 17th of December, and the NEXT DAY was my baby’s 5th birthday. It was a scramble to get the kitchen in some kind of order so she could have a birthday dinner!  Thankfully she allowed herself to be convinced that ice cream sundaes would be a grand birthday dessert, and I didn’t have to try to bake a cake!

The next several days there was MORE scrambling to get unpacked, as I HATE living in limbo…and I couldn’t imagine trying to feel Christmas-y while living out of boxes!

I would say we were probably 90% unpacked (inside the house) within the first week.

After Christmas, I started tackling the garage!  It was not an easy task to fit everything from a garage, a garden shed, and my beautiful workshop into one two-car space!  But I am exceedingly proud of myself that on the 4-week anniversary of moving in…we were able to park ONE car in the garage!

Inside the house we are very snug and comfortable, and my mind is starting to spin with projects I’d like to do.  First on the list—a home office again!  Our beautiful office furniture was included in the sale of our Utah home, so we’re working off a card table…and not enjoying it!

Then we also have an empty dining room.  Well, it’s not completely empty….

beautifulplace 004

…it’s the new home of the suitcase wall!  ;-)

It feels more like home just to have it up again!