You Light up My Office

Happy Monday!  and for once I actually mean it!  I'm so happy that spring is finally making an appearance here in Mass!!!!  As I always say, I'm solar powered, so the long drawn-out winter just drains my energy, momentum, and motivation.  It felt so good to get outside yesterday and go for a run (and NOT freeze my patootie off).

I'm also excited about something I got done inside.  Slowly but surely, I've been replacing all the boring and/or hideous light fixtures in each room of my house.  I've previously replaced the lights in the living room, dining room, entry way, front porch, and Hubby's office.  The bedroom light is a bit of a larger project since that room still has a plaster ceiling and cast iron electrical box (!).  I'll tackle that sometime with Handy Dad's help, so I focused on my office instead.

The old light was just a snooze.  literally (just ask Charlie)

The only think I had done to this light before was switch around the shade with one I had removed from Hubby's office.

There used to be flowers on the one in here... not really my cup o tea.  Beyond the shade, the fixture itself is old, dingy, completely painted on, and doing nothing to hide the cracks right next to it.  The shade fix just made it bearable for a few months longer, but for the past six months I've been giving this IKEA light googly eyes.

At only $29.99 I'm not sure why I kept resisting the purchase, but at one of my recent IKEA trips for Clark the flip house, I finally broke down.

It fits perfectly in my office!  The light is less glaring because the shade really softens it, AND it hides all the ceiling blemishes.

I love the subtle texture of the shade too.  Even Hubby (who normally goes along with my changes just to make me happy) was impressed with the low-cost upgrade.

That's one more thing checked off my office to-do list, but there's still more.  I'd say this room is 75% complete.  The most obvious, of course is that my desk is missing.  My beautiful secretary desk that I'm refinishing got put on hold with the flip.  I'll finish you soon, I promise!

I hope you're enjoying the advent of spring weather as much as I am!  Happy April 1st!

A Ledge and a Challenge

When I went to IKEA last week (and purchased these curtains), my primary purpose was to price out a kitchen for Clark.  My secondary purpose was to pick up a picture ledge for my office to show off a bunch of artwork that's been piled in the closet for months. I had pinned this image a while ago

and I figured a picture ledge was the perfect thing for my office so I can change out my inspiration whenever the mood strikes (or whenever I find some awesome thrift or tag sale deal).  The link on pinterest doesn't lead to a source, so if you know where it came from, please share!

I installed my new picture ledge directly over my settee in my office and started loading it with pieces I've collected.  I still need to curate the collection a bit, but that's the fun of using a picture ledge.  I can change it on a daily basis if I want to!

I tried to convince my furry model that she wanted to curl up and get comfy for the photo, but the sunlight on the window sill was more enticing.  At least I was able to get one decent pic first!

Oh, and it's time for this season's Pinterest Challenge!  The hosts this season are Sherry from Young House Love & Katie Bower from Bower Power Blog as always, in addition to Michelle from Decor and the Dog and Megan from The Remodeled Life.

I already know what I want to do for it, but you'll have to wait until next Wednesday to find out!

AND check back tomorrow for Clark the flip house's week 1 update!!

Office 2.0

The saga is over- the home office has been Hubby-fied.  About a month ago I claimed our guest room/den as my new office and forfeited the existing home office to the Hubs, his video games, and his music composing.  As part of his birthday present, I bought him a second monitor to facilitate his music editing and restyled the room accordingly. I'll admit, I'm really pleased with the space, and excited to share with you, but I'm less than thrilled about the photo quality.  Daylight is elusive for the blogger with a 9to5 job and I'm far too impatient to wait for the weekend to photo it properly first.  A proper photo-shoot will follow soon, but until then, please don't hold it against me.

Prior to this make-over, the room had been in a bit of disarray.

4 chairs in this tiny space was 1 too many.  Once my parents closed on their house, we sent the big beige chair to go live with them.

The saga of this room was really about the computer monitors.  A comedy of errors, but less funny.  The new monitor was intended to be a surprise installed before he got home on his b-day, however the delivery man had different plans.  He ruined my surprise by delivering it a mere 5 minutes before Hubby left for work.  FIVE MINUTES!!!  Aaaanyway, the first monitor that I ordered to match Hubby's current discontinued monitor wasn't wall mountable.  I didn't even know they made monitors that you couldn't mount these days.  What is this, the ice age??  So came the second monitor.  The same model, but wall mountable.  Too bad the screen quality looked like poo and had half the contrast ratio of its discontinued counterpart.  So I gave up on trying to match the existing and ordered a 3rd of Hubby's choice.  With new articulating wall mounts, I reworked the gallery wall to be more Hubby-oriented.  He doesn't need pics of my sister and me at her wedding in his room.  (Sorry sis!)

Gallery wall 2.0 includes all of Hubby's Sox tickets from the past few years, an antique painting he bought in France, a watercolor by his grandmother, a ceramic carving he got in Cancun this summer, and still a few wedding pics (can't let him forget all about me- with his new set-up, he could spend days in there).

With my books and items moved to my new office, the built-in shelves got a make-over too.

Styling included Transformers, video games, TTRPG books, and a rock n roll piggy bank among other things...  and, yes, an adult male inhabits this space.  (If you aren't familiar with the term TTRPG, it's probably better you not ask.)  What make's this all somehow work, though, is it's juxtaposition next to some more 'refined', 'adult' pieces: an antique chair and another of Hubby's France art finds.

Why, yes, those ARE Calvin and Hobbes books hanging out with the art book.  I knew Hubby would appreciate what the association implied (think about it).

The room isn't 100% complete just yet.  Over the winter I'll be refinishing a craigslist desk that's been hanging out in our basement (check it out here) to replace the aging overscaled IKEA desk.

Hubby seems to be really happy that he has a room decorated for him, and I'm happy that I have a husband who lets me 'style' his Transformers.  Optimus Prime's never looked so good, if you ask me.