Desk | Table for Five

The Big Reveal – My New Home Office!

September 28, 2010 By Elizabeth

This is the $50 desk I bought at the antique/used furniture store. Chris and Ryan hauled it from the van to the garage and down the basement stairs. And that was after they took six boxes of baby clothes that we had been storing in that corner for a garage sale “some day”. I’ve thanked them both about a million times for doing all that hard work so I could have THIS:

When I worked at the Credit Union, I was fanatical about keeping my desk and work area organized. I even organized other people’s work areas and was in charge of ordering supplies so I could keep the supply room neat! Why I’m such a slob about everything else, I’ll never understand.

Close up of the left side:

There are two full size file drawers, which means I can finally get the battered file cabinet out of the kids’ PLAYROOM. The black basket holds the TV remotes, the knick-knack shelf has candles, an air freshener, and an Office Max rubber band ball to play with.

Here’s the other side:

The mirror came from my mother in law’s house, Chris grabbed it when we cleaned it out and it’s been in the basement ever since. I was happy to give it a nice home. The cabinet is from our kitchen, it had to come down when I did the Frigidaire review for Mom Central. Chris stashed it in the basement and had the idea to put it there for me to stash stuff in. The drawers are divided for storage, the top one has a metal organizer for paper clips and stuff.

And finally, I have to tell you the story of this storage shelf. It was flat against the wall, and completely filled with extra kitchen appliances, glass baking dishes, and plastic storage containers. In order to get the right side of the desk to fit, the shelf had to be moved. So, Chris had the genius idea to take all the stuff off of it and turn it sideways to sort of “wall off” that section of the basement. Now I have a place to put all the products waiting to be reviewed and given away! WOO HOOOOO!

So, what do you think? Can you believe it only cost me $50.00?? Everyone who commented yesterday saying they needed to do the same thing, I hope this inspires you! Those of you who have a cool home office, take a picture or two, post it on your blog, then come and leave the link in a comment so I can see where you blog!

Filed Under: For the Home, Photos, Things That Make Me Happy Tagged With: Desk, office, steel desk, storage

A Very Motivated Weekend

September 27, 2010 By Elizabeth

Last Thursday, I was sitting in my living room surrounded by piles of product review boxes, Sterilite containers full of press releases, and a dining room sideboard I can’t even open because of the stuff piled in front of it. I looked around, and decided enough was enough. I got Chris on IM and told him that was it, I wanted to buy a desk, and I wanted to get my stuff out of our living and dining room.

I told him I wanted to finally have a real desk after five years of blogging.

He suggested Craigslist, but all I could find was a really banged up, cheap pressboard one. Instead, I got Kaitlyn ready to go and we headed out for a pair of antique/used furniture stores in downtown Lansing. They are right next to each other so I picked one at random and we headed in.

Antique stores are dangerous for me, because I love stuff like old toys and magazines. The man who owns the store buys up inventory sight unseen at estate sales and storage unit sales, and I could easily have spent a week poking through the boxes and boxes of who knows what crammed into every inch of the two floors of the store.

I told him what I was looking for, a big, sturdy desk with room for a laptop or monitor and keyboard, and some storage drawers. He said “well, I just bought out the inventory from an office that shut down, let me show you a desk”. He took Kaitlyn and I up to the second floor, down a long pathway carved out between the piles and piles of chairs and tables and who knows what else, and in a small room, there it was. My desk.

I’m not sure who a desk like this would have been meant for, either one very busy person or two people who don’t mind sitting very close to each other. I’m saving the photos for tomorrow’s Tackle it Tuesday post, because I still have some more organizing to do tonight, but it’s like this except not so sharp of an angle, and a very light grey:

And what did I pay for my giant steel double desk with the corner piece? Fifty Dollars. I know! So, stop by tomorrow to see the photos and see my new home office in action!

Filed Under: Things That Make Me Happy Tagged With: Desk, office, storage

Guest Post: Bedroom Makeover for Boys

April 28, 2009 By Elizabeth

I’m traveling to Ohio today, so for your reading enjoyment, I have a guest post from Khara at CSN Stores about how to decorate and organize a boy’s bedroom, especially if you have two boys sharing a room like I do. I’ll check in from the Cleveland Marriott later tonight!

Bedroom Makeover Tips for Boys

In every home, there comes a time where the animal decals or transportation themed decor just isn’t cutting it for your preteen boys and you want to incorporate a creative bedroom theme that is more appropriate for their age. For young boys that share a small bedroom, space can always be a factor which is why organizing existing or new furniture in a certain way will optimize the area your children have to play and hang out.

One way to get started is through the major pieces of furniture that you choose to add such as a bunk bed set, captain’s bed or two twin size beds supported by bed frames. Just as in baby furniture, the furniture’s comfort, safety, and style of are all important factors to consider in achieving the updated young boys’ bedroom look you’re going for.

Once you’ve determined the updated bedroom set, find a corner of the room where most of the furniture can be positioned whether in bunk bed format or in an L-shape with two smaller beds that line two walls of the room. Multi-level beds provide a larger area for adding in a desk or study area for when your children need to do homework or read for class. In terms of decor, it’s always beneficial to choose a theme that your sons agree upon such as their favorite sport or outdoor hobby. Smaller bedrooms also benefit from shelf installations that can be added above a student desk for textbook storage, school supplies, and interesting decor that adds warmth to the room.

In any young boy’s bedroom, it’s important to take into consideration the extracurricular activities they enjoy participating in on a regular basis in order to keep them engaged and excited about both school and fun events. Perhaps they are into basketball, karate, or baseball and want to live in an environment that encourages that activity. One way to keep that space creative is by applying a decorative wall decal of their favorite baseball park or arena as well as sports themed bed linens and accessories. In order to keep a balance between work and play, try isolating one section of the room for study sessions. This can be an area that’s easy for you to bring in an extra chair and help them along with any homework questions that come up along the way.