Office update.

Well, the IKEA Fintorp table legs have been painted. It took five (yes, really - I counted every frickin' one) coats of satin white paint atop a metal primer to take them from this:


... to this:

Whiter in real life than they look here.

I had intended to spray paint these bad boys for the ultimate finish, but it wasn't until after I tried to apply my first coat of Rustoleum All-In-One Universal in the garden that I realised outdoor projects + Irish November weather is not a winning combination. Man, I wish we'd a garage. Ultimately, I primed the legs with International's Multi Surface Primer (good for ferrous and non-ferrous metals and heaps of other stuff) and topped them off with five coats of satin finish Dulux Easycare Satinwood for Wood & Metal, which was the only metal paint I could find in Homebase that was water soluble.

Luckily, I quite enjoy bitesize painting projects - as long as they involve a just-rinse-out-yer-brush-in-the-sink paint - so apart from being time consuming this wasn't too much of a pain in the arse of a job, and only the very eagle of eye would spot any of the few, very fine brushstrokes.

Love Harris' Finesse brushes.

(Oh, and realise how odd it is for me to actually know the name of and publicly declare my love for a paintbrush.)

Anyways, I think that I am going to have a pretty awesome desk when these boyos get hooked up to my white satin finish desk top over the weekend.

My project to take a worn-out bedside locker and transform it into a hot pink mini filing cabinet is going a little less swimmingly. It started out looking something like this:

... and has since been sanded and primed in preparation for its fuchia facelift:

Today, after I'd gathered together the necessities like a Stanley knife and a mini wallpaper roller and a tub of Mod Podge Hard Coat for decoupaging onto furniture, I finally got around to measuring up the wrapping paper I'd intended to use for this project. This is a not too great photo of it:

Needless to say, I don't have nearly enough of it - about a third of the amount I'd need. And since it was bought in January to wrap my birthday present, I'm not holding out too much hope of Himself remembering where it was procured, let alone being able to get some more of it.

Flip's sake...

Career break non-update

No update on the start date for my career break yet, which is a bit unfortunate since I put down last Friday, October 09th, as my preferred date to finish up in work.

At least the home office in the spare room is coming along well.

Ahaaa ha ha ha haaaa.

It's not, of course; in fact it's still a complete tip with nary a hint to its intended future purpose. There is, however, a plan (and, I need hardly mention, a list) for its transformation. A former bedside locker will be getting a revamp to serve as a little filing cabinet. Originally a delightful melamine brown wood-effect yoke, I primed it over the weekend and it is now ready to be covered with hot pink paper with a modderin damask print and then kitted out with new hardware in the shape of crystal knobs from Avoca and some snazzy label holders.

Ooooh.

I may also line the drawers à la Viv:


... but since they are likely to fill up with various accumulated crap fairly bleedin' rapid, making the bottoms of the drawers pretty might be a futile exercise.

Himself is to procure four IKEA Vika Fintorp legs for me today, which I'm intending to spray paint gloss white and cap with a gloss white desk top to channel Bespoke Press' gorgeous desk:


... and this home office by David Netto Design, which features a $499 Brocade Home console:


I still have to find a suitably cool yet comfy chair, but in fairness I have had more pressing office-y matters to consider.

Like, what will I use as a pen holder?

Office-y musings.

I don't know if it's the fact that a new school year has kicked off or the fact that I've just applied for that 2-year career break (EEK!), but home office spaces are on my interiors radar in a big way at the minute. I'm thinking that our spare/junk room could handle a desk and associated stationary (mmm... the smell of new bukes) and bits and bobs to make a little office-y nook.

Of course, before that starts I will have to dig out the bed and floor from beneath the mounds of clothes/suitcases/miscellaneous other crap currently residing on them and find alternative homes for that junk assortment of precious belongings...

Cue photees of ridiculously tidy home offices to distract me from those horrendous jobs!

→ Nicole's home office

→ Viv's studio

→ Yvonne's desk

→ John & Sherry's desk nook

→ Bespoke Press's office (cor, check out the legs on that table!)

Some random office-type-set-ups-in-non-office-rooms scenarios from House To Home:

Very nice, like, but where do these people keep all their stuff?! Also, it occurs to me that I will most certainly have to procure a Mac of some description for my desk to look purty this sabattical to work out.

Deeeelicious: The Door Desk

If ever I have a home office, I'd be a pretty happy (and, of course, wildly organised and tidy and productive) bunny if my desk was as cool as this:


Yep, that's an old door on some trestle legs, topped off with glass. It belongs to photographer Meredith Perdue of & Unlimited Dogs, who takes beautiful canine snaps as well as having a seriously covetable studio space. The door was liberated from her parents' place when they were doing a spot of renovation.

Yum.



Now, if I could just get Mam and Dad to replace their front door, have some glass cut, procure some IKEA Vika Artur trestle legs - oh, and get a new, work-from-home job - I'd be all set...

Photos: Meredith Perdue
[Via Apartment Therapy Unplggd]