A Before and After

I have mixed feelings of sharing before and after pictures. I am thankful to have a home at all. I am forever grateful to whoever sent the email that was circulating a few years back that stated, "Half the world feeds their transportation." That right there put everything into perspective for me and helped create a shift in my mind that I needed. I could have been born in a hut and have no refrigeration or running water. I could be worried about feeding my children as well as my transportation. But I don't worry about any of those things. I am blessed.

So, when myMike expressed dissatisfaction with our home office, shortly after we moved here, I agreed, it was lacking in aesthetics, but it was serving a function, and frankly, in my mind, the kitchen was worse because that grout just felt so unsanitary.

Well, as soon as the kitchen was done he again expressed that something needed to be done about our den. (It goes by both names, - the office and the den.)  He is someone who loves stress-free things. (Which is why he married me - seriously, I am low maintenance!) And, our home office was stress-full. . . books falling off the shelves, nothing matched, everything was stacked on top of each other. It was just too much for his order-loving self. So, we made a plan, and on my birthday he took the day off work and declared it shopping for the den day. . . Who was I to complain?

Here was his side of the room, the big roll top along with his keyboard, which you don't see, but it was where the door is, and made it impossible to open both French doors, and his table in front of the window, because his desk had no room to work on.

 This was my office. Seriously. A pink chair which is 25 years old. I was ready to give it away before we moved, and no male member of the my family could part with it. Us girls? We were ready, but not the boys. So, this is where I have sat for the past couple of years with my laptop on my lap, blogging, reading emails, etc.  Big ugly speakers myMike insists are necessary to listen to the music he composes and the mishmash of unmatching bookshelves, dressers converted into bookshelves, and ugly filing cabinets. . . . it wasn't pretty but it did function. Barely. There was another desk the kids used for their laptops, and everything was filed on top of the filing cabinets.

 So, after spending the day near where we used to live, the next day (which he also had off, ) we cleared out the den. Wow! We'd forgotten how spacious it really was and how painful it is to move. We got rid of four bookshelves all the filing cabinets (they're downstairs in the basement) and the roll top is in my bedroom because its a big room and it matches the furniture in that room. That is my new desk. All that was in the room that first day was the new black cedar cabinet we got for myMike's music equipment (which we picked up on the way home) and the blue office chair which is very comfortable (which is now my new office chair.)

That meant that books now lined every square inch of our upstairs, filled every suitcase we own, and were taking over our life, literally.

 The next day he went back to work and we went to the family company Christmas party, complete with Santa and dinner. Saturday, the rest of the furniture that we hadn't taken home with us was delivered.

All along, I wanted white desks and cabinets, but the selection around here was minimal or chintzy. So, after deciding not to have a custom-made white office, we opted for readily available black one. Don't ask me why I didn't want traditional wood. I don't know why. I guess I just wanted it to feel a little more modern. So, we got two desks and hutches that are identical and put them side by side. You can see the laptops on the right hutch shelf. That's the kids' desk. Someday it will be mine. MyMike's desk is on the left. Now his keyboard is not blocking the door, and his new cabinet houses all the equipment that used to sit on top of the roll top desk. We aren't finished, so please ignore the things on top of the hutch and below the desk. I still want to find baskets for underneath the drawers of the desks to house those things, and a few other items that are convenient to an office. We need artwork back up to give it personality, but the bones are in place.

 Where the old roll top used to be, there are now bookshelves. The lower shelves are covered by glass half paneled doors. Only the top one is open for things too large for our eleven inch shelves. Now the speakers don't stick out so much, and they work just as well on their sides as they did standing up. We are blessed to have nine foot ceilings on the main level of our home, so using that height was a priority for me and having doors for the bookshelves was a priority for my husband. The room came from three different stores, so I'm glad the shades of brown/black that weren't made at the same factory, all worked well together.

 There are four bookshelves, and happily, the ones right behind the door aren't even full. Mike had Monday and Tuesday off this week to help finish building the bookshelves, which came from Ikea, and to set up all his equipment as well as help put up Christmas. So, the room is almost done. It does feel more organized, more open, and less stressed. Its working better for everyone. And, I've found another interesting thing, which I knew was true, but experienced it again this week. When my home is calm, I can get more done to serve others. And, that's what I really want to be doing this Christmas season. Much more than decorating and moving books!