Of late it's been the place for learning fractions to ease the painful nightly ritual with my daughter. If we both get through the 5th grade experience in one piece we are going to have to have one heck of a celebratory bash. It has not been the easiest transition for her academically speaking. I'm here to tell ya that District 5 of Lexington and Richland County in SC are some of the best schools around. They mean business. Pokey's work load has literally been tripled and it's not that fluff Science and SS they do in IA. She's been dedicating 6+ hours a night to homework and her tests remind me of some I had in college. (A bit much if you ask me...)

So... when you imagine me in my home, this is more than likely where I am. I just recently added that canvas painting (previously purchased at Hobby Lobby on clearance) above the shelving from the kitchen because I liked the pop of color it added.

I also wanted to personalize my space so I printed several of my photos at mpix in 12x12 size. I didn't want posed shots, I wanted randomness with lots of texture. Did you notice Little Man's turtle from last fall? I placed the photos into frames from Ikea (that didn't break the bank) and clustered them together on the wall.

The shelving (purchased at Target) used to be part of our living room in our previous home, but in our current rental there was not enough wall space, so I decided to try the office. It filled the space well and was a perfect solution for all of that extra stuff that was housed in a closet prior. The brown baskets are from Wal-Mart and the off-white boxes were purchased at Ikea (the same time I bought the frames). I bought 8 different sized ones so that I could fit paper and misc scrapbooking supplies. (They still need to be labeled.)

This photo was taken just before I added the painting. I included it so you could see the difference. That beautiful "tree of life" as I call it was found at Gordmans in Cedar Rapids, IA. Unfortunately there is not one of those here. It was my favorite home goods store. The chair and desk are from World Market. The printer stand (under the wall collage) was a second hand purchase (which may or may not be getting a paint job in the near future). It also houses scrapbook paper, cds, supplies, and if you look close you may see some of my vintage cameras.

Not sure what to do with those cords. And I still have yet to figure out curtains. I found some I love with some beautiful yellows but they are not quite long enough, so I need to muster the courage to add a block of something at the bottom. I see it done on HGTV all the time. If only I knew how to sew... or had a sewing machine. lol.
I actually love all of the light that comes in through that giant window and want to make sure that the curtains I choose don't block that.
Turns out that there's a reason why you can pay people to decorate your home... it's hard! And not everyone has the knack. As much as I enjoy having a space that is my own, home decorating has never come easy to me, particularly on a budget.
I recently dumbed into The Nester's blog while trying to figure out mantel ideas. Her blog is one of the most inspiring home decorating blogs I've seen. She sold their dream home when they fell on hard times and have subsequently had to rent. She was determined to make their rental homes beautiful on a budget and she has certainly done just that. If you haven't heard of her, just pop over and take a peek. But be careful- you may be sucked in for hours!
This may not be the perfect office, but I'm thankful to have a space to escape and quiet my mind from time to time.
So... until we do this all over again next year when we find our permanent residence (heaven help us) this will work just fine.
Before I close, I just wanted to thank all of you who left honest, heartfelt comments last week in response to my post about low self esteem. (I am still working my way through them.) I was disheartened and a little surprised to learn just how many suffer with this in silence. I really believe that more needs to be said about this topic... because you are not alone! We need to ban together, love ourselves as we are, and teach our young to embrace their unique and beautiful differences. It sounds so easy in theory...
This is Wordless Wednesday, but Wordful or Not So Wordless posts are also welcome here. Just grab a photo and link up below. It's a great way to make new friends! Feel free to stop by some of my favs...
love it! jealous!!!
ReplyDeleteTammi
My Organized Chaos
6+hrs a night is crazy!!
ReplyDeleteand yes, your home office is beautiful... and so organised :)
Ai @ Sakura Haruka
Join in: Wordless Wednesday Linky Party
A wonderful room which you have decorated beautifully. I love your photo wall as well as all your other details.
ReplyDeleteYour post from last week has given me much to think about personally and for my daughters. I have been making a more distinct effort to encourage and affirm each of my six daughters, each of which is very beautiful in their own way.
What a great space! I love the tree of life and that chair...so envious!
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful office! I love all the photos you added on the wall. I´m still organizing my office. Wish I was done. :)
ReplyDeleteI love your style. It reminds me of mine. : )
ReplyDeleteyou office is beautiful..lucky you!!
ReplyDeleteStunning! I'm hoping to do something similar in our den, but I just need to actually plan it!
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice beautiful layout. It looks so comfortable to live and work in.
ReplyDeleteYou have a beautiful home and some gorgeous art pieces. Off to have a look at that Nester blog...! :)
ReplyDeleteThe photo wall looks great and the room looks fabulous!
ReplyDeleteOne word: Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLove the chair!!! Great space, Alicia!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! With all the beautiful photos that you have of your family, I'm wornering how you even begin to decide which ones to hang! ;)
ReplyDeleteYour desk chair is amazing! Love the color style and pattern.
ReplyDeletewonderful - just wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteYour office rocks! So peaceful and beautiful!
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely space. I love your personalised photos as well on the wall. You can always change them around if you want to! Hopefully it will be a very enjoyable, workable and calming space x
ReplyDeleteYour home looks beautiful Alicia! What a lovely space for you to get creative :D
ReplyDeleteWhat a sophisticated and pretty home office! Very stylish and pretty, like your beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI wrote a whole post about cool home office ideas you might like for even more inspiration (I love The Nester) - maybe for the next one :)
http://dagmarbleasdale.com/2011/02/my-dream-home-12-creative-home-office-ideas/
Wow! I want a home office like yours! I write my blog posts from the basement, and I wish it was a bit more beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great space! I'm 95% jealous. The other 5% knows it wouldn't stay looking like that in my house :)
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness- I thought fractions would be the death of me when I was a kid!
ReplyDeletethe office is gorgeous :)
What a great office! I'm deeply envious. My office is my kitchen table. ;)
ReplyDeleteYour office is beautiful! Wish mine looked half as nice! LOL! Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteI am drooling over your office. Come do mine for me!
ReplyDeleteLove your office. YOu certainly do have a knack for decorating. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous office! I am so jealous!
ReplyDeleteStunning studio!
ReplyDelete-:¦:- Featured Photo: River Aerial View -:¦:-
Very neat and so classy..I love it
ReplyDeleteI'm inspired simply by the photos. Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have a space all your own. Not sure I saw last weeks post, I have been thinking of Christina Onassis this week how she was the world's wealthiest woman at the time (like 20 + years ago) with something like $3billion woman young and beatuiful but commuted suicide. Couldn't imagine why then it came to me she had it all except for hope unlike those of us who don't have it all but have the hope that that we could be happy if we did, she had no hope because she couldn't buy happiness with all her money. Though she had lost loved ones it seems didn't realize her most precious irreplaceable thing she had that no amount of money could buy was her own individuality. It really doesn't matter if you are the best or the most beautiful, it matters only that you are happy in your own skin with being your won precious self living in gratitude for the most precious gift of life.
ReplyDeleteI love the office, and as always, your photos are just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou certainly have a beautiful workspace--& the discipline to maintain it. I admire that very much. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful office! I love your chair! My husband built me my own office a couple years ago. At the time, we called it my scrapbook room, but I haven't done much scrapbooking since moving in, so now I call it my office. :) I, too, love having a place to escape to at times. And I hope, someday, to get some of that scrapbooking done in it. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures, as usual. I hope you like mine! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job decorating it!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with 5th grade! I thought IA schools were supposed to be really good?! Oh well. I hope they don't overwork the both of you!
Oh! I love it!!! Looks awesome. I wish we had an office.
ReplyDeleteI love your work space!!!!! Beautiful! and I am so happy that you hung some of your own beautiful works up there!!!!! oh, and 6 hours?! are they crazy?!
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty space you call you own. You make Ikea look stylish ;)
ReplyDeleteI think your work space is beautiful and now I want an office just like it!
ReplyDeleteI think your home office is incredible!!!!! I love everything about it - give yourself credit!! And on the homework - UGH!!! With a 15 year old in geometry and a horrid family budget situation, the math teacher who is tutoring her for $25 an hour is a godsend and may save the mother/child relationship!!
ReplyDeleteIt looks pretty darn beautiful to me! I love the photo wall and your desk and chair. World Market has always been one of my favorite shops. Love your style!
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love it!! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteSo when can I move in?
ReplyDeleteI love your home office. It reminds me of something in the Pottery Barn catalog, which I love. I get you on the school stuff. We live in a very tough academic district. My son is in first grade and we already have a ton of homework. Luckily, it is keep him challenged, but it is keeping us exhausted. Good Luck Mama!
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love your style.
ReplyDeleteLOVE your office, and especially that chair!!! Gorgeous! :)
ReplyDeletexo
~Tabitha
Absolutely beautiful! Your creative eye carries over to interior decorating as well! Thanks for sharing where you got everything. It all looks so high end! Could you come decorate my house now? =)
ReplyDeleteI love your desk!
ReplyDeleteVery nice and comfortable space.
ReplyDeleteThe painting is wonderful, it was the first thing I noticed!
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Gordman's is a Midwest store, because we have them in MN, but not down here in Phoenix.
LOVE your beautiful office & your decorating style! Come hang out at my house & teach me how to make things look so pretty {although I guess I'd need to get rid of all of our Fisher Price toys first!}. Thanks for the great linkup! :)
ReplyDeleteI really love the furniture in your office. Especially your desk, and how clean it is!
ReplyDeleteWhat a GORGEOUS, harmonious space...and that painting is the perfect addition! My eye was instantly drawn to it. If I had a room like that, I'd probably never leave it <3
ReplyDeleteOh what a beautiful space - I really like the way you have the desk placed so that you can see into the other room. Plus I really like the design of the furniture and the colour accents in your accessories - it looks like something out of House Beautiful here in the UK.
ReplyDeleteLove your office look! The decorations are lovely and you seem super organized! My computer currently shares the room with a couch and TV.. but someday I hope to have my own space to work at.
ReplyDelete-Samantha
KreativeKaring.com
A lovely office space you've created. :)
ReplyDelete6 hours? that's waaaaaaay too much for one so young! love love LOVE your office!
ReplyDeleteYou did a BEAUTIFUL job decorating! I need serious help over here. I will definitely check out the link to see how to decorate on a dime. I need the pennies budget.
ReplyDeleteI missed your post last week, but I'll read it now. ((((HUGS)))
Oh what a lovely job you have done - those prints on the wall look fabulous.
ReplyDeleteYour home decorating skills are fabulous. You definitely have the knack. I have a sewing machine. And I'm not too far away. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe self-esteem thing is something I've struggled with my whole life. It's sad to think I'm not living up to what God has for me because I don't believe in myself. Your post spoke to me.
You may not think you have a knack for decorating, but your photos prove that you actually do. ;) LOVE the space you've created for working and creating - and helping with 5th grade homework. :)
ReplyDeleteWarrior Cat Adventures
Your office is positively amazing! Can't wait to see more. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDelete6+ hours of homework in 5th is crazy. Poor kid. Your office is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with your office. You're inspiring me in my decorating. When I get around to it...
ReplyDeleteHope the homework gets easier soon. That's never fun.
My goodness I love your office! It's everything I wanted my office to be, but with pink accents. I'm going to bookmark this page so that I can look back on it as I decorate ;)))
ReplyDeleteOhhh I want that desk...looks like a perfect place to work
ReplyDeleteMollyxxx
Wow, you've made a really gorgeous & peaceful place for yourself. :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the inspiration.
Um, it looks pretty damn perfect to me. Nice job, Lish!!! Please come do my whole house!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE your office! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is coming along so beautifully. Love your style. Classic, simple, but sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! I would love a space with that much light. I always feel cooped up in a dark space. BTW: IKEA has some great ideas/gadgets for hiding the cords.
ReplyDeleteYou have created a gorgeous creative space my friend- exactly what I picture you in every day. :) I hear you on the 5th grade stuff. I know that 3rd grade was when school started taking far longer each day & when we hit 5th grade- the workload tripled. My older daughter is in 5th now & we are going through the pre-algebra stuff. It's not so bad looking at it now- but only because I am comparing it to what my son just wrapped up in 8th grade math. Seriously advanced algebra & trig?? Ugghh! All the things I hated in school. I think it's more unpleasant for me than it is for them :) Hope you are having a great week!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's stunning. Though that's not much of a surprise. A great eye for photos, a great eye for design.
ReplyDeletewow! your house is just beautiful! I love the dark wood and the frames! It's just an amazing space!! I agree with the other people, you have such an amazing eye for design! loving it!!
ReplyDeletelove it! Target and Hobby Lobby are great places to shop for the home!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous space...I LOVE it!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks beautiful - and like such a relaxing, comfortable space! :)
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous of your office!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful space, I am so jealous and love the photo layout on the wall. I so need to take a page from you and organize and decorate :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a gorgeous office! Inspiring me to get my space in order and make it a more inspiring space.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place to create and be inspired! I love the light, it is just lovely. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour home office look so cozy! How I wish I can have mine arranged that way too. By the way, where did you buy that table and the shelf? I so love them.
ReplyDeleteWow! You've done a fantastic job creating this room. I have to say that you have a style very much like mine. You've inspired me to create my own space. Ikea is one of my stops when I go home to visit family so I'll have to keep an eye out for those frames!
ReplyDeleteLove your office!!! You really did a beautiful job decorating it! At least you have somewhere cozy to spend all those long hours!! That is really crazy homework time!!! By the way, I am in love with your chair!!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm fashionably late?!?! Thanks so much for hosting!
ReplyDeleteKarah @ thespacebetweenblog
Your office is neat. It looks cozy to work on - so peaceful. I like the chair too, so much style in it.
ReplyDeleteWow, your office is very organized! I love it!! I'm not so lucky because I currently live with my parents, and my mom is slowly becoming borderline hoarder... :/
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of ridiculous...Anyways, I really love the photos you have hanging, candid photos are much more real. Some people don't really understand that you don't have to have JUST smiley family photos, the realness and candid photos can be really inspiring. And you've done an excellent job decorating already, I'm sure adding some fabric at the bottom of some curtains will be easy for you.
Also, for the cords, you could try adding a back to the desk.
Sorry, I never usually write commons this long, you inspired me! lol
I really enjoyed your writing, it's very honest :)
I look forward to reading more!!
I am envious of your gorgeous & inspiring space. Just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAlita
What a beautiful room? Do you use Photoshop? How did you make these rich colours?
ReplyDelete