my (office) shame.

well, i think i've pretty much shied away from giving y'all a look at my home office for the past 3 years. out of shame.

it still confounds me. look at this mess. and the boxes behind me aren't any prettier. but when i'm done with my work day i sort of just want to run downstairs. you know?

so tell me, what would you do to make this room better? (you know, other than starting completely from scratch.)

"i have one thing to say... sashay, chante!"

i can see clearly now...

the view from my home office tonight. click to enlarge.
(that's city hall on the right.)

i've just returned home from a very quick trip (30 or so hours) to chicago and somehow managed to miss the first couple of storms of this predicted el niño season.

sounds like they were whoppers, but now the air is cool and crisp and the skies are streaked with the color of dusk and a few remaining gray clouds - such a lovely sight!

sometimes dealing with this beautiful old house feels like more trouble than i bargained for - but coming home to it, even after a short trip, and taking in this view reminds me of how very lucky i am and how much i really, really love it.

so, enjoy the view and a song with me tonight - won't you?

damn you, ikea! *shakes fist*

damn you, that is, for having such utterly charming things at such low prices that i think i can afford something like 2000 hours of labor to furnish my home!

in all seriousness, though, i believe that good design should be available at any price range. and along those lines, i also believe, that if with good vision or proper guidance, you can make a lovely home from places like ikea, target, cost plus and pier 1 (not to mention that almost my entire wardrobe is from forever 21).

so, while my dad was in town, off to ikea we went with my pre-printed shopping list. we bought about *5000 pounds* of furniture; here's a look at some of the pieces i chose.

next week i'll show you where it all went with some pretty amazing before and sort-of-after shots of the house.

a four-poster bed (edland)!

a couple of nice dressers, also edland line, 5-drawer and 2-drawer.
(these came with AWFUL pulls, so i swapped them out with some knobs that i picked up at anthropologie - appropriately labeled "diamond gal" - that i loved for their sparkle and organic feel)

a sideboard (trollsta) to use as a tv stand and a great b/w rug (stockholm rand)

and a fantastic stainless steel topped desk (vika) with a matching rug (alvine rand)

and 3 billy bookshelves waiting to be assembled *sigh*

this was an incredibly productive shopping spree - all for well under $2000.

aren't you curious how i put it all together...?