Thursday, February 21, 2013

My Home Office / Guest Bedroom Plans



I like beginning the year with a good tidy and cull, starting things fresh with a relatively organised space and good habits that keep our home life running that little bit smoother as the weeks progress.

About a month ago, I decided I could not put things off any longer in our study.  It had become so much of a dumping ground that the floor was barely visible and I'd taken to keeping its door shut most of the time to hide the mess.  It was an embarrassment, but something I nevertheless kept pushing aside to the bottom of my endless ‘to-dos’… a project hanging over my head, causing ‘metaphorical clutter’ as Gretchin Rubin describes in her book ‘The Happiness Project’.  And so, fed up with being unable to locate anything, something inside me snapped and one Sunday afternoon back in January, I stopped procrastinating and began to tackle my mammoth task. 

Since then, HUGE progress has been made.  Not only can I see our carpet once more, but furniture has been shifted around, heaps of no longer needed items have been tossed and our existing pieces are all set to be listed on Gumtree so that our combined home office and guest room transformation can shortly (fingers crossed) begin.  Over the past weekend, my focus was on the built in wardrobe in our study.  I emptied it out completely, found new homes for things such as winter jackets, Paul’s old motorsport suits, a picnic hamper, boxes of keepsakes and our Christmas tree and managed to pretty much halve the contents of what we had.




At the same time, nights have been spent pouring over interiors magazines for inspiration and browsing on Pinterest for ideas.  It's been a long process but finally, I have a vision for what is set to become our combined home office and guest room.

I'm picturing a light and bright room with a combination of white and natural timber furniture, bed linen in a myriad of blue and white prints, shelving for child friendly access to craft supplies, baskets for textural interest, a pin board to display all things inspirational and a low maintenance indoor plant to add a splash of greenery.  A filing cabinet will double as a bedside table for guests and artwork will be simple but thoughtfully chosen.

Progress is slow in our home, but it is finally happening…



Image #1 Red Brick  Image #2  Remodelista
Image #2 (clockwise from top-left)  
Image #3 Tinkerlab

16 comments:

  1. Well done Amanda. I can't wait to see the progress!!! I love a good make-over!!
    Lesley
    xx

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  2. I always think about the spring cleaning for way too long before I get stuck in, then wonder why I didnt do it ages ago! Feels so good to get rid of things you dont use or will miss once its gone :)
    Im excited to see plans for your guest room Im sure its going to be great x

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  3. Wow great effort.
    I had memories come flashing back from 2011 when I transformed our home office/spare room into Ryder's nursery....oh my....the clutter and 'stuff' in that room & cupboard was insane. Was soooo amazing to get it sorted eventually though!
    Good luck with the rest of your room re-do. Your ideas sound loverly :)
    You've inspired me to get a few rooms sorted here. I have ideas for 'cleaning' up Chris's office. And I need to finish our main bedroom. It is such a great space to work with. But it's been left VERY plain since we moved in a year ago. Ryder's room is probably due for a change over the next 6-12 months too :))) Oh...the endless project ideas :)
    xx

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    1. Our main bedroom is still a very blank canvas...no character whatsoever in the form of homewares or artwork... it's another 'to-do'. As for nurseries, I'm just putting finishing touches on Sophie's and like you, it's now almost time to make it into more of a toddler room! :)

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  4. Oh, it sounds so lovely! And well done for tackling such a big task. I have a few of those to get through this year.. I seem to keep putting them off. xx

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    1. I kept procrastinating too... that's why I just bit the bullet and jumped straight into it all :)

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  5. I know what means keeping a door shut for the mess!! I'm organizing my house too and i started from the office as well. we're waiting baby #2 so more space and more organization is definetely what we need!
    I've just found your blog through Jodi's project and i'm a new follower! Let's keep in touch for organization tips or pinterest ideas!!

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    1. Hi Barbara, so nice to have you stop by and to discover your blog too x

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  6. Procrastination is one of my biggest problems, so many ideas but I often find is so hard to get the motivation to start. It all sounds exciting and I'm like all of your colours and ideas Amanda. I can't wait to see it when it's all finished. xx

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  7. I completely need to do this!! It always feels so much better having a clearout x

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  8. How exciting! Amanda you've inspired me.... as soon as I clear my current glut of work I'm jumping into my study/crafts room redo. I've done the decluttering bit bit I've because of indecision I've been putting off the decorating for ages. Can't wait to see what you do :)

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  9. I love having clean outs, it make you feel amazing! Just getting back to you about using manual setting, I found 'cam crunch' on you tube really good, his 'Photography Tutorial for Beginners: Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO' was relly helpful. Also 'Fro Knows.' Plus the tutotials on the world of canon eso were great https://www.canon.co.nz/worldofeos/learn/home/default.aspx. I hope this helps :)

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    1. Thanks so much, I'll be sure to check these out x

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  10. Good on you Amanda!!! You can do it. :)
    Ronnie xo

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  11. Still working through the clutter at our house too, but it's so nice to see some progress. Our next big job is tackling the study/spare room (including a ridiculously overfull craft/sewing cupboard). Time to cull!
    Love the inspiration pics you've got, can't wait to see the finished product :)

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  12. Labelled boxes are great office items because they can keep your space organised. Best of luck and kudos for starting the year right!

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