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Blogging Without Borders – Rearranged

July 16, 2012 in Uncategorized

Umm, WOW! Where did the last 2 weeks run off to?! It doesn’t seem possible that it’s already been two weeks since our first Blogging without Borders installment. My progress isn’t quite where I want it to be, but it’s feeling better already!

As a quick recap, here’s a rundown of what I’m tossing around for possibilities in this space:

Some definite MUST-HAVES:

Color and Patterns. Bring in MORE color/pattern.
Recover the dog bed.
Wall art. ’nuff said.
Organization.

Some maybes:

Layout. Change the arrangement of furniture
Seating. Swap out for a different chair?
Lighting. Lamp maybe?

Well… Where am I now?

I rearranged! I changed the layout of the office and I’m McLuvin’ it. Remember how I used to face the corner…. well, not anymore! Now my desk sits on the opposite wall and I can see the door while working. It just feels so much more open!

If you walked up to my office door, this is what you’d see:

…and here’s a side-by-side comparison of the old arrangement vs. the new:

Now imagine you walked in my office and squeezed yourself back into the corner where my desk sits. Here’s a shot of what I see sitting in my chair.shmancy collage brought to you courtesy of my fancy shmancy iphone camera>

Okay, I know… this isn’t exactly earth shattering. But it really rocked my world for the first couple days. After living with it like this for a week, I luv it! It’s official.

So what’s next?

Welllllll I was going to bring in an area rug I have here at home. It’s a fun 5×7′ with pops of color. One problem though. It’s too thick. Sigh…. I got it out of the closet, unrolled it, fell in love all over again… and then realized that my dog gate and door wouldn’t clear the gate. Awww man. I’ll have to come up with a plan B!

I also want to bring in more lighting. I’m thinking a lamp on the corner of my desk will help warm up the space and make it feel less fluorescent-ish. I have one in the guest room that just might do the trick!

Word on the street is we’re putting fresh coats of paint on the walls in the office. Possibly by the end of the month! I’m holding on making serious color palette commitments until I know what color my office walls will be. In the meantime, I’ll tackle some other projects.

So stop by my office and say hello! Now you’ll be greeted by ME… not just the back of my head! …and probably these two slobbery faces:

Want to see what the other gals are doing in the Blogging Without Borders series? Check them out:

Amy @ Buffalo Roam, Jaime @ Crafty Scrappy Happy, Heidi @ Décor & More, Tisha @ Delectable Home, Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage, Kirby @ Kirb Appeal, Holly @ Life as a Thrifter, Cassie @ Primitive & Proper, Debbie @ ReFresh ReStyle, Jessica @ Stay At Home-ista, Karah @ the space between, Laura @ Top This Top That and Kelly @ View Along the Way.

Click around and get inspired. Hope you had a great weekend everyone!

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Blogging Without Borders – The Before

July 1, 2012 in Building and Repurposing, Gettin' Crafty, Pups

I’m a little jittery about this post. I think it’s the unknown that makes me nervous. No… I KNOW it’s the unknown. Sometimes not knowing what you’re getting into can be fun, but other times it’s down right nerve wracking. I wouldn’t call myself a basket case on this one, but there’s definitely some anxiousness.

So what’s the wishy-washy, case of the “Can-I’s?” all about? Check this out:

I’ve joined such an awesome, talented group of gals for this 5 part series that will run through the end of the summer. We’re all working outside of our comfort zone on projects and tackling things we’ve always wanted to do, but never had the gusto.

Blogging without Borders

Season of Change ~ Summer Edition
5 Part Series – Mondays – July 2, July 16, July 30, August 13, August 27

I can’t wait to see what they do and I hope you’ll hop over to their blogs to check in on their projects and progress too! I’ve included links to each of their pages at the bottom of this post.

So enough yapping… What’s my plan? I’m taking the “Blogging without Borders” in a couple directions. Yes, I’ll be trying new things… but I also wanted to think “outside the box” and “beyond my front door”… What could I work with/on that’s outside of my typical space? My office!

I work for KolbeCo Marketing Resources as an Account Executive. It’s an AWESOME place to work. Plain and simple. I work with such fun people and even get to bring my dogs to work. Good luck topping THAT right?! Well, you’d think that as a DIY gal I’d have spruced up my office a bit… but I haven’t. I spend 40+ hours a week in my office, but I’ve completely slacked on making the space reflect my personality. The only pieces of “me” that I’ve added are the scrapbook paper silhouettes and a store-bought dog bed. Pretty pathetic right? Well it’s time for a change!

Forgive my photos for the before pics… I used my iPhone and then spliced them together (somewhat) with picmonkey.com Sidenote – they’ve finally added collages to their arsenal. I’m still going through picnik withdrawal, but it’s getting better.

Say hi to Emma and Quinn! They definitely brighten my day, one wag at a time.

Be gentle guys. My desk is MESSY. These were snapped on Friday night before I cleaned everything up for the weekend. It’s a week’s worth of files, notes and print-offs all fandangled around.

You can see the silhouette prints on the left. My space has the sideboard/credenza, an L-shaped desk and the bright green chair. KolbeCo loves all things green so you’ll see pops of it throughout the office. Even our conference room chairs are bright green! If you visit the website you’ll get a feel for the company… and even read about the Board of Dogrectors!

Same space… different angle:

I’m standing in the corner on the dog bed to take this pic. You can see the cute circle wall clings that were waiting for me on my first day. Everyone signed them, including the dogs!

What’s on my desk? Way. Too. Much. Binders, folders, papers, iPad, treat jar (necessity if you ask Quinn & Emma), wireless keyboard, pen cup, organizer, phone, paper tray, sunglasses (two pairs?!), aaaaaand much much more.

This space needs help! Blogging without Borders will be the kick in the pants I need to spend a little time on this space. I have a couple of ideas in mind already, and I’ll probably do some searching for other design inspiration. Helloooo Pinterest!

Some definite MUST-HAVES:

Color and Patterns. I want to be inspired by my space. Adding color and patterns will help me do that! I scored a $1 item at a yard sale a couple weeks ago that will play a big part in this piece.
Recover the dog bed. Emma tore a hole in the current one and loves to spend her afternoons removing the stuffing. How sweet of her. I need to recover it and put a stop to her de-stuffing. Why throw away something that could easily be repurposed?
Wall art. Pretty self explanatory?
Organization. I want to find a “Dana” way of organizing my things. Right now there is just WAY too much stuff on my desk. The credenza is basically just taking up space right now… I need to work that storage into the equation and USE it.

Some maybes:

Layout. I don’t love facing the wall in the corner. I think I’d be happier if I could face towards the door and feel more “open”. There’s only one outlet in the room though and my internet cord is short… I might have to get creative on this one!
Seating. It could be fun to recover (or paint) a chair to include in the space. We’ll see. That would depend on thrifting finds in the near future. Maybe I already have something in the shed that could work though? Hmmm Time to dig!
Lighting. It might be nice (and fun) to incorporate some different lighting into the office. Right now it’s florescent lighting that can’t be turned off, but a lamp could help to soften it a bit. I have a gaggle of lamps around the house. I’m sure I could find one that could be spruced up and included.

I’ll definitely have to keep the pooches in mind as I make plans/changes within the office. I want them to be comfy and content in there too! Can you believe I get to take these faces with me to work every day?

Total. Hams.

I’m REALLY excited to jump into this series and share my projects / progress. Hopefully you’ll stop back every other Monday to see what I’m up to. Don’t get me wrong… You can come every day if you want… Look for the next update on Monday, July 16th! (Wow, how is it July already?)

Be sure to stop by these other great blogs to see what they’ll be tackling in the Bloggers without Borders Series!

Amy @ Buffalo Roam, Dana @ Crafted Niche, Jaime @ Crafty Scrappy Happy, Heidi @ Décor & More, Tisha @ Delectable Home, Shannon @ Fox Hollow Cottage, Kirby @ Kirb Appeal, Holly @ Life as a Thrifter, Cassie @ Primitive & Proper, Debbie @ ReFresh ReStyle, Jessica @ Stay At Home-ista, Karah @ the space between, Laura @ Top This Top That and Kelly @ View Along the Way.

Whew! I know it’s a long list, but trust me, it’s SO worth it. Click around and get inspired. That’s such a talented group of bloggers with awesome skilllllls.

Hope you had a great weekend everyone. I’ll blog about my road trip adventures later this week!

UPDATE July 16: See Blogging Without Borders – Rearranged, the second installment!