From Attic to Office a Bloggers Dream!

Shaunna at Perfectly Imperfect blogs in a very beautiful attic.  Yes, I said attic.  You just need to see what she did to it and you will wish you had one to.

Kate from Centsational Girl is one of my FAVORITE bloggers out there. A little cottage, a little glam--all the way gorgeous.  You know how you have those writers that you open no matter what the title says?  Like...her title could be "Goose Feet," and I would still open it.

(I'm not sure where that came from...but you get my idea)

:)

When I saw she was having a "where I blog" party, I got excited to see everyone's spaces--I still can't wait because I've not had the chance yet--but I shrugged.  My room's not ready, anyway.

Well, I chewed on it for a while and decided it didn't say, "the most fabulous writing space in the blog world."  It said...where i blog.  And let me say I didn't include any pics of the couch, but there's some serious blogging there in the morning when the kids are up at 5 am. :)

So, we've talked about it forever.

You've seen the bathroom.

It's not finished.  But I'm tired of waiting.  You guys are my buddies (see video at the end) and I want to show you what Matt and I worked on so hard in the spring. 

In February...

Today...

A little brighter, right?

And less junk.  Man, that was a messy attic.

And during naptime and on Tuesday's, here's where the magic (or the blogging) happens...

I almost tried to hide the laptop cord, tidy up the desk, but I decided to show you how it is when I'm working.  If you can call this gig work.  Painting, writing, hanging out with the girls...sounds blissful.

Speaking of bliss, what's the deal with blissdom??  Do I need to go to this thing...it sounds so neat!

Anyway, I got those big baskets from a retail salvage store in Birmingham, and they are perfect for my magazines and serve as drawers under the "desk." 

You can't see it really well over there, but that little niche has the most beautiful antique aqua door I'm using as my inspiration board.  I am in l-o-v-e with it.  Pictures to come on that.  You know how my flash and I aren't getting along.

Here's your view as you enter the room.  I'll give you some details (everyone has asked me for more details on the playroom--they are coming, promise!)

The walls are Benjamin Moore's White Diamond.  It is fresh and crisp, but it's not bright.  With this much white, I was pretty picky.  The gray undertones seem to soften it just the right amount.  As a matter of fact, I love it so much, it's now what I use on all the furniture pieces I'm painting white.

This beautiful set of carved, handmade antiques will be on their way to Stephanie's house tomorrow!!  I really can barely part with them...they're so gorgeous!  One is sitting beside the storage unit we had built for the room.  It about killed our DIY pride and budget, but we felt like we needed really practical storage that fit in a space that has to transition from office to guest room. 

So...(after that painting demo I gave to the cabinet guys I told y'all about) we did it.  And it turned out beautifully.   The original hardware I picked out didn't come with the correct size screws, and I think it's a good thing.  The more I look at it, the more I'm reconsidering.  Imagine that.  I love having the deep drawers for filing and stashing all that paper I've accumulated over the years.  Someday when I get all that organized, I'll open them up and show you.

Again, I didn't hide the normal stuff...coffee for me is sort of a therapy in the morning, charging the phone, magazines out for inspiration (and because they're just pretty), and Grayson's lesson for tomorrow...the day to day.

One of the easiest ways to personalize a space is use of unexpected containers.  I fell in love with using various types of storage during my time with SLAH...they found so many creative ways to use things.  Once I remember seeing them use a quilt stand as a ribbon dispenser.  They were always "using what they had" to make incredible displays for us to see.  A little bud vase is holding some necessities and some inspiration...an amber glass knob, paint brushes, my fav pen, my paint can opener, and a pony tail holder.

In the view from my desk, you can really see how much there is left to do.  We chose to wall out to the floor...taking advantage of space, but awkward space all the same.  For now, it is serving as the perfect "house" for Grayson and Ava, but I'm sure one day, there will be some built-in's tackled.  I've also thought of walling it off with fabric to create a wardrobe of sorts for off season clothes and guests.

I have plans to bring my french chair up here when I find another for the guest room downstairs to help create a flow of traffic and more of a sitting area.  I wouldn't mind some fab chaise lounge over there in those eaves, either.

Every accessory you see was bought on clearance or a flea market find.  I havefought ever urge to fill the room with too much stuff.  First and foremost, I want to take my time and only find things I love.  Secondly, I do want it to be clean...free of clutter so my mind has room to move around a bit.

I'm still in love with the daybed we built.  I really couldn't have asked for a better partner and I'm thrilled with it more everyday.  :)

I've had several people ask me about the flooring that runs here, the bath, and into the playroom.  We found it on clearance at a lumber liquidation outlet...for $1.20 per sqare foot.  It is laminate...and I was so torn, but I love it!  It's so user-friendly for the kids and it really is the perfect balance of white flooring and whitewash.  I'll try to find an old box to see if I can come up with a name for y'all.

I'll take some more detailed shots and tell you all about the pieces I've made over so far for the room, but for now I wanted to show you where I blog.

Except for right now. 

Right now I'm in my pj's up to my ears in blankets.

In the bed.

Fantastic attic space! I can't wait to show you  my new office space when it gets finished.  It's not an attic but it is beautiful.