This is it!

Finally - the post I've been promising Lori for weeks. (And just a warning - this is going to be a long post with a LOT of pictures.)

So here's the deal - a little background:

When we first looked at this house, the room-that-would-eventually-be-my-study was a family room - very cozy, very comfortable. I really wanted to keep the comfortable, cozy feeling once we moved in, even though it would be a study (see, even the word "study" is much more cozy than "office"...). There were/are built-in bookshelves, so that was a great start - nothing cozier than being surrounded by all of my favorites.



But on the office side was a little... stark?



(Please ignore the blue butt print on the chair - that thing is like a jeans-dye magnet. I don't think I've ever worn new jeans in it, and I clean it off when I think of it, but it looks like this the next day. Tip of the day: No matter how chic it looks in the store, do NOT buy a white leather desk chair if you wear jeans to work, like, at all.)

My first idea was to put in a countertop running the whole length of the wall, but that was nixed once we priced out that much countertop. Fortunately, the same day, we saw a World Market ad with their new desk line in it - these great sawhorse/workbench-style desks. And they were just long enough that two of them would fit the wall and leave room for my lamp. All along in the process, though, I really wanted three workspaces - one for working:



(From left to right: My London Phone Box DVD rack, River Song print, OTT craft lamp, cute box from a Lush gift set that holds all my desk essentials, Mocha Coconut Frappucino, laptop, jar of the candy raspberries I'm addicted to, and secondary monitor. Anyone know a good solution all the cords under the desk? They bug me.)

One for paper crafts:



(From top to bottom: Giant bulletin board my parents got me for my birthday, where I put up inspiration photos and rub-ons and other small elements to have them easy to reach; desk with craft stuff.)

And one where I could leave my sewing machine up through a whole project without having to get it out of the way of other stuff (if not permanently).

Here's what I came up with all together:



That last desk on the right is the one I've been working on for weeks and building up to Lori. I'm so excited about it. Recognize it?



This was the "before":



And this is a close-up of the after:



I'm so excited - I've been loving the grey/yellow color combination I've been seeing everywhere, and I've seen the papered-back bookshelves in a few places and loved them. It's a great pop of color that I think really brightens up the room. It's going to be a great sewing table! First thing on the list: a present for Miss Molly McGee - with that name, she's pretty much guaranteed to be the most adorable baby ever, don't you think?

THANK YOU to my amazing dad! He cut the backs and helped me with all of the sanding and painting and paper-sticking and nailing. He's the best!

Y'all, I almost forgot the other important credit - check out Curbside Creations for some great furniture makeovers... she's where I got my inspiration for the desk. If I had space for a dozen nightstands, I'd buy them from her - for some reason I love every nightstand/side table she does!