The Office

Now that our dining room has been relocated back to the other end of our living room, our sun room has been left feeling kind of empty and not really useful. I had an arm chair and an end table in there to fill the space a little, but it was really just that - to fill space. And really, in a small home, well used space is so important.

A while ago I had set this room up as an office space. The view of the woods and the back yard is beautiful, and as it's nearly all windows, it's very bright. I thought it would be best to bring the desk back up from the basement and make it an office once more.

It's also a door to the back deck and back yard, so having this space set up in this way, with the desk up against the window, provides ample walking room.

I tried to keep things quite simple and clean.

The sun room is off of the kitchen, at the back of the house. To the left of these peg hooks is the staircase to the basement, and to the right are the french doors to the back deck.

We've had this desk since we were first married, and this chair was found at auction one time for $15.

Ideally, I would love to find a natural fibre rug, such a sisal, that would fill this space. But I didn't have anything on hand except this small rug. The tile floors in this room are a little cold in the winter, so it's nice to have something under foot.

My Juniper that I brought in for the winter is still doing well. In fact, it has a few inches of new growth on it.

Seeing as it's an office space, I hung my calender (the simplest one I could find) and my small inspiration board. It makes me laugh that this was my Pinterest. I find having something visual like this to look at is very inspiring to me.

On my board right now I have a lovely quote by John Howard Payne "Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.".

Each of these images are so lovely, and simple, and beautiful - the few snipped Peonies by the old brass goose neck faucet with the ornate mirror, the panelled bath with the luxurious tub, the vase of Hyacinths, the collection of antique watering cans, Trisha Foley's gorgeously simple outdoor spaces, and some decor inspiration with the natural rug, covered arm chair with the turned legs and old transferware collection.

My bouquet of flowers, though quite a bit smaller than at first, is still making me smile. I just keep removing the dead flowers and rearraging it a bit to keep it alive.

 The little bit of storage I need fits into this wicker trunk.

Oliver has found another new favourite spot, on the rug in front of the warm vent, in the sunlight.

I also hung this old portrait on the wall. I liked that dark frame and didn't have any other artwork that suited it well.

Inspirations

Tiffany Hechner Dixon

What a pretty little vignette.

 It's Wednesday today, and a general not-feeling-like-doing-much-of-anything kind of day.

I've washed our linens and will eventually get around to some much needed vacuuming, but for now I think I might snuggle a while with Willen under our duvet and read together. Though the temperatures are mild for November, the drizzling rain and dreary skies are making us feel a little lazy this morning.

Here are some beautiful images to inspire you.

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I love the simplicity of this stairway, and the perfect contrast of the dark, rich woods and the bright, crisp whites. I love the collection of framed artwork (something I always have my eye out for), and I would love to find that exact bench and pretty cushions - It's perfect!

Justine Taylor

I can't think of a cozier place to curl up on a day like today. It just needs a lush knitted throw and a warm cup of tea.

Justine Taylor

Another great Butchers Pantry! I love so much about this space... where to start?

1- That sofa. It's gorgeous.

2- The cream walls with beautiful built-ins and ceiling details.

3 - The runner. I've been looking for something just like this for when we remove the carpeting in our hall.

4- The Dutch door in the background!

5 - If this space had a sink - say in the white cabinet in the front right of the photo, this would make the perfect space for arranging fresh flowers.

6 - The storage without the look of storage: Notice the simple hooks under the painting to the left? And all those simple bins that could house so many different things. The umbrella bucket and all the doors on the table?

Martha Stewart

I always think this is a dramatic looking kitchen. I love the rich wood counters and the simple white cabinets, but I think it's the old hardware, the fantastic faucet and the striking floors that make this kitchen so pretty.

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And finally, (seemingly opposite to my own personal style!) this pretty writing desk. I'm white walls all the way, but something about these dark, charcoal walls makes this little space so cozy and warm. The desk is a beautiful piece (though I would find a different chair), and the whole little set up is perfectly inviting. I would actually incorporate this into my home!

The Sunroom Makeover - An Office Space

All Photos - The Grower's Daughter

My sale is now over, and I'm left with a few "holes" in my house. Actually, to be honest, this year I'm left with quite a few holes! That's always a good thing. It means that I get to replace old pieces with new ones and tweak the look of my house a little bit more.

One room that was left quite sparse was my sunroom.

If you follow the link below, you can see how it looked prior to the sale.

The Old Sunroom

I had picked up a few new pieces that I knew I wanted to incorporate into my house, but I wasn't sure where. As I was moving pieces back inside, this room just kind of came together. I have been lacking an "office" space that I really want to be in. I previously had one upstairs, and at the time, had one in our basement. Neither were where I wanted to spend any length of time. I want to be near Willen while I'm writing and I don't want to feel like I'm locked away somewhere. However, doing all my work on our living room couch, or at the dining room table was getting old (and messy).

I sold the daybed that was in the room before, and moved the wicker chairs outside as they were looking a little tattered. The sunroom became a free space. I didn't want a sitting area - we never used it unfortunately. I didn't want an entrance - we're now accustomed to using the front one. So, what to make of it?

After moving a few pieces around, using mainly what I already had, this is what I came up with. A workspace. I have to say, I'm extremely happy with how it's turned out. It's simple, clean and useful and houses a few of my favourite things.

Enjoy!

The space is open again, which is great for traffic coming in and out of the back door. Even though we mainly use the front entrance, we use the back door. The previous space didn't allow for easy access which was beginning to get annoying. This is much more efficient. Oliver has already found a new favourite nap spot.

I moved this old rocker up from the basement and threw on a couple of my old pillows. It's a lighter stain and it matches the wicker nicely.

I had this old wicker trunk sitting around in the basement. It's empty, but I'm planning on moving some storage boxes with old files inside it. Since they don't require easy access so it will hold them perfectly. The old frame is one of my favourite pieces, as is the old European water can.

The is an old cottage table that I painted Heavy Cream by Martha Stewart. It's simple and is the perfect little writing desk. The French bistro chair is the most amazing shade. It's a sort of grayish linen colour and was found at The Country Living Fair (photos to come soon!). An old black desk lamp was brought up from my office downstairs.

Trying to keep things simple, I added a small cream ironstone pitcher and a dainty little ironstone sugar pot to hold clips and things. A simple vase with pencils is the only hint of office, aside from the computer, in the whole space. I like that.

Similarly, I kept the decor simple and just added a small glass cloche with a rustic nest to incorporate more of the natural elements in the room. It matched the displays on the shelves nicely - another nest in a pedestal glass cloche, a small clay bird, old white corbels, and a shadow box housing speckled quails eggs.

The windows make the space light and airy.

To fill out the rest of the wall, I added an old white window with rusty hardware on either side of the desk, and an old sap bucket with a boxwood plant inside. It's adds some green to the room and keep the room light and natural.