Desk | It's Great To Be Home

Do you spy anything new in our den?

Well, it’s not really new, just new to me. We are now the proud owners of my grandmother’s secretary desk!!

Isn’t it beautiful? I especially love the curvy drawer fronts.

This piece has lived in my parents’ house for a long time, and I nabbed it a few years back when my parents let us kiddos pick a few of our favorite pieces. I didn’t think that we had room for it so it’s been in my mom’s living room ever since, but after Christmas I realized that we actually have the perfect place for it!

( I don’t think I have any pictures of it, but we used to have an oversized armchair there, along with a side table. It kind of looked how it did in this post, except the sofa and armchair had switched places. Not sure if that makes sense. )

I still need to find the perfect chair to go with it (right now we’re just using a spare from our dining room). Any ideas?

In addition to all the sentimental value that goes along with this secretary, it’s also ridiculously useful. See?

I’m really digging all of the storage – I hadn’t realized it but we didn’t have a single drawer or cabinet to stash stuff in our entire living room. A travesty!

Look, lots of cubbies!! It’s perfect for stashing all of my stationary and thank you notes, magazines and books, my laptop, and the cozy blanket I crocheted for Jason back in law school (FYI, it’s the snuggliest blanket EVER).

As an added bonus, the top of the secretary is the perfect spot for a few of my favorite things.

Made any new additions to your home lately?

P.S. I’m linking this post up to Samantha’s Friday blog party.

The decor in law offices is typically about as exciting as you would expect – tan walls, wood furniture, lots of files and papers. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get a ficus.

Back in my lawyerly days I was mentored by an awesome attorney, one of the smartest chicks I know. She recently switched firms and wound up in this glamorous office.

But there is a bright side – her firm actually encourages the lawyers to decorate their offices. Imagine my delight when I got an email from my former mentor asking for a little design advice!!

Although she really wanted fun colors like hot pink, lime green and orange, she worried that such vibrant colors might be too much for a law office – so she requested a variety of options, some including the fun colors and others with more traditional “office” colors like warm reds, greens and tans. Keeping a “traditional but not stuffy” design scheme in mind, her only other requests were for a lamp, some artwork and new, matching in/out boxes.

Design Quickies don’t usually include 10 options – not gonna lie, I got a little carried away!! If you have the strength, check out the different goodies I whipped up for her:

Option 1: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, artwork 5, artwork 6, frames, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available - try this or this instead).

The artwork in this design is a more affordable, somewhat DIY version of a very popular set of art from Crate & Barrel, as well as Ballard Designs.

{ You’ll notice that these floating shelves make an appearance in each design – they are super long and will look awesome on that long wall by the bookcase. I would stagger them so that the upper shelf extends over the bookcase a bit, and the lower shelf is scooted to the left (towards the door) at least two feet. That way there will be room to lean diplomas, add a narrow vase, personal photos, a book, etc. }

Option 2: artwork 1, artwork 2, artwork 3, artwork 4, frames, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 3: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock – try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

{ This print is a steal as compared to an almost identical print from Ballard Designs. }

Option 4: artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays (from See Jane Work, no longer available- try this or this instead).

Option 5: bull dog artwork, basset hound artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

{ Disclaimer: I definitely didn’t expect her to pick this option, but when I came across these quirky prints I just had to concoct a little design with them in honor of her bull dog and beagle pups. }

Option 6: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 7: artwork 1, artwork 2, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 8: artwork, lamp (base & shade sold separately), shelves, trays.

{ The Bed Bath & Beyond artwork is a an affordable alternative to the Z Gallerie piece. }

Option 9: artwork, lamp, shelves, trays.

Option 10: artwork, lamp (from Target, out of stock- try this, this or this instead), shelves, trays.

Whew! Still with me after all that? If you were redecorating your office, which option would you choose? And speaking of offices, what’s your office situation? Do you work from home, from a cube, from a corner office? Or maybe your office days are behind you? Do tell!!

Click on the following link to snag some design advice of your very own – Interior Design Services.