Monday, March 14, 2011

A Peek Inside II

I don't know why it has been so scary for me to post pictures of my own home. After all, that was the whole premise for starting this blog. After finishing recovering my desk chairs, I got my butt in gear and gave our desk area a little sprucing. I also thought I'd share some of the nitty gritty design details that went into building out this area.

First, let's start with the pretty pictures.....


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Our desk area sits right off of our kitchen area. Our entire downstairs is pretty open and besides our bathroom, there isn't a single room that is completely sectioned off. For a reference, if you turned directly around from facing our desk area, you would see this.) Therefore, everything has to have a place and look nice. In other words - no messy desks for us. Yes, of course it happens, but the design had to be made so that it would be as easy as possible to keep it tidy.


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Open shelves kept the area open and airy, which has been a theme around our house. The silver vase was a flea market find and it is patiently waiting for an orchid. The brown, craft magazine files are from Border's when they closed down there location here. They hold all of my design concept photos.

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My grandmother has been doing a little bit of cleaning out, and asked me if I would ever want this little gold Tiffany's clock - of course my reaction was "YES YES YES!!"

Now on to the nitty-gritty details....

The shelf brackets are from Ikea. We painted them white and had two shelves made. It's a simple, clean, open look.

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When designing this space we had to get creative with all of the small details (chords, printers, external hard drives, etc.) Because we went with a built-in top, there was no space left for chords to fish down the back of the wall. We had our installer cut a 3" hole and placed a plastic, chord fitting inside.

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This keeps our chords bundled together and out of site. Moving on to the lower chords (underneath the desktop) - those are out of site as well. At first glance, you wouldn't know they're there.

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From a standing position you can see one outlet with a single chord. We built a track system that sits right below the desk top. It's almost like a trough that cradles all of our chords. There is a small hole that runs between both sides our desk to run chords.

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That whole mess - out of sight!
For all of the computer "extras" (remember - I'm married to computer nerd...who I love dearly!) we found a ledge that mounts on the back of the computer and offers a space for those extras to perch.

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Again - out of sight!

There you have it - all of our desk area details! One of these days, I might be brave enough to share David's side. : )

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28 comments:

  1. i have no idea why you are scared? your home is one of the most beautiful homes i've ever seen. what little i've seen of it! i would love a wide-angled view of the room please. melissa, you have amazing taste and talent.

    xo
    janet

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  2. What a pretty & crisp fresh place to study & I love the tiffany clock

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  3. So nice and neat! What a great solution to the cord problem.
    Simply lovely...

    Deboorah :)

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  4. You gotta love a desk with a view! Love all the things you've done to keep everything tidy. Very nice.

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  5. Thanks for posting the pictures. Your home is beautiful! I would love to know where you found the ledge for the back of your computer...and also would love to know paint colors for all of the rooms in your home! You are such an inspiration!

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  6. I have just found your blog and absolutely love it! So beautiful! I love what you did with the cords. Such a great solution to a problem most of us have. Just perfect!

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  7. You are killing me! Your home is so beautiful...just like you.

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  8. Oh my goodness! Please please share more of your gorgeous home! I adore the built-in marble - what a dream. So much goodness here. Love the styling.

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  9. Janet - thank you! Means a lot coming from you (seriously.) Wide angle pics coming up!

    Sarah - Crips and Fresh are two of my favorite design words! : )

    Krysta - Thank yoU!

    Deborah - I detest pesky chords!

    Steve & Paige - Thank yoU!

    Erin - The ledge is called a "backpack." It's from a company called Twelve South. You can find it here: http://www.twelvesouth.com/products/backpack/
    As for the color...you're never going to believe this but this color is the one mystery color in our house. I have the names and brands of all the other colors - except this one. And we're getting ready to paint a new color in a few weeks. I will do some digging before we paint though and find our answer! : )

    Marianne - I have now found yours and am hooked as well!!

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  10. So, so, so PRETTY.. you must show pictures of your house more often!! PLEASE! Simply adore the silver vase and gold clock. Brilliant disguises for the cords and computer gizmos too, but it's the pretty little details that always get all my attention! Happy Monday!

    xo,
    Tessa

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  11. This is beautiful! I love how you hid the cords! Very clever!

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  12. Your desk area is so pretty!!! I love the soft colors and all your tricks to hide things are perfect! I love what you did underneath to keep all the wires together and out of sight!
    Your treasure are beautiful and yes, please you can show your house anytime! :)

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  13. I totally get why you are scared to post pictures of your house, even though it is beautiful! There is something about letting people inside that is scary. I hope you share more pictures of your house in the future!

    Smiles,
    Amber

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  14. Love your desk area, and your design solutions! Your desk and shelves are beautiful, and your cord ledge is brilliant!
    ~Amanda

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  15. I hate cords showing and your solution is ingenious. I have the same calendar on my desk. This makes me want to give my desk area a makeover.

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  16. Really Melissa...scared? I would be PROUD lady! Your home is beautiful and so calming. I want to see more so you can inspire me while I'm doing my new (icky) house renovation these next few weeks. And don't you just love a computer nerd? Mine is too!

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  17. When I think of your design, CRISP and CLEAN are the two words that shine through....you are a master at it.

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  18. i fight cords all the time! love that little ledge

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  19. will you please tell me where your husband found the ledge? i've been looking since i commented and cannot find one!


    and yes, please show more of your home!

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  20. i don't think my last comment posted ... i've been hunting for that ledge, where did you find it? christirauth at gmail dot come

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  21. It's gorgeous and I love how you organized everything - you're an inspiration!

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  22. Awesome solutions! I can't wait to show this post to my husband--we're currently building a desk and have been contemplating cord clutter solutions.

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  23. I just found you via Grace Happens and let me tell you when I saw your home it brought tears to my eyes! I can't believe your house was built by Charlie Chaplin - I love it and could move in right away!! Those windows are so charming! And, I love how you decorated it!! I might have to do a post and share pics of your home/blog if you don't mind! Just lovely - keep up the good work! I'm your newest follower!

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  24. Your house is glorious!!! You're an amazing designer to say the least.

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  25. great job of hiding those annoying cords!!
    love the tiffany clock and that it was your grandmother's.
    looks like a lovely space to get creative!!

    joan

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  26. Your desk area is divine and that chords solution is genius!

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  27. LOVE the cord "trough" - genius! The entire desk area is great! I'm glad you shared it!!!

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