Study makeover

I've been working on a little project for a few weeks now and it's finally ready to share with you.  Since Paul made me the desk out of reclaimed timber I've been giving our little study nook a makeover!

For those of you who are familiar with the style of a Californian Bungalow house, you will know that often what was previously the front porch gets built in to use as inside floor space.

In our house, this little nook has been used as a study off our lounge room.  I haven't spent much time or energy on this room, as eventually it will be reopened up to become the front porch again. But with my beautiful new desk and increasing time spent on the computer, I decided that I wanted to make it easier on the eye as well as more practical.


You can see from the before picture that it was pretty boring uninspiring, with some bare necessities and a second hand (not to mention ill fitting) desk.

Look how lovely it looks now! A desk which fits perfectly in place, less clutter and some pretty accessories. 

The prints on the wall were wedding gifts from our friends Jess and Lach.

I decided on a blue and green colour palette with pops of yellow (and some of Paul's things in red). I love the calm of blue and green and it reminds me of being by the sea- the different blues and greens of the water and the blue of the sky.
 
To increase the amount of storage in the study, I've used two 2x2 Expedit shelving units as storage (behind the desk) and they couldn't fit better if they were made to measure! I already had one in the spare room so only had to get a second one to sit beside it.

Now we've got plenty of storage including a place where we can keep the printer so it doesn't take up space on the desk.  We also finally a have a practical filing system (including in and out trays) and I think that it looks good too!

I tried without success to find a new home for the Ducati models (top left).

Adaptability of the items that I used in the study was a key factor given nothing is permanent right now! Everything that I've used will also go well in the renovated house, either in a study or reused in other rooms. I did a lot of shopping around to find things that I liked and cost was also a consideration, given the temporary nature of the space.

 

I love having pretty, personal things around me and it's definitely the many small pieces that make a room homely and inviting to me.

 

This gorgeous print is a custom order made by my talented friend Nat at Little Puddles.  She has lots of other gorgeous prints as well as jewellery and if you like this one, you should head to her page and take a look.

The blue Tempo fan is from Bunnings (only $8.00!), the clock (which you can't see in this pic, but can see above) is from Typo and the notepaper holder was part of (another bargain) clearance stationery set from Kmart.

It's fair to say that I'm currently obsessed with glass and all things upcycled.  The pen holder is an upcycled jar wrapped in brown paper and twine that I used at Christmas as a vase, but now has another new life!

On the left side of the desk are a set of black and white Ikea canisters (that I've had for some time), and the turquoise and yellow bowls are an op shop find from last weekend. The frame I got for my birthday contains the chorus of our wedding song (I downloaded a handwritten font I loved and made it myself on the computer- easy and cheap art!) and you can also see an origami mobile that was a gift from my friend Rach.

The milk bottles are by Morgan and Finch from The Works Hawthorn (who strangely don't appear to have a website).  If you're into homewares this place is massive and worth a trip to check out. The milk bottles are holding drawing pins and clips also in blues and greens.

So there you have it, my new study! It's been a little while coming, but I think it's been worth the wait. I'm so happy with how it's come up and it's now somewhere that I love to be and work.