Hmm, I can’t imagine being too inspired in this room. No wonder food stylist and writer Sharlene enlisted designer Elle Uy to transform it into a yummy space.

Gobsmacking, huh?

The wall-to-wall(-to-wall) built-in cabinetry hides all the boring office bits so Sharlene can display the juicy accessories on the oven shelving. I just love the all-white shell so she can easily update the colour scheme in future. The owner wanted an industrial twist, so they added pipes to attach the lights to – what a great sneaky trick!

Right, when do I move in?

Read the full story on Design*Sponge.

As the temperature drops, I find myself wanting to cosy up our nest with touchy-feely details. Topping the list is (faux) fur.

Sources from top: House to Home | Design*Sponge | Young House Love | Design*Sponge | Mimi and Meg

Yesterday I shared how I updated a tired old buffet, but the interior still left a lot to be desired.

Can you imagine storing your cutlery on that scungy green felt? Yech. I’ll be using to store craft and packaging supplies so it doesn’t have to be good enough to eat off but still definitely needed to go.

I assumed the felt was inserted separately into each section, but it was actually one whole piece so it was a little trickier than anticipated.

It also left a lot of residue, but that was easily removed with a damp cloth and a paint scraper.

I swear I drove all over town looking for some decent wrapping paper that would suit the room’s palette of yellow, grey and white (and now blue). I didn’t find what I was looking for, but this silver and white contemporary lace pattern will do (it is only inside a drawer after all). I just cut it by eye (if anyone has any tricks please leave them in the comments!) and stuck on with some double-sided tape. The metallic finish was hard to photograph, so here’s a closeup:

I suspect all the other drawers in the house are feeling a tad jealous.

Our office was working quite well storage-wise after we revamped it. Then I started working from home and suddenly the room was overrun with the supplies, equipment, paperwork and work-in-progress that comes with running a stationery business. As well as storage space, I also needed more surface area for assembling and packaging jobs.

While I love my office and think it’s probably the most cohesively-designed room in our home, I’ve also felt that the contemporary white look didn’t quite fit with the rest of the house.

With all that in mind, I set about finding a traditional storage unit that could use a splash of colour.

This art deco buffet was perfect… and only $50 (can I get a WOOT WOOT?).

Now, before I hear cries from wood-loving folks that I have commited sacrilege, can I just point out that it was not in good shape at all. It had been sitting in the shed of someone’s beach house and looked as if it had seen a hard life prior to that.

Here she is now:

How did I choose the colour? I thought I’d break up the grey, yellow and white with a bright, contrasting colour. I found inspiration in the miniature swan chair, which you can see at the bottom of this photo of the office shelves:

Back to the buffet… as you can see, the brass handles were quite tarnished.

They’re not perfect, but the Brasso did a pretty good job. I also added a new pull to the glass door as it could only be opened by the (missing) key.

That was the easy part. Then came the problem of getting the bloody thing upstairs. Remember this is not one of your modern flimsy plywood numbers, this is a solid timber piece and by god is it ever heavy. Also remember that we have a steep, narrow staircase at the end of which is a very small landing.

I don’t know how on earth The Man and I managed to eventually do it, but we did. Personally I think it should go down in history as a feat of human strength. If walls (and buffets) could talk, I doubt they’d agree though: unfortunately they got a bit knocked around with all the manouvering and had to be touched up.

To save you scrolling all the way back up, here’s the quick before and after:

Phew! My idea of a quick makeover turned into quite the epic project, but I love how it turned out, even if I now owe The Man a month’s worth of back rubs.

Working from home I need a dedicated home office. I imagine most people, though, only need enough space for a laptop to pay bills and check email and a bit of storage for paperwork and stationery.

Converting a closet into an office is an ideal way to create a workspace without taking over a whole room. Check out these examples for inspiration:

 Sunset | I Heart Organizing

Real Simple | Apartment Therapy

via Two Brunettes | Bakoko

Unplgged | via Decor Pad

The best part? Just close the doors or curtain to hide the mess when you’re done.

Ever looked for a new desktop wallpaper and only been able to find wavy gradient designs or landscape photography?

So did Tom Watson, so he created Simple Desktops, a curated collection of fun, bold wallpapers.

Head over there to get your new desktop – guaranteed gradient-free.

I love my little office, I do. But without a proper system, the mountain of papers associated with running a business was beginning to get out of control. Let’s face it: digging through an ever-growing pile on your desktop every time you need that one piece of paper is not a recipe for productivity.

So began the hunt for a suitable file sorter, which, as with many of my searches, proved much more difficult than anticipated. Honestly, who would have thought that a plain white file sorter would have been so rare and expensive? But joy of joys I finally found one at an online office retailer. At about $70 (yes, seriously) it was pricier than I hoped, but it was the perfect thing. Until they called me and said it doesn’t come in white anymore, and would I like it in poo colour instead? 

Sensing I was out of options, I said, ’Yes! I would love to order your expensive and ugly goods.’ After eleventy billion (OK, maybe closer to seven) coats of white spray paint, I have exactly what I wanted. If anyone is interested, it houses (from top to bottom): quote requests, job bags, jobs in progress, invoices, business stuff (marketing, wholesaling, product development etc) and printer paper.

To refresh your memory, here is the same corner before. Sure, it doesn’t look as cute when you compare the two here, but remember you’re not seeing the enormous tower of paperwork. You may have noticed the letterpressed song lyrics have been moved to the gallery wall. 

We’ve also made another change that the room has been crying out for since day one. I didn’t feel I could justify the cost of a good quality (and good looking, of course) chair, so I was resolved to making do with our crappy office chair. That is, until The Man said, ‘You spend so much time on that horrible thing and it’s not good for your back. Let’s get you a really good one. Eames is on sale at Milan Direct.’ {blink} Yes, folks, that would be my husband not just agreeing to a purchase of designer furniture, but actually initiating it.

Isn’t it just the sexiest chair ever? I love how much brighter and sleeker it makes the space feel and it is so comfy that I haven’t had a tense back since.

With my paperwork in order and my I’m The Boss chair, I feel so much more in control. What tweaks have you done that have made you feel instantly more on top of things?

I am taking some time off my regular blogging schedule during the final days before my wedding and while I’m on my honeymoon. Since you will be at home while I am having the time of my life, I have pre-posted some fun links and great guest posts to keep you entertained.

There are makeovers and then there are makeovers. Converted from a 60s Airstream caravan, this incredible studio is most definitely one of the latter.

Want more? Get the full story here.

Being obsessed with typography is kind of an occupational hazard of being a graphic designer. And since I’m all about decorating with your passions in mind, it was always going to feature in our home. Here are a few examples in my own home (all from just one 2×3m room!).

Cut-out letter

Letterpressed song lyrics

Antique woodblock type

Bookend

If you liked last week’s Marimekko Obsess & Inspire then I have a treat for you!

Head over to Always Mod to score free Marimekko wallpaper for your desktop. This is my fave but there are plenty to choose from.