(Re)building an office

Those who visit my blog regularly, know I am moving rooms in my little house. Originally built for elderly people, it has one bedroom downstairs.The huge empty attic was for storage and big enough to use half of it for a bedroom.
My office was in my living room which wasn’t too bad at first but I noticed I spent too much time behind my laptops on top of all the hours I spent to real work. Also the noise of both laptops was at time annoying.
After weeks of hard work, my bedroom is now upstairs and my office moved to the bedroom downstairs. I am extremely happy with all the extra space plus the fact that I can close the door behind me when I “finish” work.

Still I miss being busy and I miss decorating and I have tons of ideas for my office. Being a lover of antiques and old English cottages and Halls, I started thinking of decorating my office the more classic way: dark brown wooden bookcases, desks, a chest of drawers, etc. Of course it is way beyond my budget to buy antiques.
But decorating is not all about copying a style with the exact right items. And of course with all modern devices like laptop’s, printers, phones etc. it isn’t easy to “live the antique way”. For me decorating is all about feeling comfortable with your own style and enjoying the effort and energy to create it your way.

Whilst sitting behind my desk, very slowly the idea of Victorian Ruby Red walls, copper decorating items and a 'golden’ touch here and there, sneaked into my brains. Right now the wall and sealing are magnolia. A nice colour but not what I have in mind for an office “my way”.

I inherited some office items from my grand father which is a start for what I want.
“Marktplaats” is similar to e-Bay and has been of excellent use in the past to find what I am looking for. I am very patient and love RSS feed to be No.1 if the item I am looking for, is on line. I have a low budget to spend which makes it even greater to browse and when I finally can buy what I need and want, I feel happy.
I don’t need everything at once, I can wait for weeks, months and if necessary, years.I do not buy something which doesn’t match what I have in mind. I am quite stubborn in that respect.

Back to Victorian Ruby Red. My brother and his family recently moved to Germany and I visited them last Saturday. The corridor of their new house is decorated with this bold red colour, exactly how I like it. They gave me the number and this morning I called a painter who can create every colour. We discussed what I want and for half the price it usually costs (he had some great ideas for an “in between colour” so I don’t need buckets full of the definite colour). Hopefully I can start painting at the end of this week or early next week.

I already found and bought one piece of furniture; a site table. Handmade of Oak and exactly the look I want and for only € 20. It needed quite some wax to get it back alive but now it is a beauty and it makes a great desk.
I also found the perfect curtains on the internet and are going to collect them tonight plus a tin of gold paint to give my existing colour paintings from Sweden the correct look. Or maybe I copy (with her permission :-)) the great idea of my niece Mirjam. She bought two simple serving trays, painted them gold and fitted existing frames + painting on top of it.

The next item on my wanting list is a book case which will fill one corner from floor to ceiling. I know it is probably not for sale in this size but I already have a plan to make it myself from used wood.

It might take a few months but at the end the office will be “mine”; my taste, my look, for almost nothing.

Living a boring life? No, definitely not. Because when the office is finished, my living room needs a redo (it shouldn’t come as a surprise that my brains are working on that one already… bold Victorian yellow and white….)