home office

Oh my God, you guys!

I have been such a bad blogger. I have plenty of things to write about (throw pillows, eco-friendly holiday decorations, new year's resolutions, turning the big 3-0...) but I have been very remiss in putting together any coherent posts.

That's all going to change. Today.

Because we are back in business! The holidays knocked us for a loop, but I'm now inspired to go forth on what seems to be a neverending project: the living room.

I thought we might be almost finished. But, you see, in a  New York one-bedroom apartment, a large living room serves many functions. Thankfully ours doesn't also have to function as a dining room, since we are blessed with an eat-in kitchen. However, its two main functions--living room in general and office--didn't get equal footing in our fall overhaul. I gave up one computer desk in exchange for a small kitchen table, and it's definitely not cutting the mustard.

It looks like an afterthought. And with our terrible tendency to collect clutter, the work space gets smaller and smaller every second. Husband was working from home the other day, with one tiny laptop amid a sea of paperwork waiting to be filed, extra holiday cards, returned holiday cards, and computer paraphernalia. It looked like he was being punished.

And he shouldn't be punished. You know what would make both of us feel like we weren't being punished while working at home? A Parsons desk:

West Elm

Oh yeah baby. That's 8 square feet of work space, better known as 8 square feet for us to clog up with clutter.

Or will we? Right know we're struggling with the files of 2 adults stuffed into 2 Rubbermaid file drawers. And the accessories of countless electronic devices (German cell phone, anyone?) stuffed into 4 smaller Rubbermaid drawers. The two sets of drawers don't match. It's not good. It's not well thought out.

Enter our new friend Erik:

Ikea

Erik has a friend:

Ikea

Are you counting what I'm counting? 4 file drawers! And a total of 3 smaller drawers, including the 2 on the desk.

Again, I warn you that this is not a blog on saving money or scrimping when it comes to home decor. The West Elm Parson's desk is not cheap, but short of the customizable solid wood (or whatever other material you want) version from Room & Board, it feels like a smart investment to us. A Parson's desk is a classic in modern design and will truly fit its surroundings, even if one day we have a separate office space. I love that it doesn't have much to it, but still manages to have drawers. With some smart desk organizers, I think our office space will look more like a statement rather than an after thought. And perhaps encourage me to upload all the pictures I take with this blog in in mind and actually write the posts.