fall forward

I know we’re on the cusp of the first long weekend of summer and everything, but – like everything in the design world – I’m already working a season ahead.

Leaves, trees and shades of fall have been filling my days this week as I work on paper goods for an October wedding suite.

I promise not another mention of fall until the bride drops these in the mail.

battle of the home office

Marriage… is about compromise. Give and take. Collaboration. Actually, that pretty much goes for any relationship.

Now that I’m working from home, our first point of order in the new place was to get our home office in quick, well, working order. (Screw a functional kitchen or a livable family room layout: those battles will come later.)

The vision:

The reality:

Okay, it wasn’t quite that dire. Husband had my desk set up and our network connected pretty quickly, but living working out of boxes without your everyday “stuff” is a concentration challenge in itself.

But now the real work begins, the compromise bit I mentioned above. The goal is to create a shared man-and-lady cave that does sextuple duty as:

1. work-at-home base
2. craft mission control
3. writing nook
4. mini music studio
5. tech lab/repair centre, and
6. gaming hub.

Oh, and all that in 9′ x 11′.

The real challenge isn’t the scope of functionality our office must have – we’ve done it before, in smaller quarters, not that it was pretty – it’s making it organized and visually pleasing enough that we both actually want to hang out and create in there.

HER vision:

HER reality:

HIS vision:

HIS reality (except messier):

Right now we’re leaning toward creating a two-walled wrap around desk with his, hers and ours zones (taking inspiration from here and here), but something tells me this room is also going to be a study in the creative use of wall space.

Husband has conceded to making that desk white, which will go a long way in the fight against almost six feet of computer monitors and other tech stuff (and, I guess, craft messes). A battle for the ages if ever there was one.

I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Photos via Elle Uy, Maximum PC, MarthaStewart.com and Decor8.

heather hearts… super hearty edition { 02.15.12 }

Okay, so I know V-Day was yesterday, but February is really the month of love isn’t it? Besides, hearts are kind of what we do around here.

Here are a few things that have captured mine in recent weeks, not the least of which was this super colourful bouquet le husband brought home yesterday. Major brownie molten lava cake points (lucky for him, it’s what I baked for V-Day dessert).

{ 1. Baja Red Bench, CB2, $349 |2. Heart Part Utensil Set, Fatima Fazal, $10 |  3. Twist Cone Greeting Card from Laura George, $4 (via Creature Comforts) |  4. Three-Button Blazer, Jacob, $129 | 5. Perfectly Paired Pencils, BHLDN, $14 | 6. Valentine’s Mani by The Beauty Department | 7. PLAY Comme des Garçons Converse sneakers, $116 }