Moving Sale!!

 It's that time again!  We are moving to another apartment & I'm looking to sell a few items from my office.  Obviously this is only for NYC locals - as I am not able to ship any of this. I'm located on the Upper East Side.

FOR SALE:

• Crate & Barrel filing cabinet - $100  measurements: 20x21x25.5 (good condition)-SOLD
• IKEA tall white book shelf - $65 (great condition) -SOLD
• Leather white lider chair - $90 (has a few scratches on the left arm, but arms can be removed if you want) -SOLD
• IKEA craft work table - $100 (I changed out the knobs and added pricier gold ones)-SOLD
• 2 black lamps - $20 each- (good condition) -SOLD
• 2 white lacquer night stands/side tables with drawer from west elm -$35 each - measurements: 21"W x 16"D x 25"H (good condition) - SOLD
• Upholstered black wing chair with white piping - $125 - (good condition, rarely ever sat on)- SOLD

Please email me if interested, thank you!- You can also check out some framed prints i'm offering for sale here.

-image by jen ramos

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Shay's Leap of Faith + Home Office

It feels so good to know it's Friday - right? A little time to relax despite the ton of work I still have to do! Today, I wanted to share a gorgeous home office from blogger & photographer, Shay from So Shay blog. I'll let her tell you about it in her own words.

Hello! My name is Shalyn Nelson and I am a wedding and lifestyle photographer from Austin, Texas. This past year I was working the typical 8-5 corporate job and worked from a small desk that blended into a sea of bright blue cubicles. Once the clock hit 5:00, I drove home & put on my photography hat & worked until the early hours of the morning. As of August, I took a LEAP OF FAITH & started working for myself! 

I am passionate about photography so this is a HUGE risk for the sake of living a life that I love.

For the past two years, I have been working in a room with boring, blank off-white walls that was had Berber carpet and yellow outlets. There was a tiny, old white fan that would creak every time I would turn it on. Basically, my work space was anything but inspiring. I wanted to work in a space that I could vibe off of, and just enjoy.  I spend so many hours working in there, it just started to become a room I dreaded walking into because it lacked energy, and life!

My office space was inspired by the colors gold, white, gray & pink. I’m currently re-branding my business, and I knew that I wanted it to match and reflect me 100%. When I had my blog redesigned last year by Kelly Ann, she sent me a mood board and when I saw it, I did a happy dance and instantly fell in love. It has become what I’ve based all of my brand on. 

One day I looked at my husband & we just decided to dive in. We moved everything out, tore up the carpet, and headed to Lowes to buy blue tape, paint, and tons of supplies to start building the office of my dreams.  We had a $1000 budget so most of the things you see in my office I have had around my home for quite sometime. I always thought that you had to buy the new, hip and cool things to make an office awesome, but honestly, you can find things you have around your home that can work just as well! 

We bought our dark walnut laminate floors from a discount flooring store in Austin, Texas. My husband put the floors in all by himself with the help of me handing him things and supporting him like the good wife that I am! ;) (Haha!)

The next step was the walls. We started out by painting one wall with Blackboard Chalk paint. I really wanted a board to write out my ideas, thoughts, and to-do list on and because there are two doors already taking up a lot of the space on the wall, I figured this would be perfect. It is almost a surprise factor when you walk in and realize that it’s there. It’s super fun!  

The gold wall was my idea and I admit it, I’m totally in love with the gold trend right now. I once saw a wallpaper on Pinterest that looks like this: When I looked up the cost, I realized that I couldn’t afford it and so my husband and I decided to paint it by hand. At first glance, it looks a little intimidating, but honestly, it wasn’t that hard to do at all. We sectioned off the stripes with blue tape and before I knew it, my gold chevron wall came to life! To say that I am in love with it is an understatement.

Slowly but surely my office came to life. My space was ME and I couldn’t wait to start working in it. The white shelf in my office was a hand me down from my brother, so I painted it white and installed white IKEA lights underneath it. The desk is from IKEA and that’s what I’ve been working from for the past two years, so it was nice to see it pop on the hard wood floors. 

The gold chest was a lucky find that I found while antiquing a couple of weeks ago. I almost had a heart attack when I saw it, and adopted that precious baby immediately. I use it to hold a lot of my things and it is also a little place for people to sit when they come hang out with me in my office. The chair was also found antiquing a year ago, and I’ve been using it in my guest room until recently. 

All in all, I love my office and I hope that you can gain inspiration from it. It’s my favorite place to be in the house, and I feel blessed to be able to work from home and in a space that I feel inspired every single day. Making a space your own and utilizing the things in your home can go a long way! 

SOURCES:

The floors were bought at Discount Floor & More. Drew put them in all by himself.
The Gold Wall: Drew and I hand painted this. It was tedious and crazy, but SO worth it.
Camera Bag: Jo Totes
Chair: Bought at an antique store
Desk: IKEA
Gold Chest: Bought at antique store
Blanket: Marshall's
Pillow: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Picture Frame in Window: Hobby Lobby
For Like Ever: Gift from DDHP; Purchased from OhDierLiving
Chandelier: Lowes
Frames: IKEA
Prints: Stephanie Stervoski Print Shop (She's amazing and just released new prints!)
Flowers on Desk: IKEA
Vase: Was Drew's Mom's that she gave to me. It was gray and I spray painted it gold.
Book Case: Hand me down from my sister-in-law. Painted it white. Added under-lighting from IKEA.
Sticks in Vase: Hobby Lobby
Gold Pillow: Marshall's
Wooden Gold Heart: Marshall's (Spray painted the heart gold)
Gold Frame: Free from neighbors yard. Was brown and spray painted it gold.
Love Letters on Shelf: Hobby Lobby
Cameras on Shelf: Z-Gallerie
iPhone Case: Target
Mood Board by Kelly Ann Creative


- post by shalyn nelson

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Reader Inspired By My Closet

I got these cool photos from a reader named Sommer. She was so inspired by the IKEA closet system I have in my bedroom - she decided to put one together for her home office. I absolutely love my closet, it comes in handy living in NYC! What do you think of hers??

                                                                         Nice right?

Above is the closet in my room & below is Sommer's IKEA closet system.

Love the marbled paper she used. You can find them via paper mojo.   

If I ever decide to change the animal print paper in my drawers - I'd choose something like this. The gold hardware we both used can be purchased at My Knobs.

- top 2 images by janis nicolay
- bottom 3 images by sommer parvino

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Floating Cabinets Are Done....

Thank God Friday is finally here - aren't you glad?? Today's post is about a DIY project we worked on in our home. Check it out....

So after my master closet was done, we decided it was time to tackle the dining room area. The wall across from the table looked TERRIBLY lonely & sparse. I'd been on a SERIOUS & frustrating hunt for a sideboard & came up with nothing every time! Well, I won't lie, I found a few, but they were well OVER my budget! 

After seeing this post on Apartment Therapy, I thought it would be a great idea for our space! So, we tried IKEA!

CABINETS: 

Ikea Akurum cabinets 36" wide x 24" high with white high gloss Abstrakt doors.

We placed them 8" off the floor. The IKEA rail system needed at least 3 stud screws with 3 toggle bolts in addition. Total dimensions are 12' x 24"H x 13"D.  We also had end caps but decided not to install them because the ends were close enough to the walls.

 

PULLS:

I decided that instead of using standard IKEA pulls or knobs .... I was going to try something different.  Something that would give it less of an IKEA look & more of a high-end feel. I found the perfect pulls while reading Erika's kitchen renovation post. She's got such great style that I didn't even question it & purchased them via myknobs.com.  I bought 8 brushed brass pulls for a total of $61.  So, what do you think?? 

TOP PIECE:

As some of you know, these cabinets have annoying & visible screws at the top - so we had to figure out a way to cover them... They're ugly. We went to a local lumber yard & bought a 13 foot x 14" piece of poplar with no visible knots & had it milled. Cost of the wood - $28. The depth had too much overhang so my guy VERY carefully trimmed the back with a circular saw to give us a 1/8" overhang.

FOR THE WOOD STAIN:

We used a mixture of Jacobean and Ebony Minwax stain (in all, we only used 2 small cans) to give it a brown-black finish. Remember to sand it before and between all coats. A third/final coat we used an Antique Walnut Minwax Polyshade (thin layer of polyurethane) to give it a protective finish. The top is glued and screwed (remember to use ones that won't pierce the top) to the cabinets.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

MY COMMENTS:

My guy was amazing- he managed to build the entire thing & make it look flawless. 

One ISSUE.... The entire piece stretches about 12 feet long. Soooo guess what!!?? I'm at a LOSS for what kind of accessories to put on top?!? All I have is books & a vase, but I'm open to suggestions. Any ideas?!?!?!? Pls help!

-images by jen ramos

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Another Project: Floating Cabinets...

I've been on another CRAZE, trying to figure out what we'll be adding next to our main dining room table. A credenza? A sideboard? WHATEVER you want to call it, we haven't found it! After looking through several sites & realizing we weren't going to find something long enough & affordable - we came to a conclusion........

let's freakin' try IKEA. 
 

During my hunt, I had come across a shelf in this Greektown loft on Apartment Therapy. I was impressed at how brilliantly Andreas (the owner) used the Akurum shelving system - and thought, why not? I love a floating cabinet...

We've made the order through a company called MODERNLV - They actually pick up your IKEA furniture for  you for about 20% of the total cost. Basically - it's cheaper than ordering it online & maybe even driving there yourself. 

 Now, I'm speaking for those of US who DO NOT have an IKEA in our state...like Nevada. So lame. Anyway, it's ordered & I'm looking forward to showing you what it looks like up.
 

As for my plan...I bought enough shelving so that it would extend about 2 feet passed the painting on each side.

Do you think that was a smart move on my behalf? Or should I have extended the cabinets from wall to wall instead?? 

Have you ever installed floating cabinets before in your home??

below: our place - shot this picture while standing in the kitchen.

For those of you interested - here's a cool DIY on how to install a floating IKEA cabinets.

-top 2 images via apartment therapy

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INK: Innovation at the Workplace

INK, one of Southern California's top advertising agencies, recently expanded their offices & created a work environment suitable for creative people! As I've said before, working in an office that is NEAT & well put together, inspires CREATIVITY! 
 

In my opinion offices should invest their BIG $ money into the items they use daily.....& leave the smaller budget for everything else. IKEA is a great place to shop for this type of project. They have a ton of desks in several different finishes as well as counter stools for office kitchen areas! 

From the looks of it it seems INK got some of their items from IKEA, which is fantastic! 

The conference chairs however are probably not from IKEA....however similar style chairs can be found on sites like ZGallerie for under $300 each! Not bad? 

Investing in good conference room chairs should be a must for any company.....especially to impress (& make comfortable) out of town guests coming in to visit the company! 

Employee rec rooms are a big part of the MODERN office these days, at INK you'll notice they have a PING PONG  - perfect to get rid of any workday STRESS right?!? 
 

In my opinion, in order to really create INNOVATION in a workspace - you have to go against the grain!
 

Basically, think out of the box when designing your new offices. Do what MOST people are NOT doing. Get the picture?!? 

For example if you notice the INK office has a BAR in the conference room, more than likely for parties & so on...but STILL, different! Also, the SHAG RUG in the office- that isn't something you see ALL the time right?!? But in this case, it works.

And seriously...an office without cool ARTWORK would be VERY BORING to me! INK has simple pieces - probably from local designers or even employees themselves. Great idea! This company is a perfect example of what the MODERN office (away from home) will look like! Enjoy!

 -images via INK

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