Monday, February 18, 2019

My Home Office in Pantry: Rearranged

Click on either photo to enlarge. When I sit at my drafting table under the window to work on my laptop and pay bills, I needed more room to spread out my papers, make entries in my check book and file the papers until they can go to the attic filing cabinet.

I added a side table for a more efficient work space. It's an old cutting board attached to an antique adjustable wrought iron base on wheels found at a rummage sale years ago. It had been in use in my basement kitchen that is no longer in use since my mother passed. I got the brilliant idea to put it in the pantry for more horizontal space for my favorite things. I do best when everything is in plain sight rather than in drawers. There is a small separate bookcase that fits perfectly underneath to hold wire baskets for unpaid bills, etc. I am thrilled with the way it all worked out. I have played around in there for a couple of weeks and yesterday I finally declared it perfect.

13 comments:

Mama Pea said...

You could be an interior designer/decorator. Your taste is impeccable. Everything you do in your home creates a comfortable, homey, cozy atmosphere and yet is always so functional. I'm enamored of your talent. (Can you tell?)

Content in a Cottage said...

Mama Pea -- You flatter me and I thank you. I finally got sick of having my farm table covered with circulars from the grocery store (this week's version and the one starting on Sunday), items that needed to be filed upstairs, and things that needed to be shredded (upstairs). I finally came up with this new arrangement and it also became a place to display my newly acquired Blue Willow Staffordshire platter from a thrift shop. I do love rearranging things too. You see things with new eyes. Now I am actually looking forward to paying bills at the end of the month.
xo, Rosemary

Pam said...

This is really well utilized space! I think it's wonderful when you're able to repurpose something you already have to fulfill a need. If it makes bill paying more enjoyable, then it was well worth your effort!

Lisa D. said...

OMG, you're so organized! You should see my office. I need Marie Kondo to come over and help me tidy up!

Claire said...

I love the blue and white platter . I have one on my counter top in the kitchen for my husband to put his keys, wallet, loose change , etc. Everything stays together in plain sight for him and looks good , too.

SuSu said...

I love it - your office has lots of my favorite things in it! Your taste is flawless.

One thing - the shape of your Blue Willow platter tells me that it might be a "bacon platter." At one time, I had a huge collection of BW and was educated my many dealers over the years. Also, by the color, I believe it is Allerton's which is considered to be the finest of all BW. I collected only Allerton's and it was a beautiful collection.

Keep sending us beauty!

Susan

stacey said...

Lovely and cozy, you have a wonderful aesthetic.

Content in a Cottage said...

Pam -- There was no effort at all in this enjoyable rearrangement. It's one of my favorite things to do. I don't think you ever finish "decorating" your home. It's fun to look back on old photos and see how things have evolved. I got two bills in the mail today. It was fun highlighting the due dates and putting them in the first slot of my open lateral file on the new table.
xo, Rosemary

Content in a Cottage said...

lisa -- Marie Kondo would throw up her hands and run the other way at all the things that "spark joy" for me!!!
I bought her book years ago and loved it but I went back to my old ways of throwing the socks in a drawer folded one inside the other. I did donate a bag of old clothes today but this is something I do on a regular basis. My only wish is that Marie Kondo would insist that buying new stuff should be limited to thrift shops and rummage sales. Surely something that didn't spark joy for the previous owner will find its way to you.
xo, Rosemary

Brenda said...

Love your style and your organization inspires me! Thank you.

Christine said...

You know what they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention."


"When the need for something becomes imperative, you are forced to find ways of getting or achieving it."

Way to GO!!

Content in a Cottage said...

Christine -- You are so right. It's nice to be organized with tax season around the corner.
xo, Rosemary

The Queen Vee said...

Oh now this is my kind of space, organized treasures and other useful items. You've made this work so nicely as a small office with everything close at hand. Love that you have a view, how clever to use that blue willow platter in an office and look....All Hallow's spiders, makes me feel like I'm right there with you.

Marie Kondo would throw up her hands in frustration with my collections, treasurers and way of storing things. I try to be organized but I could never do what she suggests. Like you, I find too many things give me joy plus I don't have the attention span or desire to have everything stacked and folded perfectly. I do like to go through storage, closets and garage for a good clean out when the weather gets a bit warmer but I'd rather be reading a good book than precisely folding and storing my joyful stuff.

Thrift stores, rummage and garage sells....the best places to shop. Unfortunately where I live now my options are quite limited. I go once a year to Denver and shop like crazy for a couple of days. If truth be told, I really don't need a thing.