With all the changes going on around here, I thought it would be a good time to also rethink the home office so that it could work better for us & the Bead Tree.  

When we first moved to this house, we brought along my old school desk from our apartment & set it up against a wall in one of our spare room, along with our aquarium ~ 

Then we bought some bookshelves to fill with my university books, nicknacks, photos & Chris' music collection ~ 

And I bought a chaise for extra seating ~

Which was promptly claimed by Maggie ~

And Nu, also wanting a piece of office real estate, declared the top of my desk as hers ~ 

And we lived happily every after... well, for the next 10 years at least.  It was here, at this desk, that I spent a chunk of most every day blogging, emailing, setting up web sales, sorting digital photos & surfing the web.  When Chris would come in to check something out online with me, he would first have to grab a chair from another room, roll it in & scooch up beside me.  It was definitely not the most ideal layout, but we managed. 

But then, when Maggie passed away in November 2013, I found it really hard to go into that room altogether, being struck by shock each time, expecting to see her, followed by a pang in my heart.  Around the same time, I switched from my stationary Microsoft computer to a Macbook laptop, so I was able to take my computer wherever I wanted to.  I began to work in the dining room, kitchen, living room & last summer, the backyard, avoiding the den almost entirely.  

Now that some time has passed & last October, we decided to buy a bigger aquarium to keep our pond fish in over winter, we found ourselves spending time in that room watching the fish.  It was at this point that I started to envision a new office space... so this February, after researching & shopping around, we started transforming it.  

First, I removed & stored all the stuff in the bookcases into my bead studio so that I was able to move the bookshelves around to see how they would look in different areas of the room ~ 

We bought new baseboards, Chris put them up while I painted & caulked them.  There's my cutie working away ~

I ordered a new rug & found just the right size desk, put new chairs in, plants, hung some artwork, set up a photography area & brought all the books & treasures back in...

And here's the reveal ~ I'm walking into the room and as you can see I've positioned the desk so I face out, which feels more professional (& definitely more friendly).  Also, I added an ottoman (olive green!) that pulls out if someone wants to sit & talk directly across from me ~ 

Th desk area from another angle ~ 

I'm thrilled to have a spot where I can photograph our products as well as store them, my photography equipment & our shipping supplies, all in close proximity to each other!  

*  It's dream how efficient it is now!  ;) and here's why...

This is what a typical photography day looked like before ~ 

I used to spread everything out onto our dining room table & kitchen island.  It was a total mess & of course, come dinner time, everything had to be packed away.  

 Now, this is my view from my desk... maybe I'll put some cool artwork up in the hallway to gaze at (?) ~ 

Kitty corner from me, a closet with a velvety teal curtain & a comfortable chair for Chris to sit in after work so we can catch up & watch the fishies ~ 

Since the fish were sort of the catalyst for moving back into the office, I thought they deserved a little cameo. From left to right, "Cool Guy", "Butters" & "Marty" ~

And a funny little secret that makes me giggle. I bought Chris a new coaster (log slice) for his drinks ~

Here's a closer look ~

It's a happy face!

Thanks for taking the tour with me, I hope you enjoyed it!