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UHeart Organizing: Off-The-Hook Office Nook!

By now, you know I crush hard on office nooks.  There is something so invigorating and inspiring about taking a super small and often times underutilized area, and making it fantastically functional.  My superstar friend, Cassie from Hi Sugarplum,  is stopping by to show us how she did just that.   Wait until you see this transformation and use of space... It is truly divine!


Hello you fellow lovers of all things organized!  I'm thrilled to be here today sharing a space that has been years in the making. Yep, I said years! Whether it's because of life or my design-ADD, projects don't always move fast around here. But I'm okay with that...it allows me to really enjoy the process, and develop the space to fit our needs best.  {Are you buying that? Yeah, me neither.}

And what we needed was a multipurpose work/homework/blog/craft space. I didn't like the idea of being secluded in another room, not to mention, I wanted easy access to see what the kids are doing online. So that means we needed to carve out a nook in the Family Room.

So I'll start you at the beginning....our Family Room had this sweet 1980s wet bar that we used a grand total of never.


Then we enclosed it {along with changing the paint color} and had a more useable, yet dreary, little corner.


So I built some Distressed Floating Shelves and a Chunky Desktop, and added some cute desk accessories and things were improving.


Then we accidentally bought a big-screen TV during a holiday sale. And it had to be mounted over the fireplace. Which meant the shelves needed to hold all the TV/Media equipment, too. And on top of all that, because it's such a visible area, we wanted it to look tidy and fit the design of the rest of the room. I mean, really, that's a lot to ask of a little nook.


So you can understand why I'm so excited to finally have the space meet every criteria we ever threw at it.




Between the TV equipment and computer, there's a lot of black going on...so I added a cheerful fabric to brighten up the corner. I wasn't about to unhook all the electronics, so I used oversized decorative tacks to hang the fabric on the back wall {no adhesive necessary!}. This also allows my design-ADD free reign to easily switch it up.



Remember it's a work/blog/homework/craft spot? Along with TV equipment and essentials. And since we spend so much time here, we want it to feel happy and inspiring. Let's take a tour, shall we, and I'll link sources to items and projects.




The desk top holds the computer, task light, writing essentials...and treasures. And the keyboard easily tucks away when we need a small working surface.


I lined this acrylic tray with decorative duck tape, then added this mug for pens and markers.


Everything is fancier with gold, so I gilded my business cards.


I took a cue from Megan and covered my mousepad with more duck tape, and even added washi to the keyboard.


The Paris print is a bit distracting since glancing at it usually gets me daydreaming about this trip.


I wanted to be able to rotate pictures and inspiration, so I hung this magnetic strip with tacks on the wall behind the computer.


Right now it holds favorite InstaGram snapshots {I'm @cassiesugarplum, if you want to follow me}, and encouraging words. Those I just print out and frame with washi tape.


The top shelf holds notebooks, my planner, and more office/craft supplies.





I turned this organizer into a cute desk accessory here. It holds stapler, paper clips, pencils and sharpener, hole punches, stamps and ink pad. I love having it all in one spot here...it cuts down on the, 'Mooooooooooooom! Where's the stapler??'


The art was this simple project using a postcard and some thumbtacks.


The left side holds our collection of washi tape and DVDs.


This single box holds over 100 movies and games, thanks to our new organizing system. The brass urchin is a favorite from Furbish.


I'll monogram anything not moving, so of course I added one to this craft jar.


This little corner of the Family Room has come a long way...and is now a useful and cherry corner we all love.



Oh, and notice how there's no cords hanging? That's a special trick I'll share on my blog soon. You can read how I hide lamp cords here.



Do you have an area of your home that's pulling double, or even triple, duty?!  Thanks for letting me share our hard-working space!