Suffice to say it was a fair exchange, though for us, gaining Charlotte meant losing our "computer room".
I know calling it a "home office" or "study" would sound more official, though with the majority of time spent in there going toward online shopping, e-stalking and maybe shooting the occasional virtual bad guy (hubby, not me) a title implicit of actual 'work' just seemed like blatant glorification.
So once Charlotte moved in we had two re-location candidates for our new "computer room"; the tiny guest bedroom or the little weird nothing space off our kitchen.
Here's a deceptively spacious looking floor plan which illustrates our options - trust me, this plan looks misleadingly generous, all our rooms are actually really incy.
The guest room seemed like an obvious choice though the little weird nothing space was being used for, well nothing. You see, it's a through-way due to the external sliding door (which is suppose to be a side entrance though is more often used as the main one) and two hallway openings. There is also a large vertical heater on one wall which, at this stage, has to stay. So, although looking at the floor plan many configurations seem possible, in reality, flow-wise, nothing much really worked. The only functional space is the narrow area spanning the guest room's divisional wall which didn't seem good for much....though, I thought, might be just perfect for a thoughtfully considered computer area.
So, here's the room before:
Nice enough, though nothing special and lacking functionality.
And here it is after Charlotte displaced our computer cabinet:
If I'm honest, pretty darn crappy looking. Though that's okay, it's only 'make-do'.
As I suspected, our hideaway computer cabinet didn't work in its new home.
If I was going to make this computer room gel I needed a fresh concept.
So I gathered my thoughts....
....we needed something to use as a desk, something to house our books (because there was no where else for them too live) and something to hide all the ugly hulking technological thingamabobs plus it needed to be pretty and practical, perfectly proportioned and penny-wise. Easy, right?
Ah, apparently not.
I spent hours searching for something that just didn't exist. Even with my open-minded, out-of-the-box, creative-vision hat on I couldn't find anything adaptable to fit my criteria.
The main issues were the ridiculous depth of our ginormous computer tower and the modest width of the wall.
I wanted something built-in-esque without the permanence, work or cost.
Was I going to have to build this thing myself?
In all honesty, I did seriously consider it, and I know I could have done it though at my current rate of productivity it would have been finished just in time to present Charlotte for her own house warming so instead I did something that I've never done before....I walked into a furniture store (a cheapo, budget one, mind you) and asked the nice man behind the counter how much it would cost to have something custom built.
Now, I'm not certain exactly what happened next, though the first thing I remember was a hazy salesman coming slowly into focus. "Oh", I said, "I'm sorry, I thought you said $2,000".
"I did", came the reply.
I promptly passed out again.
So once Charlotte moved in we had two re-location candidates for our new "computer room"; the tiny guest bedroom or the little weird nothing space off our kitchen.
Here's a deceptively spacious looking floor plan which illustrates our options - trust me, this plan looks misleadingly generous, all our rooms are actually really incy.
So, here's the room before:
And here it is after Charlotte displaced our computer cabinet:
As I suspected, our hideaway computer cabinet didn't work in its new home.
If I was going to make this computer room gel I needed a fresh concept.
So I gathered my thoughts....
....we needed something to use as a desk, something to house our books (because there was no where else for them too live) and something to hide all the ugly hulking technological thingamabobs plus it needed to be pretty and practical, perfectly proportioned and penny-wise. Easy, right?
Ah, apparently not.
I spent hours searching for something that just didn't exist. Even with my open-minded, out-of-the-box, creative-vision hat on I couldn't find anything adaptable to fit my criteria.
The main issues were the ridiculous depth of our ginormous computer tower and the modest width of the wall.
I wanted something built-in-esque without the permanence, work or cost.
Was I going to have to build this thing myself?
In all honesty, I did seriously consider it, and I know I could have done it though at my current rate of productivity it would have been finished just in time to present Charlotte for her own house warming so instead I did something that I've never done before....I walked into a furniture store (a cheapo, budget one, mind you) and asked the nice man behind the counter how much it would cost to have something custom built.
Now, I'm not certain exactly what happened next, though the first thing I remember was a hazy salesman coming slowly into focus. "Oh", I said, "I'm sorry, I thought you said $2,000".
"I did", came the reply.
I promptly passed out again.
'Course I didn't really pass out though I definitely did pass (on the custom build offer that is).
I'm well aware that to many, okay most, people, paying $2,000 for a piece of furniture (let alone a custom built one) isn't particularly outlandish, though to me it's simply a no-no.
So now, enter plan B....
Oh, and THANK YOU for bearing with me through this period of sporadic posting!
At the moment I'm mum and wife first, though I have a tonne of exciting projects and room makeovers on the go (and in my head!) which I can't wait to share once my new superwoman pills arrive (seriously, I don't know how other bloggers do it!).
In the meantime, my intention is, as it has always been, to blog whenever I can so please know that your readership is truly cherished.