Organizing: New Office Desk and Space

After using my little computer desk for many years, I was starting to outgrow the small space. Since I began my Etsy shop, continual blogging, and organization projects, my little space was just not serving the purpose I wanted it to. I definitely needed one big flat space where I could spread out with my projects. I also recently purchased a 27 inch iMac, which took up a huge chunk of my desk, as well.

Well, this is what my old office desk/space looked like.  My desk sits in front of a window. Just imagine some velvet, blackout, dark red (maroonish colored), 4 panels of long curtains draped across the window with a brass curtain rod. I really wish I had a picture. It was dark, too dark, and definitely the wrong color for me and the room. After living with it for months, I just couldn’t take the dark, drab, unpleasant look anymore.  It was almost depressing looking. 

So now you have seen my old office space: a too small desk, very unorganized and envisioned dark, drab, velvet blackout material in maroon colored curtains, with a brass curtain rod hanging in the background.

First, I went shopping for new curtains. I just couldn’t find any curtains I liked well enough, or they were more than I wanted to pay for something to just hang in front of a window. So I wandered over to the shower curtains section at Target and the selection was way more my style. I replaced the curtain bar to a silver one, got some silver shower curtain hooks, and hung up a fun bright, my kind of style shower curtain as my new window curtain. It gives our office a much happier, brighter look. Problem solved!

I had in mind what I wanted for a new desk (and how I wanted my area in our office). I looked for some inspiration, and off we went to Ikea. They had lots of options for desks I liked but as I was trying them out I found it was too wobbly, not big enough, cute but wrong style for what I really needed, or it was temporarily out of stock. Regardless, I was still determined I was going to bring home a new desk from Ikea. I was going to find something! Then my husband called me over. He saw exactly what I was looking for, exactly! I loved it! It was everything I needed, and had been envisioning for my new space.

Now, here is my new office area – new desk, new bookshelf, new iMac, new curtains, and new clear desk accessories decorated with washi tape. It is so much more functional, fun, bright and cheery, and makes me smile everytime!

A lamp and desk accessories trimmed in washi tape.

As for the bookshelf, I wanted to have some items near to my desk I use often as I didn't want them cluttering up the top of my desk. 

The top shelf are glass jars decorated with washi tape that hold extra girl and boy pencils, along with a stackable notepads and pen in the middle. 

Next shelf holds magazine holders of inspirational Paper Crafts magazines. I added the decorative paper to the spine of the magazine holder. It also contains a glass jar that holds extra post it notes.


Third shelf holds more inspirational magazines, the blue box contains recipts I log, the green canvas basket holds my camera when not in use. The blue book is my address book. 

Fourth shelf holds my newly created greeting card organizer and the white budget binder, easily accessible. 



Bottom shelf is a canvas bin that holds all my extra journals. (I love journals! It is just fun to have something pretty to write in.)

The before and after pictures of my office space. I always love these so you can see the transformation.

Happy Organizing!

-Susan