I'm workin in my office.

Hello! I'm back with another fun project that I've been working on at our house. The girls "office!"

When we started working from home in late March, Kate was very interested in our shared office. She told us numerous times that she needed an office. Which got us thinking... what in the world are we going to do with their play area?

It's been mostly under control when it comes to clutter and toys but we've always been very aware of toys taking over the house. Brian said that we should put in some sort of counter top for the kids to work on art/activities. I searched pinterest and we sat there for a while just scrolling and looking at inspiration photos. 

I came up with a plan, put together my IKEA order and it quickly came tumbling down. IKEA wouldn't ship anything I wanted to buy for less than $199/shipping. My in-laws said they would go do "click and connect" at the Memphis IKEA but even that was shut down. I went through so many alternative plans and kept falling flat. 

Every few days I would google "storage drawers" or something similar. One day I stumbled on the ones we picked. I couldn't find a counter top so I decided I would make one. Next thing I knew I ordered the drawers and I was at the hardware store buying lumber. It all really fell into place after that.

This was right after I made the desktop but before staining. We had those little stool/chairs and I hoped they would work but we ended up going with another option. 

I snapped this picture of the girls the day the chairs came in. I love how happy they look! Kate loves this office. She sings this song that goes like this... "I'm workin in my office. I'm workin in my office!" Yeah, that's all it is.. over and over again. I wish this blog supported videos better because it's adorable and I would post it!! 

Artwork Hanging Wire  |   Create Sign  |   Plant 1  |   Plant 2  |   Pegboard + Accessories 1 (elastic cord), 2 (cup) and 3 (clips)  

  Prints  |   Magnetic Frames  |   Rail System + Cups and Hooks  |   Chairs  |   Drawers  |   Wall Lights 

*banner, giraffe head, ceramic animal figures, and l-shape shelves all found in the target dollar spot

**art is © Kate Johnston

I ordered most of the wall storage solutions from IKEA. It took about 1.5 months to ship to me. I could have finished this super fast without that delay. I did go in target one day because I like, really HAD to. And I found all the cute animals and banner in the dollar section. Total win! 

I used a similar wooden letter sign in Kate's room last year. I loved it so much I wanted to order "Create" for this space. I measured it to be larger and was a little disappointed when it took over 3 weeks to arrive and was smaller than I anticipated. But it's still cute and works. 

Book / Toy Shelf  |  Lamp  |  Rocking Chair  |  Baskets  |   Stacking Toy

I added the area to the right after I finished the desk space. I felt like it needed something extra that wasn't just toys all over the place. I found this bookcase/toy shelf and really liked it. The open shelves on the bottom seemed to be a great idea for young kids.. with lots of baby dolls! These kids love books and always need more room for them. We have books on one side and all their musical instruments on the other. 

I ended up building a wall bookcase similar to the one I made in Kate's Room last year. I switched up the dimensions to make it work for the space we had, then loaded it with books! And I think it turned out perfect :) 

I ended up mounting the desktop on the drawer frames and to the wall. I'm so afraid one of my kids is going to pull a piece of furniture over so I try to anchor everything! This thing is so secure. The chairs are a little big right now but the girls will grow into them, Emily especially. Kate works well in them now. I kept the wheels that came with the drawers because I can always add them later to add some height. Or we talked about adding little legs to it all as the girls get older and need more leg room.

If/when we move, this could also come with us and we could play with spacing and length. I feel like it's really versatile for growth as we and the girls grow.  

I looked on Etsy for some cute prints for this room. We did an adorable alphabet one in Kate's room so I hated to repeat that but I ended up really liking these. And they were inexpensive so we can always change them. I thought about adding each girls name above her station but haven't found a cute sign yet. So many ideas! It's endless. 

Kate gets really excited when she comes home with art from school and we get to hang it on this little wire. Which BTW was incredibly difficult to hang!! I had to you tube this tutorial about 75 times before I got it to work. It's perfect once completed! 

Wall shelves  |  Count Your Chicken Game  |   Melissa & Doug Sticker Books

This project was so fun and I really enjoyed working on it with Brian. He usually steps back and lets me do my thing around the house. This was fun to have his input and really he was the one behind the original idea. We love watching the girls play here and know they will enjoy it for years to come! It's so fun to go peep through the drawers to see what they are hiding on any given day. 

Kate loves to climb up in the chair and turn on "her" light, she loves that she can reach the switch to Emmy's from the ground. She plays with all her markers and crayons in the cups (when we aren't hiding them so Emmy doesn't eat the crayons or marker her whole entire face!). 

I actually caught Kate climbing from her chair to the desktop last night to grab her Reusable Sticker Books from the top shelf. PS. If you don't have those sticker books, grab 7. They are the best and once you've used it 7,675,924,082 times, you'll be OK throwing it away because they are only $5!! 

I told myself that I would add all this up at the end and write a blog on my budget home office for kids, I didn't do that. And I don't feel like it. Cause I love this space and all the fun it has and will provide for these kiddos! If we have to quarantine again in the fall, we're prepared!!  

XOXO

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