Workspace Makeover Introduction

Happy Friday All! I thought I'd end the week by reviewing the start of the Workspace Project with a basic intro to my Elfa Shelves. This was all designed around my IKEA desk which I purchased in January. Above is the final draft, prepared with a massive amount of attention to detail by wonderful Elfa Designer Will at The Container Store at Westfield Century City. I should note that every consideration is being made regarding earthquake safety. As you can see we factored in everything:

•  first shelf for lightweight file boxes
• second shelf for magazines and other small items
• third shelf for design/photography books, camera equipment and a new television
• open space for my laptop, bulletin board and vision board
• fourth shelf to both hide my printer and be very accessible from my chair 

Originally I planned three shelves of four 25" sections all the way across. Then I went to this cut back option. At this point I was thinking all about what it would cost and not what I really wanted and what was right for the space. Neither of these options totally met my needs.

I really learned a big lesson about investing the thought and planning and money into doing something right the first time. I was so nervous about saying "Yes! This is it. Let's do it." So nervous. But I knew it was time to go for it and I did.

I took before photos of the space the night before I got very ill in January. Now I can't find them anywhere. I have no idea what happened, but I'm bummed I don't have them to show you. I think you can get a sense for the space here - and you get to see a rare (side) shot of "The Man."

Because The Man offered (insisted) on helping me install the shelves I did things much differently than if I'd done it myself. I laid out every tool we would need in an orderly fashion, so as to reduce annoyance to the builder. Around it is all the stuff that is going to go on the shelves or had to be moved to accommodate construction. A bit of a mess!

The Elfa installation is quite easy. You attach one section across the top with screws then the rest of the system is suspended from that bar. Much less complicated than you would imagine. Here's the man ready to drill holes now that we have measured & marked the distances.

With the top track in place it was a breeze to slide the vertical bars into the entry slots, measure and move them into place. Took seconds.

Then we measured to attach shelf brackets and put the shelves in place. Here it is in progress. It's hard to see how beautiful these shelves are in person. It just doesn't transfer in these photos which unfortunately had to be taken late at night. Below you can see the baskets I purchased.

The new TV arrived yesterday, the new printer is set up and working like a charm. Books are on the shelves now and some baskets are in place. There's one more major reorganization that needs to happen before I'm happy with it and ready to share. Can't wait to do that next week.

If you're thinking of shelving for your home I would definitely recommend Elfa and taking time to personalize it all to your specific needs. Have a great Friday. I'll be back later this morning with something darling and super useful I found for my purse.

You can get a free copy of Simple Abundance as part of my new gifting event. Here are all the details.