Home Office and Learning Center Progress

A few months ago, the ladies here at 11 Magnolia Lane shared our home goals for 2012.  One of my goals was to turn a portion of our basement into an office for me and an educational center for my children.    I am thrilled to say, our office has been designed and installed so now it is time to decorate.

I have to admit, decorating doesn’t always come easily to me, I often call Amy and Christy in for validation.  What would I do without them?

So here are some photos of the old office and as you can see, it was a blank canvas.

 Here is the new and improved basement office.  I am really excited to have my own desk and space, and just look at all the additional storage I have as well!

 My children are just as excited and are begging me to buy them chairs so they can do their homework at their new desks.  I guess I has better get on it before they lose motivation to do their school work.  IKEA, here we come!!

As you can see, there is a lot of open shelving that I need to fill and keep organized.  I also have some corner bookshelves that are exposed so I will need to find baskets and/or bins to help maintain an orderly look.

I have been pulling some inspiration from the web and these are a few examples of what I like.

Of course I found an office with red accents… if you know me at all, you know I love RED!!!

 Here is another great office from Houzz.  I love the cork board and the black and white organizational baskets.  Moving forward in 2012, I am committed to streamlining the decor in my home.  Now that we have ebony floors on our main level, I feel that black and white is the direction I am moving toward.   It is simply a timeless color combination and it allows you to add pops of color throughout your home.  The example below has blue accents, which I really liked.