Space Planning, Neurotic-Style

I am a plan ahead-er. I look forward. Way forward. Forward to the point of “why are you thinking about that right now?” I have not yet revealed to you my guest room converted to a guest room/home office SIX MONTHS AGO, because it is not finished, yet I am constantly imagining ways to make room for baby in this room.

(The reason the room is not finished is because I also share it with Lily’s food and litter box. I have devised a solution for the litter box and cat food, but have not had the time to implement. We are going to put a pet door in the unused cabinet under the sink in the boys’ bathroom, so that Lily can go potty where people are supposed to potty. And the smell of poop already permeates that bathroom, constantly. But it makes no sense to do that until we paint the bathroom. I’m hoping to do that during the Christmas holidays. Don’t worry. If you come stay at my house today, I put the litter box in my bedroom. But I digress.)

I currently have the almost-ideal professional situation to accommodate a baby, the ideal one being a loaded husband so I do not have to work. Obviously, a nursing, pooping baby needs to be in the same room with me, so this room will eventually (in the next two years) need to become a baby nursery/guest room/home office. I considered moving the desk into my bedroom, but I like the retreat of the office in a room that is not often used and has NO dog or children traffic.

The one thing this third bedroom, which is the smallest, has is a good closet. It has two bi-fold doors and is about 18 inches wider than the doors on each side. Currently, it stores four plastic bins that hold Christmas decorations, a small box of unused blue and white porcelain (no Cydney, you cannot have it), my wedding dress and a folding bookshelf, all of which could find homes in other parts of the house.

Enter my genius idea – the OFFICE CLOSET. Check out some Pinspiration. Please also check out the sources.

This one is smaller than mine (yay!) but is tracking on the mirror. I love all that bin and shelf storage, but I am not expecting to be so precise in my own space. Nor will I put anything on my doors.  From here.

In this photo you can see the shelves on the side, though I do not understand how they get stuff in them. I'm liking the wall lamp, but doubt it would work if I hung a mirror. And LOVE the pretty wallpaper. From here.

This is more what we would be working with for my space. My closet option is a big deeper and much wider than this. But look how clean and functional it is, and those sliding doors at the top. Be still my heart! From here.

See those shelves on the side that face the desk? Let's plan on those on both sides of my closet office. I really do not keep much office stuff at home, but it would be nice to store extras, and for the printer to not sit on the floor. From here.

I just realized, from looking at those pictures, that it is a sin and a shame that I do not have a garbage can in my home office. How improper and unofficial.

My desk will fit straight into the center of it, along with the mirror that hangs above it, which would reflect light from the window behind it. The clothes bar could be removed and the top shelf could remain a functional storage space. Into the deep sides of the closet, we could put shelves using boards and brackets for the printer and MORE storage. And I could paint it a bold color – maybe even the leftover turquoise from the front door! We would lock it somehow when not in use so a crawling baby could not make trouble or a mess in there. Since I am removing the clothes storage purpose of a closet, I could opt to replace the current chest of drawers with an armoire or chiffarobe.

I made a pact with Corey that I would stay in this house for at least five years, so we would be in a bigger house when the boys are teenagers and a Wilson-Allbritton child starts school. Who knows what my professional conditions will be then?

See, way forward.

I like to make accommodations to our current needs and situations without completing ruining the future resale value of our home. I believe in neutral walls (except in bathrooms where you can go bright. The boys’ bathroom is going to be light kiwi green on the walls and a darker grass green on the cabinet.) A bright color in a closet is not going to decrease the desirability of our chalet garden home.

I’m inspired and excited and impatient and want to do this right now. Spaces evolve to fit you. But, promises were made (to not make him move again for a while) and priorities adjust. This is the current home project list we are endeavoring to complete right now:

            1. Paint the boys’ bathroom ($)

            2. Adjust the cabinetry in the kitchen to accommodate an over-the-range microwave ($$)

            3. Paint the lower cabinets in the kitchen a darker color ($$)

            4. Create an office closet in the guest room ($)

            5. Paint our bedroom (four doors and lots of trim=daunting) ($$)

           6. Have custom built-ins installed in the living room to hide the TV and display Corey’s book collection) ($$$$)

And then, we'll move! I kid, I kid.