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Becky Parker
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 6:45am | IP Logged
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So I'm inspired by Jen's desk to get things a little more organized and pretty here. My struggle is, I finally realized, that I have my stuff in various areas of the house. I need to consolidate everything at one central "hub" (I guess that is what it would be called.) So I'm working on a way to do that. I don't really have a central place I can call home to all my stuff. I do have a desk, but my pc screen and key board sit on it so there isn't much room there. I also have a bag that i keep things in. It sort of travels with me. But then there are other things in various places ... planner on the kitchen counter, lists and reminders on the calendar bulletin board (on a wall in the kitchen), lesson plans either upstairs or down in thc school room, depending on where I last left them, file box on the shelf under the cabinet .... It's all quite disorganized. So, while I'm trying to figure out what to do with it all, I'm wondering if you would care to share what you do with it all. Maybe you have lovely pictures as well?? I need more inspiration! 
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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CrunchyMom
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I'm in a similar boat, Becky.
I actually have an office, but it is so hard to figure out how to use it. It is small, and I have to share it with my husband. He insists he doesn't require much, but I get a little overwhelmed when trying to decide just "whose" space it is primarily and how to differentiate.
And aside from functionality, it sort of paralyzes me when I try to consider what aesthetic to go with. It is knotty pine, which I'd like to eventually paint, but there are many other household projects to take precedence, and it could be a while. And I'd like to make it a feminine space, but again, I have to share it with dh.
AND, it is right at the top of the half-stair landing you see when you walk in the front door.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 8:27am | IP Logged
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Oh, and Jen, is that the same desk you've had in the past in different spaces? It seems smaller.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 8:38am | IP Logged
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It's the same desk.
It looks smaller because I've had to rearrange our learning spaces to keep up with the influx of little learners getting older. I purchased a couple of new (smallish) work tables for them, and anyway, the rearranging to give little workers their spaces meant that my desk needed to go against a wall which I initially really avoided and disliked - I really like it when my desk floats in the room, off a wall, so I can look out into it from my desk. But, this arrangement has been nice. I have the windows next to me, and my little people that I work with most closely are directly to my right and left. My rolling chair lets me move about easily so having the desk face the wall instead of facing out into the room doesn't bother me so much now. I like having the shelves which are right above me so I can easily reach notebooks, references, supplies.
All of that to say, the desk is the same desk you've always seen in my learning room. The illusion is that it is smaller because it's placed up against a wall with shelves jutting out partially (but very usefully) over it.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 8:59am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
I'm in a similar boat, Becky.
I actually have an office, but it is so hard to figure out how to use it. It is small, and I have to share it with my husband. He insists he doesn't require much, but I get a little overwhelmed when trying to decide just "whose" space it is primarily and how to differentiate. |
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Where do you and the boys do your work and reading primarily, Lindsay? That's where I'd put my desk, in whatever that space is, or I'd carve out a smallish organized space for me if I couldn't have a dedicated desk area.
Perhaps you could keep a creative workspace in your little office area and then consider a functional type space nearest where you do most of your reading and lessons. Even if it's in the kitchen. Even if that means displacing cups from a cupboard. Seriously! A nice workable, portable file system in the cupboard along with tools neatly arranged and then a basket with most essential needs placed out somewhere....I can imagine something along these lines to be very workable! My mom, when she homeschooled my brother and sister, had only a big kitchen and the big kitchen table, so she used a small shelf near the kitchen table as her desk storage-type area. She arranged all of her tools on the little shelves, which she could reach from the table. I imagine you could easily sew a simple curtain panel to cover the contents of the shelves if seeing pencils and rulers and notebooks was too striking for a particular husband's sensibilities or for guests.
I have many, many places in my home that make more sense for me to have my desk....but in the end, I am here mostly, with the children, working while they work. Putting my desk in learning room central means that I'm more available to them, and that all the tools which help me move the day along smoothly can be arranged in pleasing ways right near me. If your family primarily works in the kitchen, carve out a little space there. If you primarily work in a living room/family area, carve out space there. If you move around a lot, put some effort into a portable desk type solution on rollers. And of course, in my own very feminine imagination, there are always a lot of toile and floral notes involved. 
Anyway....just noting that there are so very many options and workable solutions for a desk-type space, but I do think it's essential that wherever anyone carves out a space that it is near or within the space that most lessons/reading is done. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that counter-intuitive ideas, no matter how pretty they are, rarely work out in the ordinary living of the days. They languish because you don't intuitively find yourself there. This is exactly why our learning room occupies the dining room. It works. It's intuitively placed for us.
One more thing, Lindsay, I'll give you hope for your knotty pine! My folks have an old, old farmhouse, and when we first moved in there was knotty pine OVER the older beadboard paneling (which we eventually uncovered and refinished). As a way of living with the knotty pine...so much of it....and so dark - talk about sucking all the light out of a room - we painted the panels in a nice creamy color. It was so transforming!!!!!!! And it did so much to lift our spirits until we could properly remodel our old farmhouse. Really, a week of painting would do so much for your knotty pine! I KNOW there are so many other things on your plate right now....but seriously....can of paint + knotty pine = HAPPINESS! 
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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mommy4ever
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I agree with Jen, you need to have your space be where you will be the most.
I have 2 spaces. One I use each and every day and it is in the school space. I need to tidy up and organize.
The other is a crafting space, it's down a level and.I.never.use.it. I grab stuff and come upstairs. It's just not where I can be. So I need to rethink it. When I set it up, I wasn't homeschooling, and I had free afternoons to go and putter. Now, I have kids 24/7 with me. And with homeschool, so much to accomplish every day.
So think of where you will be.... then do what you can to carve a pretty space for yourself.
Now I'm off to assess my disaster zone....it's no where near as pretty as Jen's..lol. I'd love it to be though.
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CrunchyMom
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I know you are right, Jen, and I get SO TORN when thinking about all this.
On the one hand, the office at the top of the stairs actually works pretty well as it is central to the whole house, on the level with the master bed/bath, just down from the "boy level" where I can hear them playing, and just up from the main level where the living and kitchen are. Sometimes, I refer to it as "the eagle's nest."
In some ways, I would prefer a space on the main living level, and I can imagine carving a space near "my chair" in the living room.
Sigh. I do feel like I would like an unabashedly feminine space of my own, and the living room would be even more restrictive than the office in that way IF I decided I could do that there.
Being so outnumbered and having somewhat more sensible (is that the right word?) tastes to begin with, I have a hard time coming into my own in this regard. Probably getting very off-topic...
On topic, here is Dawn's post about her desk for another look. I just LOVE her corner desk. Swoon.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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mommy4ever wrote:
I agree with Jen, you need to have your space be where you will be the most.
I have 2 spaces. One I use each and every day and it is in the school space. |
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My nice big corner desk is in my bedroom. This holds our dinasour PC , a planning basket of sorts and all my computer/printing stationary. But, over the summer last year I made the big change in our learning room. We moved a smallish three drawer desk into the learning room and it has made a huge difference. The desk is small but it fits a laptop, a stacking organizer and still some room for my tea cup & a some books. You might think me silly but in the drawers I keep my Parent Review Magazines at the bottom, some reference books in the middle drawers and some very random craft materials.
The area is not big so it is very easy to declutter and prioritize what I want on top of it. And of course, my favorite thing about having the desk there is that I'm always within reach of the kids to help/guide them.
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Jenny
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Grace in Loving Chaos
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mommy4ever
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Jenny, I wish I was good at decluttering, I struggle hard with that. Working on it though....
Homeschool just generates so much paper and stuff..lol. As do sports, home daycare, schools, bills..... eeek... better get to it!
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Mackfam
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Sometimes, I refer to it as "the eagle's nest." |
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I love this!!! You must always refer to it as such!
I LOVE Dawn's corner desk, too!!! I dream of that creamy white desk somewhere in my home!
You KNOW how much I pretty? I try to keep "public-pretty" ( is that even a phrase?) to softer tones and colors I enjoy, simple and classic lines, tidy spaces, feminine choices in containers (basket anyone? ). I think of Dawn's corner desk and her room as a perfect example of that. Colors, lines and hues and pretty containers have more of a chance of coordinating and blending very seamlessly in spaces that can be dominated by train sets, pocket knives, guns and guitars (TANGENT: ok...ALL my kids and husband play a variety of instruments and there is always music here and there is ALWAYS some cornucopia of instruments decorating rooms of my house that sometimes clashes with my more feminine side. Couldn't they all just play a little lute? Or a pianoforte? Rather than multiple large guitars and pianos and the drumset they long for..... My solution? Store ALL the little instruments in pretty baskets and require an occasional sonata played for my enjoyment. ).
Having said ALLLLLLL of that...my husband and both my boys are THE first to notice if I tone down "feminine" in any way. While they don't want it to be overpowering, the presence of femininity in decor, furnishings, clothing, etc., is very important to them and to the atmosphere of home.
I have a feeling this is more or less nebulous and without much form that would yield anything helpful for you, Lindsay. So, I'll stop there. I do know what you mean in that it's a process of finding that balance of pretty-feminine and practical-functional that ALSO meshes with family style. My own temperament is almost a reflection of my decor sense of practical and pretty - I'm choleric (ordered, driven, and practical) and sanguine (mesmerized by pretty, shiny things)...with a hearty emphasis on choleric. My sanguine side wants something pretty, feminine, happy...and my choleric side bulldozes right on ahead in implementing and putting in place if it's also functional and practical. Isn't that funny how our temperaments play such a part in the day-to-day....right down to what we put on a desk, or in a carved space?
Wish I could send you a tidy little brown parcel of my choleric! BECAUSE....if it were me, I would MOST DEFINITELY be carving a little feminine spot near my chair in the living room...with baskets and pretty pens and delightfully feminine fabrics! Without batting a single choleric/sanguine eyelash!
I'm off to the dreaded lunch prep....but I'm wearing a pretty apron!
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Jen Mackintosh
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Wildflowers and Marbles
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wifemommy
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I so second swooning over Dawn's desk set up. I love the whole room set up especially the windows. I am currently in the middle of a big purge and reorganization so this post helps me to "see" the goal right now in the middle of much chaos. Thanks  -Annie
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: May 30 2012 at 12:50pm | IP Logged
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Something like this would be awfully handy as well, especially if you were trying to set up a space near the kitchen or dining room.
Fortunately, it is no longer available, so no one here will be tempted by its $800 price tag 
Still, the concept could be doable with the right piece of furniture from Craig's list to make over.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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mommy4ever
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http://ana-white.com/2010/02/plans-bedford-secretary-top-ins ipred-by.html
What about building one? Love this one... I'd not go bright green, but maybe teal...
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Grace&Chaos
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Something like this would be awfully handy as well, especially if you were trying to set up a space near the kitchen or dining room.
Fortunately, it is no longer available, so no one here will be tempted by its $800 price tag
Still, the concept could be doable with the right piece of furniture from Craig's list to make over. |
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Oh Lindsay, I always swoon over Pottery Barn furniture. Garage sales, Good Will and antique stores would be a perfect place to find an old secretary style hutch like that one and this one .
My husbands grandmother has one sitting in her garage that got damaged in the Northridge earthquake in '94. We housed it in our home for a few years, but it really needs to get repaired...I hope it does someday.
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Grace&Chaos
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I like that one too
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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CrunchyMom
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I love secretaries in general. I did think, though, that the Pottery Barn one was unique in being narrow for fitting into busier spaces and the desk was counter height so you could use it standing or on a stool!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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JennGM
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CrunchyMom wrote:
Something like this would be awfully handy as well, especially if you were trying to set up a space near the kitchen or dining room.
Fortunately, it is no longer available, so no one here will be tempted by its $800 price tag
Still, the concept could be doable with the right piece of furniture from Craig's list to make over. |
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Interesting. That secretary looks just like my MIL's design -- the height and such. I love this idea! This is exactly what I need.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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AmandaV
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Well, I haven't read the whole thing but y'all inspired me to clean up my game room/school room/library yesterday afternoon. Just had to share!
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Amanda
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mommy4ever
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Amanda, me too!!! Started on the school area... now to decide where to lay things out....
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pumpkinmom
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Enjoying this thread! I surprised myself and cleaned out our school area and put away all book and filed away papers and loaded our school area with books for summer break. And I did it the weekend after ending our school year!! (Usally it gets done the week before school starts again.) Of course I would love to make some changes to our school area and I am enjoying this thread for ideas. I am considering spliting my boys up with two different tables. Our dining room table gets very crowded and they get distracted when I am working with the other. I have my grandparents first kitchen table in my living room. It has two drop sides that we keep down, but use for extra room when needed. I really just use the table as an entry way table that holds a lamp and sometimes becomes a play table or holds stuff that people are coming to pick up. I may set one of my boys up at this table. I need a place to hang the dry erase board and the wall space is free above the table. This thread has be thinking! I so wish my Grandma was still alive to see school taking place on her table!
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Cassie
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Topic: Organizing it all
