Last weekend was spent dismantling the extra bedroom, which is currently my home office, to make a room for the baby. That's all fine and good except I work from home and currently have no place for my desk, computer, multi-function printer, files and large library of reference books. The space above (basically the wall between our kitchen and living room) is set to become my new office space. As you can see, there's not a lot to work with there. I have no idea how to cram a room full of stuff into this one wall, which is about five feet wide. I'm somewhat of a minimalist. I don't like a lot of crap around, so I certainly don't want my desk, post-it notes and various files and things out for the world to see. So I'm thinking I'd like to try to put everything into some kind of cabinet. The problem is that the cabinets I've seen have been butt ugly. There's one at IKEA that isn't too bad design-wise but it's got some bizarre color combination going on, namely distressed country white with bright yellow handles. Not my thing. All the other ones I've seen look very post-WWII. Great for displaying nonna's best china but also not my thing. Suggestions?I've begun to refer to the baby as "the new roommate." At prenatal classes, they told us to be prepared to think of the baby not as your beloved son or daughter but as a stranger entering your home and disrupting your lives. You don't know his habits. You don't know his personality. His dirty dishes stay in the sink until you wash them. It is true that he's not even here yet and he has already taken over part of our closet, two of our dresser drawers and has us doing his laundry. I've had some interesting living situations in my time, so I would like to think that I'm prepared for whatever "the new roommate" will throw our way. At most, he's going to want to stay up all night and eat all the time, right?
25 comments:
New roommate...interesting concept...not sure I agree. You can kick out the roommate if he stops doing his dishes and doesn't help out around the house :)
I think maybe the best would be to get a rolly-file cabinet - I'm not sure how much stuff you have!
My prenatal classes are super "tough love." They prepare you for the worst! I kind of like it. At least they don't try to sugarcoat everything.
I get what you are saying on the filing cabinet and I'm all for practicality myself but a filing cabinet in the kitchen is not going to fly in an Italian home (Cristiano has rejected most of my ideas...). Plus I'd like the office to be "hidden" so at the end of the day I can shut it away and not have to see it. But then I've only got five feet to work with so we may have to make some compromises!
I guess sharing the spare room with the new roommate is not an option right?
But I would just do that. It's not like he needs much space and in the worst case scenario (ie eviction)he won't be able to notify you until he can speak. Or write.
Enrico
I agree you should share the room with the baby. Kind of like an office/nursery. Will you be putting him in the room right away, or have him in your bedroom like most Italians do the first few years of life? If you plan on having him with you in your bedroom, I wouldn't rush turning the office into a complete nursery just yet. And trust me, you will want the baby as close as possible, at least for the first six months because you will be waking up often during the night! There's nothing worse than being awoken in the middle of the night by a screaming baby only to have to stumble down the hallway, half asleep, to get to him. Having the crib in your room is so much more convenient, imo. Or, if your bedroom is large enough, you can put your office in there?
Enrico and Giulia,
We thought about keeping my office in the baby's room but I really, really resent the idea of work invading our bedrooms. We work so much as it is, and my husband has a family business so work already is normal dinner (and Sunday lunch) table conversation...plus, we are in Milan. It's just work, work, work all the time here. If I have to see my desk before going to bed I'll probably have a panic attack. I'm in this quality-of-life mode where I am sick of work being so tied up with everything else we do.
Giulia,
I'll probably keep the baby in a bassinet with me in the bedroom at least in the beginning. I still hate the idea of my office being in his room though. I may just have to get rid of some files. Make everything electronic. :)
I've seen 'closets' in the US that aren't really closets but are desks for computers and stuff and they have doors in the front that close. they look just like a regular armadio. I don't know if IKEA has anything like that, but some furniture store their should.
J.Doe,
Exactly. That's what I meant by a "cabinet." That was the thing I saw at IKEA but there was only one color option and it was just too ugly. If it were tucked away in a corner somewhere, maybe, but this piece of furniture will be the first thing you see when you walk into our apartment. I can imagine IKEA would be the ONLY place that would have something like that here. Everything else here is some design furniture showroom and you drop several thousand Euro just for a chair. I wanted to check to see if we could have something built but then that could get expensive too. All things to think about!
Totally understandable that you don't want the office to invade personal space. Is Cristiano handy? Would the thought of building a closet type space saver himself, excite him, or send him running?! lol
Are you sure that Ikea wont allow you to customize the doors and handles of the cabinet that you saw? You'd think that it would be an option considering their popularity with selling low priced furniture.
Giulia,
Cristiano is handy-ish. Basically anything he puts his mind to he seems to accomplish. It's the there-must-be-a-logical-solution-to-this engineer in him. Here's the thing: he works all the friggin' time, weekends included! I can barely pin him down to look at the IKEA catalog with me for four seconds (usually rejecting what I pick out) much less design and build a custom cabinet/work space. If I even mention it, he will probably take it on, spending late nights creating CAD-CAM drawings on the computer and weeks measuring and re-measuring. I'd rather just throw some money at a falegname at this point - provided it isn't ridiculously expensive. We shall see!
You should definitely check with a falegname. If the price is reasonable, then you're set. If they are to pricey, then you have the option of having your husband build it. Of course, he'd have to do it willingly, which may be the next problem considering his work schedule. My husband pretty much works all week. He barely gets his Sundays off. He too, works "in the family" with his brother. So, I can totally relate to the schedule and him never leaving work, at work. I don't even bother to ask him to do something around the house anymore. I just (try to) do it myself. It's good to know that Cristiano is at least the 'willing to give it a try' type. :)
If it's just the handles you object to then I would get the IKEA and put on different handles - can't be too hard. Our neighbour has just put his desk into his wardrobe/closet - looks really weird in there with shirts hanging around his head but I suppose needs must!
Have you thought about a screen? You can get some really nice foldable screens in wrought iron / material or bamboo, which could act as a divider between workspace and baby space if you decide to put your office in his room... You can also move it around and it would mean that you don't have to even look at your workspace when you're not using it...
don't look just in ikea!... you are living in the industrial design main city and the world region where the most beautiful and modern forniture is built and sometimes, created.
look around!... you must find something outside ikea.
create a nice space.
take a look: www.bravacasa.it, www.100cataloghi.it (qui puoi trovare un sacco di cataloghi di diverse aziende produttrici di mobili e magari rubare qualche idea).
Hi, I was just reading the new Real Simple magazine and I stumbled upon a page that made me think of you. I am not sure if I totally like the look, but it can be improved on. It shows a space just like the one you have. They have a simple desk and in front of it is a corkboard screen - its one of those 3 panel screens that people sometimes use to seperate rooms. The website they give is www.orientalfurniture.com. Just wanted to throw in another idea.
I used to have my comments show my name and now I must be doing something different. Anyway, its Beth.. :)
Oh, I just found another one at www.worldmarket.com - its the Potrero screen... Beth
I was going to suggest to look on te internet for something suitable, but other commenters have done that already.
We lived for 13 years in a 3-room apartment in Milan, where my office was perforce a corner of our bedroom (we barely had an entryway). I put an Ivar bookshelf with a closed cabinet at desk level (opening to the desk side) and hung a nice Indian tapestry on the back so it didn't look so industrial, and my desk lamp didn't hit the bed when Enrico was sleeping (fortunately, he can sleep through anything).
In your situation, I'd keep the office in the baby's room for as long as possible. Being able to sleep through Mom typing is a good skill for him to have.
How about using a laptop and a wireless printer and storing the files and stuff in a bookcase, at least it would help the eyesore-in-the-living-room situation.
Enrico.
Wow, when I asked for ideas, I didn't really think I'd get any. Thanks a lot! I've been slammed with work and unable to blog/respond to blog comments but, honestly, I've gotten some really good ideas here. I think what I've come to understand is that newborn babies don't necessarily need their own bedrooms. I may suck it up and - much as I don't want to - create an office space in the baby's room. That seems to be the only solution unless I want to have some large cabinet made to our specifications for the wall/entryway of our house. Thanks again for the tips!
You might want to check out the Ikea hacker's site to get some ideas of what else can e done stylishyly & cheaply with ikea products:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/
they also have a forum, you could ask some of the clever hackers for ideas.
here's a simple idea for example:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/08/unclutter-your-desk-with-this-super.html
or this:
http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/05/fitting-cyril-computer-cabinet-for-imac.html
I would kick him out that's for sure.
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