home decor and garden are very famous in the world

With my office now moved out of the house I find myself lost with what to do with house related bills, invitations, etc. Exactly where is the tape? Do we have any stamps here? We have a tiny nook in the kitchen and this picture from Better Homes and Gardens got my wheels turning.

I am going to seriously consider a secretary for that space. Reminds me of an oldie but goodie from Eddie Ross... First image Better Homes and Gardens

The office is really coming together, finished (or as finished as it will be for now) pictures coming soon. Here is where it was at the end of last week...

Clearly this side still needed some love...

Before shots here and here

Before the move a friend asked me if I was hiring Two Men and a Truck to come move the office. I replied, "No, more like two parents and a husband".So the three biggest cheerleaders of my life spent their weekend helping me relocate "just a few pieces". Isn't it odd how things multiply when you move? I swear I did not have this many samples before, did you see how small the room was I worked out of?

After many long hours we left on Sunday night with it looking like this...

Which was a lot better than earlier that day.

I can't thank my parents and Patrick enough (here they are fixing the window, what I can I say, I had to get a picture- I am my mother's child). Speaking of mothers I am not sure how she escaped without me getting a single picture of her in action, she only loaded and unloaded roughly 5 million items from the car. On top of being pregnant and not much help, my chronic back injury decided to join the party (dumb disc, I hate you more than my computer virus), which meant even more work for them. To say I am grateful to them would be a massive understatement, they are the best "coworkers" a girl could ask for.

Needless to say I was sad to see them go and Monday I started the daunting task of organizing. I will say it is really coming around. More pictures on the way soon....

P.S.- Happy Cinco de Mayo, one of my favorite days of the year!

There are so many lines I could start this post with:

"Beggars can't be choosers", "Life is all about compromise", "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, well you might find you get what you need".So this is what my new office looked like the first time I saw it. I actually came to this building to look at another office upstairs. I fell in love with the building, it is an old school that they are redoing to be historically accurate (talk about speaking my language). However, I wasn't in love with the tiny space (not shown) upstairs. Between being pregnant, having a chronic back injury and knowing how many samples- fabric books, tile, etc. I carry in and out I was not thrilled to be up a flight of stairs.

However, when you have a small budget you can't be picky. But you never know what is just around the corner, or in this case just downstairs. The guy who owns the building gave me a tour and low and behold there on the first floor (unfinished they are completing the upstairs first) was a diamond in the rough. And as Mom always says, it never hurts to ask. So I asked him if I moved in to the unfinished office would he work with me...and he did. And just like that another dream started to come to fruition...

More to come in another post but this what it looked like when he handed over the keys. He did finish the floors and somewhat clean up the wiring but the walls and ceiling are still completely exposed. To be honest, except for the noise I would keep it that way forever.

This is the last week I will be working from this office...and I can't wait! Out of the house and into a much larger space...as you can tell, I need more room desperately. This is only half of it, I also have a storage space with more samples, furniture, etc.

If I am being really honest with you this a relatively clean state, usually it just looks like a disaster.

Just a few more days to go....I can't wait to share the new space with you!

For the past few years I have run Marianne Strong Interiors out of our house. It has been a love/hate relationship. In some ways it is great to work from home. I know Harry (dog) approves. In other ways it is really hard- loss of a room in the house and never escaping work completely. As business grew I definitely outgrew the space, the temporary fix has been my "second office" also known as storage unit for samples, furniture, etc. Until now. I have been looking for space on and off for a while now but when you are busy the task easily moves to the back burner. However, the arrival of new family member on the horizon means it is time to step up the search. I will keep you in the loop, I have not found space yet, but when I do here are some images serving as inspiration...Of course I will need a big inspiration board. By no means a new or novel idea but I use mine all the time.
Maybe a whole wall? More is more right? I told Harry if I moved out his mug would be prominent above my desk, he doesn't seem to think that is a good deal in the least.
I put this picture in because I like it visually. I can tell you honestly that my office has never looked this organized a day in its life.
The decorator who I started with always had white offices, I really do think this is the way to go for a work office in this field. I need some color though so that is why this picture is here, to show that a little can go a long way...
How to organize the fabric swatches...that is the question isn't it? I find when I meet other decorators/designers this topic always comes up and no one has found a perfect way yet...
Yes, yes, yes....
Natural light is a must (and apparently hard to find in my budget range). Something like this what I am talking about; I will bet you a million dollars though this in not what I will find. Any takers? Anyone? I could use some extra moolah these days!
One of the best examples of what I have in mind is Suzanne Kasler's Atlanta offices. I am dying for a tour...
More to come as the search continues...

Images 1-5 Elle Decor, 6 & 7 House Beautiful, 8 Metropolitan Home, 9 & 10 Altanta Homes & Lifestyles