Office Update: Part 2 Flooring

The floor.  Now that is a special problem unto itself.  Originally the room we call my office was an outdoor patio.  It was probably enclosed in the 60’s and done fairly well, except for the wiring, I mentioned in Part 1.  The skylights were a wonderful addition as well as a beautiful large window, looking out onto a small private patio.  The problem was the fountain that had been installed in the floor under the large window; a questionable addition at best.  UGH.  Wiring, again, and plumbing, not to mention the recess in the tile floor.

When we had tenants, the fountain had to be covered for safety reasons.  When we moved in, I wanted the raised tile covered curb knocked down, so the floor would be somewhat flat, giving me more useable floor space.  I put a large area rug over the floor and moved in.  All fine, until we were ready to deal with that room, and all of its various elements.

Well, as the Walrus said, The Time Had Come, to talk of many things: not shoes and ships and sealing wax—- primarily, that floor.  Having been in the flooring business for many years, I knew what would work and what wouldn’t and, what I wanted verses what would work.  I had thought of several options, but many of my brilliant ideas were more money and work than I wanted to deal with.  

First things first, that fountain had to be filled in.  It took several hundred pounds of gravel, brick, cement and finished off with a smooth concrete surface.  Having been an outside room, and sitting on a cement slab, it would be unwise to continue the solid hardwood floors that exist in the rest of the house.  An engineered floor would be ideal, except that today’s engineered floors are all much wider and more “modern” than what we currently have.  I wanted to continue the look of the narrow strip flooring, but did not want to use solid flooring (unwise on a slab foundation) and have to stain and finish it to match.  Laminate floors, don’t offer the more narrow boards either.  Luxury Vinyl Tiles, nope, what it boils down to is I am out of fashion!  Too traditional.  Nothing new here, move on.

In the final analysis I chose to cover the now flat tiled floor with two 8X11 area rugs.  I decided on indoor/outdoor rugs made of polypropylene, certainly not my first fiber choice, but under certain conditions, it is best.  I had a beautiful wool rug that faded terribly from skylight exposure and somehow a moth infestation.  I’m guessing it was moths, but fortunately they stayed with this one rug, and none of the other wool rugs.  Polypropylene is a manmade fiber that does not fade and insects are not interested in it; although our cat might enjoy it for sharpening her claws!  The rugs all but cover the entire floor and add a bright and interesting pattern.  While the rugs are not necessarily a permanent solution, they are a happy solution for now, and much less expensive than flooring I did not love.  But I do love the room now.  Problem solved. 

Christmas Project Breakthrough

Christmas Project Breakthrough    

I feel as though I won the Christmas Lottery!  This year, the holiday project was at our house instead of at our daughter’s house.  When we first looked at this house, we found it a bit quirky.  Fortunately for us, the quirky characteristics caused many potential buyers pass on it, leaving it for the more adventurous.

We have not yet figured out what the original intent was for the add-on room, our project room.  We believe the room was added on about 25 to 30 years ago, based on materials used.  The do-it-yourself person who built the room did not have the qualifications to do a really good construction job, especially with the electrical system.  The room has seven good quality, floor to ceiling windows, all dual glazed, but none of them open for ventilation.  The exterior door, off the driveway, is the only access into the room; fortunately there is a screen door for fresh air.  This room was not good for not much more than a sunroom or storage, which is how we have used it.

However, we always intended it to be a guest room, knowing we would need to upgrade many aspects of it.  Most important was constructing direct access to the rest of the house from the room, without having to go outside walk down the driveway and enter the house through the back door.  Having an accessiblebathroom without having to go outside was primary.

The plan was to cut a door through a wall in the second bedroom aka my husband’s office.  We could see there had been a window in that wall prior to building the add- on room; therefore, there was an existing header in the wall.  That wall was the logical place for a door.  The window was simply walled over from the inside and left exposed on the guest room side, though disguised by a make-shift closet.  

The biggest problem was cutting through 1938 stucco and about an inch of concrete.  I was grateful to have a much younger person doing the cutting: our gallant son who was willing to do the very, very dirty work.  Once the cuts were made and the wall removed, we all finally could imagine the finished project.

Sadly, there is much left to do before I can jump in and share with you all the fun decorating plans I have; but be patient, it will all be recorded here for you in the coming weeks, and months.

There is a need for only one step down from my husband’s office into the newly created guest quarters.  After some discussion, we agreed that making the step into a full platform would serve best.  First, my husband would not have to level the pebble path that ran under the window before the room was added, and I would not have to deal with an awkward step into the room.

We purchased an old, entry door from Pasadena Salvage, as the door that would offer the necessary privacy for our guests.  I opted for a Speakeasy door to add to the interest and maintain the quirky quality of the house.  This door will slide on barn sliders for access to the rest of the house.  Stepping down from my husband’s office into the room and onto the platform will offer very secure footing.

Currently, my husband is working on the electrical system in the room; there will be plenty of outlets, USB ports, and lighting options.  Having the platform, will afford an outlet or USB port in the riser, wires running under the step, and no encroachment on the very limited wall space, since two sides of the room are all windows.   

Progress beyond the electrical will be fun to share; I am expecting the door hanging to be a whole new story—stay tuned.

Storage for the Home Office or Playroom

Finding functional and attractive storage can be a challenge.  Using what is already available to you should be the first thing you consider; after all, using what you have is both economical and practical as long as it functions well for what is needed—now.  What worked before may no longer be what will work today.

  After you access what your space can accommodate, and measure your current pieces, you need to start moving your furnishings around so they will function best.  After determining function, see how you like the arrangement.  Is it attractive as well as functional?

If you no longer want what you have, and your budget allows, find new pieces that will fit your space.  There are places where discount retail shopping is feasible.  IKEA is a master at utilizing function and space while keeping the look clean, attractive, and budget friendly.  

I knew the office space in our new house would be a challenge for me because I had an oversized office previously.  Like a goldfish, I grew my possessions to fill the available space; downsizing is no easy task.  My current office would have accommodated the large cube structure I had before, but would not be as useful as a different configuration.  I purchased three, equal cube towers from IKEA.  Like the building blocks I played with as a kid, I could conform these to suit my new needs.  

Laying one of the structures on its side with the two other rectangular pieces upright on either side, creating a low center—perfect for my TV, filling the wall space between two windows.

One of the improvements IKEA has made with their most popular storage structure, is in the various coverings for the cubes.  The choice of drawers, doors, bins in many materials or the option to leave a cube open, make these building blocks very useful for work or play.

As with many things, I needed to try a few options out to see what I liked best.  I discovered I did not like so much open storage; it was too chaotic seeing all that stuff every time I sat at my desk.  I had more open storage and, very few bins in my previous storage unit, but I did not see it much, because it was behind me.  This was an exercise in trial and error, I needed to determine what I wanted or needed in the way of closed storage, doors or drawers or bins.

I made a scale drawing of the units and played with the balance of the coverings open to me, as well as what I had to store in these spaces.  I needed to do a bit more editing of stuff I have kept over the years.  I finally decided that the two taller towers would have open cubes across the top, and just below, I chose to have a combination of a bin next to a set of drawers; both sides of the towers matched, of course.  

The next level of openings was a bit more of a challenge since it would go across the entire width of the combined three units, as well as the bottom level.  Drawers were better located up off the floor level, but doors would do fine there as well as bins.

For my office, this works well; the units suit my particular needs.  I can see how they would work for many home offices.  If more space is needed, you can easily add more.  Everything is bolted together and to the walls, for safety.  These would also make a great play storage station for a playroom with plenty of space for toys, games and crafts.

IKEA has made a great business of simple, efficient units; and there are several color options to suit your decor.  These units will not withstand abuse, of course, and will not appear stately in many homes; but they are great service pieces at a great price for many.