All posts tagged: desk

The Open Plan Work Space – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Here it was pre Loft Extension. In our box room, which was less than 2 x 3m. It was the perfect spot for me to set up Making Spaces HQ. It really wasn’t big enough to be a bedroom. In fact it wasn’t really big enough to warrant its own door, so we took that off over a year ago anyway. Top Tip. If you’ve got a door you never ever close, get rid. Give yourself another square meter of space instead. And a better view. And more natural light. Go on. Our 1960’s, 3 bed-semi had a very traditional layout, pre-build. Our plan was to incorporate the small, box room into the landing area, so it looked something like this: If you’ve been following the build, you may remember we were sacrificing our box room in order to accommodate the staircase of our dreams. You can read more about that over here. The plan was to keep our landing open plan, light, spacious and my office would simply sit exactly where it was before. I do …

The Office Refit – Final Reveal

Published by Karen Knox

Remember the office refit I was working on? Here’s a lil recap: “I’m working with Visibilis, an Integrated Digital Marketing Agency. It’s my first dip into working in a commercial premises, but it’s good and am enjoying the experience of scaling up! The team of staff has reached capacity at their current office space prompting the move to a new, larger purpose-built office space in a swanky part of Leeds City Centre.” Before And here it was in March. A huge empty space, ready and waiting for its lovely, new residents. A month later, the layout had been solved, colour scheme decided upon, furniture had been ordered… You can read more about the project brief, colour scheme, layout and shopping list here if you’d like to check out the finer details. But to catch you up quickly i’ll post a few pics to give you the low down. Lots of paint + A load of brushes…. …. + Frogtape… + A design from inside my busy mind = Turned out pretty good. If I do say so myself. **performs frilly bow** At …

The Pod

Published by Karen Knox

I last mentioned “The Pod” in the Peignoir and Worsted reveal post. You can see the flash of Farrow & Ball’s Inchyra Blue through the door at the top of the landing here: The Pod, named mainly due to its size, 1.5m x 1.9m is just about big enough to fit a single bed in. A single bed and one small book. It’s actually used as the home office. Not the most successful one, however: Before It had gotten so cramped the homeowner had set up office-camp on the kitchen table downstairs. Not great when you’re working from home. Seeing your computer all the time means you’re switched on 24/7. I know a few of you out there can relate to that. It’s not good for a healthy work/life balance. Things that needed sorting were: The desk was too deep and interfered with the door architrave. There’s not nearly enough storage but the amount of “stuff” (which needed downsizing). Electrical trunking ran across the top of the desk meaning cables were trailing all over the place. It felt cold …

The Office Refit

Published by Karen Knox

Remember me introducing you to the office refit project i’m working on? Yes, that’s the one. Well things are moving forward rather nicely now. And i’ve got stuff to show you. I’m working with Visibilis, an Integrated Digital Marketing Agency. It’s my first dip into working in a commercial premises, but it’s good and am enjoying the experience of scaling up! The team of staff has reached capacity at their current office space prompting the move to a new, larger purpose-built office space in a swanky part of Leeds City Centre. So swanky in fact, you need a small bank loan to be able to afford the parking outside. Anyway, enough about me and my parking issues… My brief: Personalise the space. Solve layout. Plan an office that can hold 12 desk spaces. Use two existing Ikea desks and office chairs Include space for wall monitor. Add colour. But something light. Scandinavian style seemed to be ticking the boxes. Source affordable lighting that didn’t take up desk space or need wiring in. Add a break out …

I love OSB

Published by Karen Knox

Well I do. Orientated Strand Board is gorgeous. “Oriented Strand Board uses the same system as plywood: opposing-orientation of wood-fibres creates rigidity, allowing a very stiff panel without great weight. Ideal for roofing, wall sheathing, hoardings and flooring.” Jewson Well yeah, it is good for all of those building-y things… but it also makes gorgeous furniture. It’s cheap as chips too. Bonus. Which brings me onto my home office. I’ve been wanting to update it for ages, it was done over a year ago on a complete budget. I used left over paint and bit of old furniture from the loft and it did the job. For a while. But over the past year, i’ve kind of outgrown our third bedroom, it only measuring a minuscule 1.8 x 2.9m. Pretty standard for a “box room” really. Photos – Olly Gordon I also wanted to work facing the window so I felt connected to the outside world. It’s mad how quickly a week can pass before you realise you’ve hardly seen or spoken to anyone when you’ve been …

Home Office in a Day

Published by Karen Knox

I was recently set a challenge. Could I update a currently unused third bedroom from a room of storage chaos to a sleek and super cost effective home office? In one day. 8 hours. Let’s have a look-see…. Well yeah, of course I can. They don’t call me Karen “make-over in a day” Knox for nothing you know. Bah! Firstly, this rather large and unnecesary sofa needed to get the hell outta there. The room is about 2x3m so this took up more than a third of much needed space. A “free sofa to anyone that could collect” Gumtree ad worked a treat, giving me a near empty room and someone else a much needed free sofa. Perfik. The CD towers, old cushions and a spare light shade were getting sent to the charity shop but everything else in that room needed a place to live. I had a budget of £150 to spend on the entire room. Eek. I needed to purchase: A desk Filing drawers Drawers for the existing Ikea Kallax unit A chair …

Mid Century Score – Pt 2

Published by Karen Knox

It’s been a good week for scouring and sourcing. The mid-century teak recliner has now travelled 100 miles to its new home. I actually rang to check it had made it safely as it looked a little precarious, a 55 year old chair strapped to a roof-rack. I would have shed actual tears if it had come a cropper. And now to Pt 2 of my mid-century scores. A teak industrial style desk which was quite literally “saved”. Black legs, original screws and bolts. Storage compartments and original drawer with drawer pull. I fell in love instantly. The shape, mid century line and simplicity was right up my street. The entire piece needed tlc and I cherished the thought of bringing this beauty back to life. The wood was not in fantastic shape, so it was all sanded back, danish oiled and then waxed. I find it all so therapeutic, seeing that teak glowing again. It would look fantastic in a vintage lover’s home. Some people may have decided to paint the whole thing, cover …

Ikea Bank Holiday

Published by Karen Knox

Just in time for the bank holiday trip to Ikea… a little roundup of my favourite pieces from Ikea for SS 2015. Sometimes you just miss the best bits because you’re frantically chasing the wrong child around the store, or wanting to just get to the cafe for your meatballs and cranberry sauce. So here are my faves: ARKELSTORP Desk, black – £135 Black and pine. Winning! KNAGGLIG Storage Box, pine – from £5 Stackable storage. Can’t have too much. Get some. NIPPRIG 2015 Room divider, black – £39 I’ve always wanted a room divide… just need to get a larger house with a big enough room to divide first. Am on it. Ikea are being sneaky sneaky and not showing the table and bench seating on their UK site just yet. Or the matching coffee and side table you can see in the background shot. But they MUST be arriving soon. I like a nice splayed leg I do! UPDATE – It’s the LISABO and it’s £120. Wowzers. Nice price for an ash veneer dining table eh? DALSHULT …