15 Apr 2015

A Shared Workspace & Giveaway!

Today, I'm sharing my workspace and how I was able to incorporate spots for my kids to work and play in this space right alongside me.  I've also teamed up with Lullaby Paints to giveaway a $200 gift certificate for their fabulous paint (showcased in my new workspace).  You can find all the details at the bottom of the post.

I'm feeling really fortunate to have a dedicated workspace.  Our home is pretty small (approx.  1300 square feet) and using a whole room for a workspace seems like a total luxury.  We only have two small bedrooms in addition to this office/den space.  When we first purchased our house we thought that a bedroom had been converted into an office.  However, after we moved in, our neighbours told us that the family who built this home only had one child and that my workspace had always been an office/den.  That might explain why there is no closet in this room!  This room is straight off of our entrance and visible from our living room across the entry hall  This made it really important for it to be presentable since it is so visible from the entry and living room.  The room does have french doors that can be closed to hide the mess if needed. ;)

When putting together my workspace I created distinct functions along each of the three walls available (one wall is 90% window so I worked with the remaining three or rather 2 + 1/2 since the third wall has the french doors).  It made sense to group my overload of pictures according to each wall.

Let's start with the focal wall that you see when you enter the room and is visible from the living room.  I decided to make this wall the work zone and set up a double desk using Ikea components.  I also painted the wall the perfect soft grey colour.  It's really a great shade:  not too blue and not too beige.  The white on the remainder of the walls is a lovely bright white and has already been added to my list of favourite whites.
I've kept the focal wall pretty clutter free.  A simple shelf, my DIY calendar and a quote that I printed.  I really find myself wanting to have a more minimal and clean look to our home.  It's really impossible with all the toys and paper airplanes strewn about everywhere, but I can try, right?!

The area to the right is my work area, but to the left I've made space for my older son to work on his homework, colouring, etc.  For now I have just my DIY mint stool there, but I really should get something with support for his feet.
Oh Nils Strinning, I just love your shelves!  A full-size shelf system is definitely on the want list for our living room someday.

The next wall/area of the room is the 1/2 wall beside the french doors.  I created a little reading nook for the boys in this space using a trolley to hold books and their DIY teepee from last year's birthday party.
Can you spot Nalle in the picture above? He's always, indifferently, a part of the action. :)

The last wall/area is adjacent to focal wall and I dedicated this space to storage.  It's also the area that I am hoping to add a little something something to in the future.

The storage units are also from Ikea and I used them to support one end of the desk.  I have hopes to customize the doors, top and legs someday so, for the time being, I cheated a little and used a couple of the shelves (that come with the units) to bring the height up a bit.  You could also add a cleat to the wall to support the desk top, but I'm hoping to raise the height of the legs and/or add a top to make up the difference.  Also, I thought a picture of the boys in front of their teepee was appropriate for this space. :)

One last view of the space from the living room.  I think the colours go quite well with our entry.

Now to talk a little more about the paint in this space and the giveaway! You may remember that I have used Lullaby Paints for our kitchen chalkboard before.  I was so happy with the quality that I didn't even hesitate when they contacted me to see if I would be interested in trying their wall paint.  Our family really tries to be conscience of the toxins that we introduce into our homes and we generally use zero-VOC paint whenever we can.  Our kids are still very young and I'd like to keep their exposure to harmful chemicals as minimal as possible.  Lullaby Paints are all zero-VOC and safe for babies and pregnant women which is a super plus in my books.  The hubby helped me with painting this room and we were both really impressed at the quality of the paint, the coverage and that there was no odour.  It's really a wonderful product! Here is what Lullaby Paints had to say about their paint:  

Lullaby is the world’s leading paint for babies’ nurseries & healthy homes. Our premium quality formula is totally non-toxic, zero-VOC, baby-safe, pregnant mom-safe, asthma-safe – the safest paint around! And because our paints are not diluted with cheap, toxic solvents, they’re thicker and coat your walls with ease (covering 1.5 times as much area compared to conventional paints). For over twenty five years, our award-winning paints have been praised by people seeking the finest quality and safety

I'm excited to be able to offer some of this fabulous paint to one lucky reader.  Here's how you can enter to win a $200 Lullaby Paints gift card:

REQUIRED: Let us know in the comments below what room or project you would tackle if you won the paint
OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
  • Sign-up for Lullaby’s monthly email
  • Follow Nalle's House on Bloglovin
    1. Follow Lullaby on Instagram (@LullabyPaints)
    2. Follow Nalle's House on Instagram (@nalleshouse)
    3. Like Lullaby on Facebook
    4. Like Nalle's House on Facebook
    5. Follow Lullaby on Pinterest
    6. Follow Lullaby on Twitter
    7. Follow Lullaby on Houzz
    8. Follow Lullaby on Google +
    9. Tweet about the Giveaway and use the hashtag #LullabyGiveaway
    10. Share the giveaway on Pinterest and use the hashtag #LullabyGiveaway
    11. Share the giveaway on Facebook and use the hashtag #LullabyGiveaway

    For each additional entry, leave a separate comment letting us know what you’ve done (and what your profile name is where relevant). You can enter up to 14 times by taking all of the actions listed above and the more entries you make, the more chances you have at winning!
    One random winner will be selected on 21/04/2015.
    Good luck!!!

    A post with all the sources for my workspace will be up soon!

    44 comments:

    1. you have such a knack- your spaces are always beautiful and just SO you.

      ReplyDelete
    2. Such a wonderful workspace you have! I'm truly impressed! I ove string shelves too. And the rug is amazing. :)
      I won't play in GA cause I'm in Poland/Europe, so I guess it's not for me. But I keep my fingers crossed for others. :) Best wishes, Kasia

      ReplyDelete
    3. my bedroom

      dlatany at gmail dot com

      ReplyDelete
    4. I Follow Nalle's House on Bloglovin

      ReplyDelete
    5. I Follow Lullaby on Instagram

      ReplyDelete
    6. I Follow Nalle's House on Instagram

      ReplyDelete
    7. I Follow Lullaby on Pinterest

      ReplyDelete
    8. I Follow Lullaby on Google +

      ReplyDelete
    9. https://twitter.com/sweetums82/status/588366646701461504

      ReplyDelete
    10. https://www.facebook.com/latanya.thornhill/posts/10101959359898978

      ReplyDelete
    11. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232639136977753753/

      ReplyDelete
    12. I love how you decorated! So clean looking without being boring!

      ReplyDelete
    13. Oh your work space is lovely!! I love how simple it is. I would tackle my living room- ceiling and all!

      ReplyDelete
    14. I would sure love to have enough space in my studio to share with my little ones. They'd be pleased too I bet! If I won I'd paint in my kitchen... it has been neglected for a while!

      ReplyDelete
    15. I follow nalles house on pinterest. My username is sylvieliv.

      ReplyDelete
    16. I follow nalles house on Instagram. My username there is @sylvliv

      ReplyDelete
    17. We have been beautiful.
      I think That i have not words to Explain how i like it.
      Now, i am decorating my workspace and i did your pennant banner, i'm very happy to it !.

      ReplyDelete
    18. I too have a "guestroom"/office in my house. I do have a closet in the room, but the floors are tiled. I have a rug in that room and a bed, but there a double doors with glass inserts. It has always been an odd room, but we love our small home quirkiness and all!

      ReplyDelete
    19. The living room definitely needs some sprucing up!

      ReplyDelete
    20. I follow Nalle's House on Bloglovin with vintagezest!

      ReplyDelete
    21. I follow Nalle's House on Instagram with @vintagezest!

      ReplyDelete
    22. I like Nalle's House on Facebook with Diane Vin!

      ReplyDelete
    23. I'd use it in our bedroom! My baby's room is perfect and curated, but our bedroom is a mishmash of old, mixed furniture and I never want to spend any time there. It need some serious love.

      ReplyDelete
    24. I follow you on Instagram as onewarmline :)

      ReplyDelete
    25. I also follow LullabyPaints on Instagram as onewarmline.

      ReplyDelete
    26. And now I like you on Facebook (as Laura Ash!)

      ReplyDelete
    27. What a great, functional but lovely space! I love the little kids' areas in there. Our next big painting project is the den; so that's what my gift card would go to :)

      ReplyDelete
    28. I would say our living/dining room but I am going to ( for once! ) put 'me' first so I would do my bedroom. I have not had a finished bedroom since I had kids ( oldest is now 13!! ).

      ReplyDelete
    29. Your spaces are always so thoughtfully put together. Beautiful Anu!

      ReplyDelete
    30. Time to paint our kitchen! thanks for the chance..

      ReplyDelete
    31. I signed up for Lullaby's monthly email

      ReplyDelete
    32. I follow Nalle's House on Bloglovin.

      ReplyDelete
    33. I follow Nalle's House on Instagram.

      ReplyDelete
    34. I liked lullaby on Facebook.

      ReplyDelete
    35. I liked Nalle's House on Facebook.

      ReplyDelete
    36. I follow Lullaby on Pinterest

      ReplyDelete
    37. I follow Lullaby on Google+.

      ReplyDelete
    38. I would paint my sewing studio if I won the paint. It needs a makeover.

      ReplyDelete
    39. I would paint my bedroom as the last time it was painted was 7years ago?

      Carol Chew

      ReplyDelete
    40. I would either convert our guest room into my soon-to-be tween daughter's room, or I would paint the butler's pantry something really fun! :)

      ReplyDelete
    41. I'd want to work on my home office!

      eloquent [at] live.com

      ReplyDelete
    42. I would paint our living room!

      ReplyDelete