Last time we talked about my office, we made plans for “the wall with the window” including functionality and storage furniture options…

At the time, the office looked like a hot mess…

These days, it’s looking like a semi-empty, a tad less of a hot mess…

Knowing we’d be in the market for a new desk eventually, we went ahead and donated it along with the two small hutches. We also moved the small thrift table to another room in the house (it’s currently floating between the guest room and Greg’s office), and we put the second orangish/redish chair in our “holding room” (aka Greg’s office). So now the room is feeling more and more like a clean slate. Yep, and I’m oh so pleased to say that we finally pulled the trigger and ordered the Craft Space Storage Cabinet and a Eight-Drawer Flat-File Cabinet by Martha Stewart Living in addition to a matching hutch to go on top of the Flat-File Cabinet:

Even though they took forever to put together, I’m really happy with them! Like, really, really happy. They are solid as a rock and there seems to be a place for everything – even a perfect-sized compartment for legal pads! And Sharpies!!! Oh, Martha, you do know the ways to my heart. And check out how DEEP these drawers are…

So you can get an idea of how big the drawers are, those are full-sized legal pads.

The major thing that sold us on these were the extra deep flat file drawers. They are the perfect width for storing the destination prints we sell over in our Etsy store and have proved to come in very handy when keeping everything organized. When we get a new order, we know right where everything is and how many we have of each print.

I haven’t even begun to fill up the furniture, which is awesome! When I do, I’ll be sure to give you guys a “behind closed drawers Cribs edition” post.

Now that the big storage pieces are in place, it’s a lot easier to see the vision for the rest of the room. The plan I sketched out before we bought the storage furniture (the first photo of this post) is still on the to-do list, just reversed (the tall piece will be on the right and the shorter piece will be on the left). As for my desk, I’ve had a doozy of a time trying to figure out where to put it. Do I put it on the same wall as the door to the kitchen, or on the outside wall so my back is to the dining room, our out in the middle of the room… or on the ceiling. I want to have a comfy working area, with lots of space to spread out whatever I’m working on while having optimal storage. After a lot of brainstorming, pinning, and bouncing ideas off my mom (yes, I’m a mamma’s girl), I think I’ve finally settled on a floorplan that will meet all my needs and wants…

Now that I look at it, I think, “Duh, that’s how this office was meant to be laid out.” I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to figure it out, haha! If that wasn’t enough revelation, I then came across this photo on Pinterest:

Done deal. Now if I can only make an awesome metal desk like that! Hmm… I should totally take up welding ; )

By the way, a big congratulations to the top 6 Homie nominees for Best Home Design Blog: Bower Power, Centsational Girl, Chezerbey, Manhattan Nest, Retro Renovation and The Lettered Cottage! Voting ends this Friday, so be sure to head on over to Apartment Therapy and cast your vote!

Once in a while, Ash and I like to take random drives around the back roads of the Richmond area. Virginia is filled with so many interesting historical landmarks, battlefields, museums, and parks that you’re bound to find something that piques your interest no matter what direction you end up heading. Even though Ashley and I have lived in this neck of the woods for most of our lives (well, all of hers; most of mine), we still haven’t seen all of the attractions our area has to offer. So, it’s a lot of fun to take a drive every now and then just to see what we come up with.

Recently, while on one of our drives, we stumbled upon McLawhorn’s Red Barn Antiques. It’s right in the middle of a fork in the road, and looks like it’s been there forever. As it turns out, it was once a very popular general store, Borkey’s Store, back in the early 1900′s. The history alone makes this an interesting stop.

The items sitting outside gave us a preview of what we would find in the store. Everything out here was from an era where furniture was made from solid wood. I don’t think you could find a single scrap of particle board anywhere near this place.

Oh–Did I mention the reason all the furniture is sitting outside is because the inside is so packed with awesome stuff from bygone eras that we wouldn’t have had a place to walk otherwise? Yeah. This place is going to take several trips to even scratch the surface.

There are three huge aisles, lined with tons of great items – so packed you could barely walk through them. The left side of the store is stocked with tons of kitchen-oriented antiques and records.

While this part of the shop also has some kitchen items, it’s home to my favorite section: books. You can see a few of them peeking out of the bottom-right corner here.

I’m a big fan of solid wood, dark-stained desks. The detail work is simple and clean, but it adds that extra touch that makes this desk look special.

You’d think this was just a cool conversation piece in the middle of the store. Nope. It’s a real, honest-to-goodness, working(!) drink fridge from which the antique shop staff hands out free Cokes to its customers.

Ash and I have a fascination with antique trunks, so these certainly caught our eyes. They were a little out of our price range for the day (coming in around $250 a piece), but I hope someone gives these a good home. They’re truly amazing in person.

We found this small chest of drawers sitting outside and Ashley immediately fell in love. She said it would be perfect for the foyer.

It was very solid and had a little wear and tear but that could be fixed. Coming in at $75, it was worth a try. So we packed it up in Ashley’s parent’s SUV and took it home.

I have to admit, I was a tad skeptical whether or not it would be a good fit for the foyer. I trust Ashley’s “style judgment” most of the time, but for some reason, I just couldn’t see it. I guess it’s a “guy thing”. When we got it in the house, I had a change of heart. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect piece for the foyer. Like how I say “we” now that it looks good? haha…

For now, we’re going to hold off on painting it. Even though the worn paint looks pretty cool, we’re not sure this shade of green is quite right for our house. In some lighting, it looks a little dull and heavy so it could use a little brightening up. I don’t know about Ash, but if we do decide to paint it down the road, I’d love to find a way to emulate the “worn” look.

As for what’s going to go on, in, and above… Ash said she envisions a large mirror (like this one she found on Pinterest) and maybe a lamp to bounce some light around. We plan on sprucing up the inside of the drawers as well with some graphic wallpaper turned drawer liner. Once that’s done, we’ll probably use it to store miscellaneous items like extra candles and maybe a drawer for Bentley’s leash and his sweater collection… he’ll think he’s spoiled – even more than he already is!

So that’s the rundown on our latest find for the house! Have you had any cool finds lately? Share them with us by leaving a comment…

Have any of you ever made a large (or large-ish) purchase without consulting your better half? It’s not like you intended to hide it, of course. You just “had to have it” and your significant other wasn’t available? Then, by the time your “had to have” item was delivered, you’d forgotten you hadn’t told them? Well…

As a rule of thumb, if an item is over $50, Greg and I make sure to run it by each other before purchasing. Ever since we were married (a little over 3 years ago), this system has worked for us. Keeping the lines of communication open makes certain our budget stays balanced and there aren’t any surprises when either of us checks the bank account. There aren’t many times we don’t agree on a purchasing decision. But once in a while it’s easy to forget to talk to him first. At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it ; )

In this month’s Favorite Things roundup, you may remember me talking about buying two lamps from ZGallerie. They were originally $200 a piece, but they were on sale for $99! The $200 price tag (I wanted to buy 2 of the lamps) was above our $50 “let’s-chat limit”, but Greg was already asleep. However, he knew I had been stalking those lamps for months and I was afraid they would sell out. I’ve experienced sale items on the Pottery Barn website selling out right before my eyes. Ever since then, I’ve been a little impulsive when something I’ve had my eye on goes on sale. With certain online stores, you’ve got to snatch it up, or it’s gone. ZGallerie is one of those stores. I absolutely HAD to order them… right? So I bit the bullet and clicked the “Checkout” button.

A few days later, it was time to write our Favorite Things feature. As usual Greg wrote his portion first then I logged in and wrote mine. Only this time, Greg didn’t read the entire post before I published it. At this point, I totally forgot to tell him about buying the lamps and he didn’t read the post. The only problem was I totally forgot to mention the fact that I had ordered them. Let’s just say he found out a few days later when two huge boxes from ZGallerie arrived on our front porch.

This reminded me of one of my favorite I Love Lucy episodes. Lucy found living room furniture that was so “dreamy” she just had to buy it. Without telling Ricky, she bought the furniture, sold the old furniture, and had the new furniture delivered to the apartment. When it was delivered, she still hadn’t mentioned it to Ricky, so she decides to hide the furniture until she can tell him. This is what happened…

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As a result, Ricky decides to make Lucy cut her expenses to pay for her new furniture. Taking matters into her own hands, Lucy decides that instead of buying a new dress and getting her hair done, she’ll DIY-it. What else would a self-respecting 50′s housewife do, right? Well, let’s just say it didn’t turn out as she expected…

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Luckily, I didn’t have to go through all that trouble. After a slight flicker of, “Uhh… How much did you spend?” in his eyes, he helped me un-box the lamps.

This isn’t their permanent home – I’m thinking about putting them in our bedroom or my office. Aren’t they awesome, though? They look “very Jonathan Adler” at a fraction of the cost. I also love how large they are. In my book, big table lamps rule. Greg really likes them, too – even though their arrival was a bit of a surprise. I keep reminding him that they could have cost us double what I paid! ; )

Plus, it’s not like I bought a living room full of furniture like Lucy, right? Or did I…? Just kidding, Greg! I probably just made him have a heart palpitation. I’d better call his office and make sure he’s okay.

Got any funny/insightful stories about a time when you bought something without your significant other knowing about it? How do you manage the financial lines of communication in your house? Share in the comments section…