A Bold New World

Some of you might recognize this dresser from a little meme that I made a while back to accompany a post. (You can find it in all its original glory here although I have to warn you- it may be a little depressing.)

When I moved to my apartment back in May I had to leave the old dresser behind as it had been borrowed from the people who owned the building. Luckily, IKEA came my rescue with a bedroom event and after much deliberation I chose this baby to adopt and take into my bedroom. In a completely non-sexual way.

Here it is on the IKEA website. It’s part of the HEMNES line, if anyone’s interested (although in this screen shot the color is complete off for whatever reason. It’s much more red in person).

It got me thinking about bold pieces of furniture. When you’re on a budget, investing in furniture that is reasonably priced with a classic or neutral feel can seem like the smartest choice to make because it’s something that is guaranteed to stay with you for a long time. Even though this dresser is now only $149 CAD, and would not completely break the bank if I wanted to re-invest in another one in the future, it still felt like agony to choose between the neutral finishes IKEA offers. So I decided to make a bold move and enter into the new world of brightly-colored furniture.

I have to say folks: it’s a whole lotta fun.

I don’t advocate going crazy and immediately re-furnishing your apartment in the wackiest, craziest colors you can find. But everything that we were buying for our apartment at the time was feeling really neutral and boring and I was sick of trying to figure out “accents” in the form of pillows and paintings.

Choosing one or two items for your apartment or house (unless you’re feeling really adventurous) in a bold hue or in a fun pattern can be a great way to add visual interest to a room and give it a nice, layered look as opposed to something that’s stiff and formal. And if you move in the future or decide to re-decorate, it can be a fun little challenge to see how you can incorporate that funky chair or wild dresser into your new color scheme.

I did a little searching around to some of my favorite stores and came up with some other bold examples that may find their way into someone’s awesome new room. You really don’t have to limit yourself with one color scheme.

I’m in love with this little loveseat from Urban Outfitters. It’s got this 70s feel, but with an edge, and the teal color is to die for! I’m in love with airy blue rooms at the moment and this would fit right, giving everything a mermaid-ish feel. Or if you wanted to kick it up a notch, I’d throw in some punchy coral and navy blue to give it more of a Mediterranean vibe. For those who just want to dip their toes into the world of colorful furnishings, I’d put this sofa in a smoky gray room with some charcoal accents. Maybe even a little lilac even if you’re daring. Oooh la la.

Speaking of lilac, how about this little lady from IKEA? This chair has nice, clean and classic lines but when paired with purple upholstery it would pack a punch in a dining room. Can you picture a row of these lined up at a chunky black-brown dining table with soft lilac walls and silver accents? For a look that’s a little less muted, you could substitute accent pieces in fun colors like chartreuse or raspberry.

Why, hello hello yellow coffee table. This vision in citrus is from cb2 and would look dynamite in an ultra-modern room filled with neutrals and whites, and maybe a crazy rug in a zebra print style. Add a vase of hot-pink roses and you’d have a living that screams, “Come back to life Domino magazine and photograph me!” Or sneak a pop of color in a room filled with cream, beige and bone color and layer in pieces of rust and burnt orange for an updated sixties feel.

As for what I’m going to do with my cheery red dresser, you’ll have to wait and see but after my little virtual shopping spree I think I’ve definitely caught the colorful furniture bug. You’ll have to stay tuned to see what my next purchase will be.

I want to see pictures of your latest bold purchase. Email them to me at thetwentiesproject@gmail.com or post the piece you’re coveting to Pinterest so we can share it on one of our boards.

the great couch debacle

It was approximately two months from our moving date, right around when we found out that we got the apartment, that J and I decided to tag along with our friends on a trip to IKEA. I’m always good for a trip to IKEA (I think it’s because of the Swedish in my blood!) and for some reason J likes it to so we thought we’d just go along for the ride.

The purpose of this trip, in all seriousness, was that a bunch of us were going in on a desk for our friend, who really wanted a desk for a birthday present. It wasn’t until we found the said desk and were waiting in the longest line ever that I decided to run over to the as-is section to check it out.

For those of you who have never seen the as-is section IKEA, it’s a little something like this: it’s a room that’s usually near the cash but on the main floor, just off of the warehouse. Anything that a customer has returned pretty much goes in there because a piece of IKEA furniture can’t be sold if it’s already been assembled. (Oh the irony!) On that particular day the room was practically overflowing because the staff were changing around a lot of the displays. All of the  gently used furniture that had already been assembled on the show room floor was on sale.

Including this baby:

From ikea.ca

J often talked about wanting a sectional couch as we entertain quite frequently (and by entertain I mean his buddies come over and play video games). We both liked the clean lines of the Karlstad couch and while J preferred a leather cover, we both agreed that neither of us had the inclination to take care of it properly and with two dogs in the house who are pretty much allowed to do whatever they want, it seemed like an impracticality.

J didn’t care about the colour. I was hoping for something neutral and classic- either a brown or a dark grey. A large, expensive piece like that is something we hope to keep for    a long time and my decorating style leans to pops of colour instead of colourful pieces of furniture like this:

So I went in to the as-is section and look was waiting there for me.

From ikea.ca

Okay, so it’s just the same picture again (I didn’t have the foresight to take pictures in the room.) But let’s see that photo from IKEA again, this time with the sale price.

Some people might not get as excited as I do when I see a sale, but $300 off of my dream couch seemed to be just that- a dream, especially considering IKEA very rarely has sales. (And for those of you who think my math is wrong, the Karlstad has just come down in price from $1,299)

It was that moment where J came back from the restaurant to look for me and found me in the as-is section. I jokingly said to him, “Remember how I asked you to buy me something when we went to IKEA?”

He said, “Yeah, so I bought you this ice cream” and handed over the cone he was holding.

I thanked him and pointed at the couch, “I would also like you to buy me that couch, please.”

He took a look at it, looked at the price tag and said, “Okay.”

Honestly? He must have been on drugs or something because that was just crazy talk. But it wasn’t crazy talk and we really did end up buying it, along with a funny little plant that I also found in the as-is section- just because it had a couple of brown leaves!

Now, I wouldn’t recommend buying such a large piece of furniture like that on the fly- not because I don’t love my couch, or don’t appreciate a good sale, but it was the aftermath that really got me in trouble.

See, what we didn’t take into account was that the room of our place where we thought about storing the couch temporarily became no longer available as a storage space. And we hadn’t bothered to measure our doorways, or the overhang of the ceiling of the staircase to our apartment downstairs.

You just fill in the blanks. Yeah, I know. It was not that smart.

This is one time where buying a piece of furniture that is traditionally flat-packed came in handy. We (and I mean J and my dad; I was just hovering around like a nervous helicopter) managed to unscrew one arm of the couch so we could slide it down the stairs, where it’s lived since. Half of it is in the upright position, half of it is being used as an actual sofa.

The couch, even in its split form, has held up during the two months that we’ve had it. Numerous people and dogs have bounced around it, slept on it and lounged on it, and all commented on how comfortable it is. The nubbly fabric seems really durable, holds up to doggie claws and doesn’t collect dog hair the same way our old one did. We haven’t spilled anything on it yet, so I don’t know yet how resistant it is to stains but I will let you know if/when it happens!

So advice to you young, couch-buying grasshoppers is this: when buying a major piece of furniture you must plan, plan and then plan some more. Measure everything, twice. Save your pennies. Think of everything that could go wrong, and then come up with solutions.

Then check those random sales at your favorite furniture store. You might be surprised!

bathroom upgrades: it’s all in the details

My new bathroom was looking pretty sorry for itself that last time we checked in on it.

Awkward storage facilities meant that items were strewn all over the counter, and said items were getting sprayed by the shower as we had yet to hang a shower curtain. And by hang, I mean we had yet to get a shower curtain.

I don’t even want to talk about our makeshift bath mat.

(For anyone that’s wondering, that’s an old beach towel that has since been converted to dog towel after baths and cleaning up muddy paws.)

Something had to be done. There had go be at least one room in the apartment that was going to function (somewhat). But when you’re stupid and convince yourself that only taking the day off for moving will somehow allow you to do all the stuff that needs to get done, it doesn’t. So I had to call in the reinforcements.

I called my parents.

Luckily, they were due for an IKEA trip so I handed them a wad of bills and a laundry list of items a mile long of things we needed for the apartment, and they very nicely came back not only with some fresh new towels, but a shower curtain and a bath mat as well.

Isn’t it amazing how changing up the linens in your bathroom can make a huge difference in the design?

For those of you that know me, you’ll probably be surprised at my choice of color scheme. I like to have at least some color in every room, even if they all verge on being quite neutral and tasteful. But the bathroom is almost entirely covered with this peachy-beige tile that makes the whole place look dingy. The matching covers on the shower curtain rod and the towel bar are also not the most flattering design feature. I chose black, white and some of that dark grey to offset the room looking too dirty all the time by giving it pops of fresh graphic elements in time to make the room look updated.

If you live in a rental, consider what simple upgrades you can complete that compliment the existing hardware in your bathroom (read: the stuff that you’d like to change but you’re legally not allowed to).

Try choosing colors and using patterns or texture to give it that extra oomph. I think the subtle tone on tone stripe of my shower curtain goes perfectly with the squares on my bathmat.

The other thing that would help is perhaps cleaning my bathroom. That could be a thing. And now that everything is put away, I’m really starting to dig that uncluttered look. Unfortunately, an uncluttered look on the outside only makes me tremble in fear every time I open a cupboard door.

I’d like to add some hooks to the back of the door for things like house-coats or extra towels. I also have a wall-mountable drying rack that is looking for a home.

Last, but not least, it would be great to give the bathroom a fresh cost of paint and stick some not so precious art on the walls so it doesn’t get damaged by steam or water.

What’s on your bathroom to-do list? Do you love it/hate it? Are you in the middle of doing it all over? Give me a shout at thetwentiesproject@gmail.com and tell me what you think.

baking with b: banana muffins

B’s Banana Muffins- there are hardly any left!

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t include these muffins as a staple in their baking repertoire, but if you are one of those who does not, never fear: this is probably one of the simplest recipes ever. Best of all, it’s a great way to use up those overripe bananas that are sitting in your fruit basket. Or banana tree. Or wherever you keep your bananas.

B’s Banana Muffins

1 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 c. butter, melted

3/4 c. sugar

1 egg

3 bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 c.)

Melt butter gently in a saucepan over medium heat or in a microwave-bowl for 30 seconds. Let stand. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together butter, sugar, egg and bananas. Gradually add in flour mixture, mixing well. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, or one lined with muffin liners. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F until tops are lightly golden. If you are making miniature muffins, leave them in for only fifteen minutes.

B’s Banana Tip: It’s true what they say- ripe bananas have the best flavor. My saying for bananas is this: “If they’re not good enough to eat, they’re good enough to bake with.” Okay, I don’t really say that. But it is true. If your banana is covered with waaay too many black spots for your liking, use them to make these muffins. If your bananas are already starting to go but you don’t have time to make muffins, freeze them for up to a month. Just remember to let them get until room temperature before mashing them and adding them to your batter. Cold bananas make all that butter you just warmed up all chilly again which gets you- you guessed it- chunks. No one wants butter chunks in their muffins.

These muffins are best served warm, cold, day or night- or anytime! The best part about them is that they’re so versatile. Leave them as is and serve them warm with a lick of butter and a cup of tea. Or why not create your own variation? Add in 1/2 c of your favorite nuts to the batter before scooping in muffin liners. I think walnuts go amazingly with this recipe. Or why not add chocolate chips? (Everyone’s favorite.) A co-worker of mine made these the other day with butterscotch chips and they tasted really good as well.

Enjoy!

For more ideas on treats to make for Mother’s Day (or any day!) why not check out our recipe page? We’ve got a list of all the recipes we post on the site organized by category for your browsing pleasure. Wanna tell us what’s on the menu for your Mother’s Day meal? Email us at thetwentiesproject@gmail.com.

my favourite vegan treat, ever

There’s this coffee shop down the street from the clothing store where I work part-time (when I’m not rambling on here, or rambling about my apartment on YouTube) that has the largest selection of gluten-free and vegan baked goods that I have seen in my limited experience. The previous owners of the coffee shop made these horrible vegan desserts that tasted like cardboard with mounds of icing dumped on top. The new management, however, has re-branded this café into something quaint and vaguely Italian (although I believe the owner himself is Eastern European). They have amazing gelato and lattés, but they also have one of favorite treats ever and for a not-quite-vegan like myself, I was shocked to learn that these babies have no dairy in them whatsoever.

from clockworklemon.com

 

Chocolate krinkle cookies. Great around Christmas time, great around any time. They look crunchy because of the way that they’ve broken open, but in fact the crust outside is very cookie-like, while the inside is moist and dense and chewy and oh-so-good. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off of my screen.

Buying all these cookies was becoming kind of a problem for me, so I did some searching until I found this recipe from clockworklemon.com. They’re the closest I’ve come to finding a recipe that matched the ones they make in the café so now I can make them at home just to make things a little easier on my wallet. I won’t lie, though- sometimes one or two find their way into my purse after my break at the store!

So while we’re participating in the Virtual Vegan Potluck today, I thought I’d share my favorite vegan treat for y’all so you can make them yourselves.

Vegan-Friendly Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup soy milk (you could probably also use rice or almond milk)

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

powdered sugar and granulated sugar

4 ounces (about 1/2 a cup) semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1 1/4 cups + 2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp  cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

In a bowl, mix together sugar, oil, corn syrup, vanilla, soy milk, flax seeds, and melted chocolate until smooth. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Mix until a thick dough forms. Chill the dough in the fridge for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour granulated sugar onto a plate and powdered sugar on another. When dough is ready, roll into balls approximately the size of a tablespoon and roll them in the granulate sugar, then the powdered sugar. Place cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart and bake at 325F for about 14 minutes. Let cookies cool on tray about five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

If you’re doing something for Mother’s Day tomorrow, why not make these to serve with a glass of milk after a light lunch, or with your favorite espresso-based drink in the afternoon? Soy lattés are my poision of my choice.

Enjoy!

 

Virtual Vegan Potluck: Black Bean Enchiladas

S – I have always been pretty lax when it came to my diet. I often forget to eat proper meals and then, in the middle of the night, by the light of the refrigerator, eat peanut butter directly from the jar. I know I have the tools to live a proper well-balanced lifestyle buried deep within the recesses of my mind, but, well, unfortunately, I am kind of lazy when it comes to cooking. The other night, I forgot to turn on the burner while trying to make pasta. I didn’t notice for thirty-five minutes. I ate a slice of bread slathered with jam instead. I can count on one hand the amount of major diet-changing-decisions I have made in my entire life.

I was six when I decided raisins were no longer an edible option for my lunches, especially since the other kids were eating Gusher Fruit snacks. Since my mother was unable to pronounce the ingredients, we were not allowed to eat them. Hamburger Helper was nixed around my twelfth year. I blame my parents’ unhealthy reliance on that particular boxed dinner. I like to hiss at the stupid smiling gloved hand when I grocery shop. Nanaimo bars are disgusting, so I took scissors and cut those out of my life around my sixteenth birthday. I think everyone should avoid those plastic-chocolate nightmares. I went to vegetarian around my twentieth birthday, I’m sure my mother cried – erm, still cries, nightly. On my twenty-sixth birthday I decided to try veganism. I tried to go one whole week without cheese. I cried myself to sleep for three days before cracking and binging on a brick of extra old cheddar and a box of Triscuit crackers.

I am a work in progress. B is a work in progress. We are works in progress.

B – You know how most people go away to university and lose the freshmen fifteen? Well, I went away to university and lost the freshmen fifteen. I know many women will probably be screaming in envy at me for losing that extra fifteen pounds that always seem to elude most dieters. It was no picnic, though. Stress-induced medical problems lead to poor eating habits and it was around then I realized there were certain foods I had an extreme sensitivity to. I had always tried to avoid dairy products around “that time of the month”, and now it seemed like I had to avoid them a great deal of the time. It was many years before I had heard of the term of “lactose-sensitive” but once I did hear it, it all seemed to make sense. How else could I explain my body’s aversion to milk, but its love of yogurt? How could I feel nauseous after eating ice cream but still be able to eat cheese? Even though I’m not a vegan, I avoid most dairy products and veer away mostly from meat, so it seems natural that I would gravitate towards vegan meals to get all the fresh ingredients I need and avoid those foods which make me feel less then great.

But that’s what being in your twenties is all about, right? Figuring what works for us, and what doesn’t.

We tried a bunch of different recipes for this vegan virtual potluck and did hours of interwebs research, we turned out a lot of really horrendously dry dishes. We may have wept over some vegan soups, especially when we realized we made them wrong. Though, these black bean enchiladas were heaven … and we even enjoyed the vegan cheese. It gave us hope we could one day live without dairy cheese.

So, pull out some paper, take notes:

Ingredients:

From veganlovlie.com

Enchiladas:

• 1 block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 can black beans, drained and diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, grated
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 green peppers, diced
• 1 c. homemade enchilada sauce (recipe below)
• 10-12 flour tortillas
• Daiya vegan cheese crumbles (optional)

For the enchilada sauce:

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 tbsp jalapeño pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 cups water
• 1 8 ounce can tomato paste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

To make the sauce, eat the oil, flour and jalapeño pepper powder together in a large pot. Allow to cook for a minute or two. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow simmer. Stir well to combine and dissolve tomato paste in water. Allow to cook for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more spices as desired.

Set aside. Dice the carrots, zucchini, and onion. Toss the vegetables in a bowl with about half the enchilada sauce. Add diced tofu and black beans. Combine well.

Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the vegetable, bean and tofu mix into each flour tortilla. Wrap and place in a baking pan. When the pan is full, spoon half of the leftover enchilada sauce on top of the wrapped flour tortillas – be sure to get all the edges!

Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until done, spooning the rest of the enchilada sauce on top when halfway done cooking. When there are ten minutes remaining, remove enchiladas from oven and sprinkle with your favorite vegan cheese. Return to oven and bake for another ten minutes, or switch your oven’s setting to broil if you want your cheese extra crispy.

Tip: If the edges of your tortillas are crisp after baking, spoon a bit more sauce on them and they will absorb the moisture and flavor.

Are you looking for more delicious vegan recipes? We’re pleased to be involved in the vegan potluck! Click on the links below for other great recipes sure to be enjoyed by vegans and non-vegans alike.

’twas the night before moving day

‘Twas the night before moving, when all through the house

No one was speaking, not even a mouse

Their stuff was in boxes, all stacked by the door

But B and J, they were speaking no more.

 

J wanted to nestle all snug in his bed.

While visions of gaming danced in his head

He begged girlfriend B to cut all the crap.

He was so very tired; he wanted a nap.

 

But B wouldn’t have it- they needed to pack.

J wanted to stop; he wanted a snack.

B argued that there was much more left to do.

He could have a snack, but only when through.

 

J said, “But I have been packing all through the day.

I was busy packing while you were away.”
B replied, “I wasn’t away,” I was going to work

I need to make money for rent, you dumb jerk.”

 

They both were so tired, it had been a long night.

So naturally, B and J started to fight.

She wanted to pack, he wanted games.

So they hooted, and hollered, and called each one names!

 

Like stupid, and foolish, and mean, and crazy,

And nutty, and selfish, and anal, and lazy.

B said, “You just want to play games, nothing more!”

And J responded that she was a *****.

 

Well, after B thought that was really quite mean.

She knew she could be a packing machine.

She thought he should know that she meant no harm-

Being anal-retentive was part of her charm.

 

J told her he knew how much she liked her list

But no matter what happened, there’d be something she missed

He suggested that she try and “be more like me”

“More laid-back, and cheerful, more calm and carefree.”

 

“I’m cheerful!” she screamed. “I’m so not uptight!”

“Calm down, B,” J told her. “I don’t want to fight.”

“Moving is good, although it seems strange

But both of us knew that we needed a change.”

 

“Our apartment’s much bigger, it has much more space.

And you always wanted a sunnier place.

There’s restaurants and cafés all within reach

There’s a park for the dogs, and even a beach.”

 

Though B was reluctant, she had to agree

The end goal for them had become hard to see.

It’s hard to get ready for such a big move

But when they were finished, they’d get back in the groove.”

 

She’d have an office which is just what she needed

And plenty of space for their friends to be seated.

J could take the dogs for a walk by the lake

And there’d be a kitchen so at last B could bake.

 

Although moving from here will make us quite sad

We know change is good, it’s not always bad.

But no matter where or how far we roam

When we’re together we’re always at home.

 

J picked up a box and started to pack.

B stopped him and said, “Why don’t we have a snack?”

“Let’s take our time and not get in a fight.”

So happy moving day to all, and to all a good night!

 

do you YouTube?

We do do YouTube. Do you even know that we do? (Do you even know that we’ve had waaay too much coffee for the day already?)

If you haven’t been following our YouTube channel, our Facebook or our Twitter feed, then you will not have noticed that S and B have started posting weekly YouTube videos about…well, about a whole lot of nothing so far. We’ve talked decorating wars, warrior dashes, and wielding coupons and we have a whole lot more in store for you. It’s a chance to hear us speak and ramble, rather than read our rambling, and a way of getting to know us a little better- goofiness and all.

If there’s a video that you’d like one of us to do, let us know! We’ve got some upcoming guest stars, some exciting house tours and so much more to share with you. May is going to be an exciting month! (Can you believe that we’re almost there already?)

So happy Friday to you all, and here’s B’s fun embarrassing little ramble on coupons.

Love, S and B

home office blues

I'd love this office from IKEA but I still don't think it has enough shelves to fit all my books!

For those of you fellow writers and bloggers out there, I’m sure we’ve all learned by now that working from home isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. But for some reason, even though I’ve been at it for a couple of years now, I still find myself clinging on to that dream of the perfect home office, yet I always seem to find that space is much more elusive in reality.

Maybe it’s because when I first started working from home, I set up shop in a closet. No, I’m not even kidding. Across the hall from my bedroom was a giant walk-in closet with electricity so I thought, “Hey, why not?” and set up a little desk and bookcase in there. Was a little strange? Yes. Was it cramped? Definitely. Did people often mistake my closed door for an empty office and turn out the light as they walked by, thus shutting off my power? More often than you think. But it worked and from time to time I still miss that tiny little room affectionately dubbed “the cloffice”. (Which is apparently now a thing. Who knew?)

But lately I’m feeling the home office blues more and more. I do have a little set-up in our second bedroom which can pass for an office, but it shares space with our pantry, the microwave, and assorted boxes and bags that are half for packing, and half are just things that have no homes.

It’s made me excited for my new apartment and my new home office because the possibilities seem endless. But sometimes when you aren’t challenged for space your options seem to increase by ten-fold and you’re faced with more choices than you ever have before.

I know. Boo hoo for me, right? But in all honesty I kind of envy the people who have their neat little work station in a corner of their living room, or the makeshift home offices that seem to proliferate in recent kitchen renovations. How can you set up stall like that, in the middle of everything, and yet function still so well? I can barely function if there’s a dirty glass somewhere in my reach and the fact that my current office doesn’t have a door sometimes results in me daydreaming about fancy doorknobs rather than focusing on the desk I should be eventually getting.

I guess the key to everyone’s dream home office is knowing what it is they like and what they don’t; what works for them and what doesn’t. Then it’s just a matter of taking into consideration the money and space you have to work with and go from there. And because I’m really into making lists, here’s one of all my home office must-haves:

– a door that can close! Writing a blog post, let alone an intense financial report for a client is hard enough. Try doing it with constant video game noise coming in from the living room, followed by a stream of cursing. You get my point.

– a nice big desk. I’ve done small and compact long enough to realize that I need to space to spread out everything as I’m working. I just work better knowing that all the relevant materials I need are somehow within reach. It sounds messy, but it’s really quite organized. My desktop often ends up looking like a complicated game of office-supply Tetris.

– a window. For some people it’s a distraction but I somehow work better knowing that if I need to take a break there’s a window I can gaze out of wistfully while pondering all the other things I could do instead of working.

– a big, comfy chair. There are days where I simply. Cannot. Work. At. A. Desk and curl up somewhere to edit an article, or whatever else it is I’m working on. Having a chair would be such a novelty to me but the more I think about having an alternative workspace like that, the more I think I must have it.

– tons of boxes. I hoard a crazy amount of office supplies and the way they’re organized is just…shameful. Honestly. It’s pretty sad that for someone who organizes people for a living can’t get it together to find some sort of pen storage. But I hold out the hope that this will happen someday.

– a filing cabinet of some sort. I currently don’t have one. This disturbs me, possibly more than the pen thing as I can generate a crazy amount of paperwork for such an average-sized person. Maybe all that spreading out is actually counter-productive (see point B).

Ultimately everyone’s office wish list is going to look different, as their unique needs will depend on their jobs and lifestyles. You don’t necessarily need to use my wish list- the thought of going paperless terrifies me, for example, so a minimalist craving a modern, mess-free office might crave a scanner for all of their important documents.

The bottom line is that your workspace is best designed by you to suit your own needs. As long as it has a good workspace, adequate storage and lighting and allow you to function (somewhat) like a normal person than it’s all good.