rosemary on the tv

As many of you know, back in September I quit my job and started my own business – Rosemary Hallmark Creative, LLC – and I now freelance full time from my home office.

Um, the only problem is that this (^) is my “home office”. It’s actually half of our guest bedroom and mostly just a pile of junk. Until Christmas, I was spending every day in an uncomfortable dining chair. I upgraded when my mom got me the white leather office chair as a Christmas gift.

But I was still sitting in a pile of junk with my printer propped up on a pile of boxes under my feet. This was not an inspiring workplace, that’s for sure. So a few weeks ago, my friend Brittany and I borrowed my dad’s truck and made a day trip to IKEA in Dallas. Brittany was moving into a new apartment and needed to load up on furniture. I needed to get my office in shape, so I made the following purchases:

VITTSJO Shelving Unit for $59 // KNIPSA baskets for $14.99 each  // KASSETT magazine file, a two-pack for $4.99

And suddenly, I had an office! I feel so much more organized (because I am!). The VITTSJO shelf is deep enough to hold my printer, which is wireless, and I use the baskets to hold camera equipment and things like cards, envelopes, etc. On the top shelf, I have inexpensive ($2 each) file boxes from Michaels that hold things like receipts, CDs, cords, and other small items. And now that everything is cleaned up, there’s space for Lula’s bed and she hangs out at my feet all day long.

And of course, my magazines. Finally, for the first time, all sorted, organized and labeled. The metal magazine/file holder we hung on the wall was a yard sale purchase I got for $5.

With Aaron’s help, I finally got the bulletin board hung up on the wall. It’s been leaned on the desk since I bought it. And if you’re wondering about my gorgeous desk, it’s a vintage sewing desk that my best friend gave me when he was moving and couldn’t take it with him. So: free. The best kind of desk.

I’m so much happier now with my cleaned up work space!

The guest bedroom is almost finished, now that my office space is set up. Back around Christmas, I added a Nate Berkus for Target lamp since we had guests coming for the week and, you know, they needed light.

And we replaced the closet doors in the fall! They used to look like this. The room still needs an area rug and some art here and there, and unfortunately…we still haven’t replaced this:

The world’s ugliest ceiling fan, which has haunted me since move-in day. But overall, I’d say it’s made quite a transformation from this: