Cranes & Crates

I got all excited at Joann Fabrics yesterday when I saw two crates that looked like they would be PERFECT for record storage under our TV stand. I even had the guy take them to the fabric counter and measure them to make sure they would be wide enough for records.  He told me they were 12.25 inches wide (records with the sleeve are 12″) and I nearly shouted I was so elated.

Then the doubt started to creep in… did he give me external dimensions?  Probably. If so, was the wood on the sides bigger than an eighth of an inch? Probably. Would I be horribly disappointed when I got home? Probably. Needless to say, the man had already left to help another customer and the lady at the fabrics counter didn’t appreciate me trying to sneak back there to measure the crates myself. So I decided to take a chance… after all, I measured those records ages ago and maybe I had rounded up a little to 12″ to make it easy to remember.  Welcome back optimism!

Annnnnnd….. cue sadness.

They didn’t work.  My doubt was right. He gave me external dimensions plus each piece of wood was a quarter of an inch (making the internal dimension 11.75 inches).  And records with the sleeve are 12″ on the dot. The crates were a MEASLY .25 inches too small!  Bahhhh.

My disappointment disappeared pretty quickly though because once I knew what dimensions I needed, I was able to find some pretty sweet options online.  I will keep you posted!

The one thing I didn’t fail at yesterday was making Walker smile with a little surprise project waiting for him when he got home.

Let me explain… we both have been feeling a bit homesick lately. That always happens this time of year when Christmas seems so far in the past and future visits still seem so far in the future. So I decided to bring a little of Nebraska to our apartment. This month hundreds of thousands of Sandhill cranes migrate through the Nebraska Platte River Valley on their way north.

Source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

Source: http://scenicaperture.com/

Walker’s family took a trip out to see the cranes this week and since he couldn’t join them, I brought the cranes to him. It’s silly and cheesy and the cranes aren’t even that well made, I know.  But it’s the thought that counts, right?

Flowers… by Walker: March 13, 2012

What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man.

Mighty mighty good man.

Also here’s a cute picture of the little bean from the weekend! :)

New Workspace: The Plans Revised

Last month, I posted the basic plans for a new workspace. I did a ton of looking around for cabinet and tabletop options (online, ReStore, local hardware stores, Craigslist) without much of a result.  It looks like we would have to spend quite a bit of money to get something that looks good and fits well in the space.  Then what happens when we move… it won’t likely fit well in a different space. So I let the project fall onto the back burner but I kept my eyes peeled.

As I told you earlier, work was busy but exciting last week with a new editing project.  This week and going forward, I will actually be doing some editing from home as well as in the office.  But that brought me back to my existing desk… it really does not function as a workspace beyond surfing the internet.  So I went back into planning mode this weekend.

If I was going to have to spend money on my old desk idea, I began wondering if it was time for me to buy my first piece of big girl furniture. After looking around a bit, I found that there are a lot of 60″ desks available but they are fairly pricey.  In an ideal world, we would end up with something like this:Source: http://www.wayside-furniture.com/

Both of our monitors would fit on top of the hutch and we would have plenty of storage (and leg room!).  But this is undoubtedly hundreds or thousands of dollars (they don’t show the price on the website so that’s a bad sign).  Even a more basic version is expensive:Source: http://www.havertys.com/

This has far less storage and less character but it is still $329.  I’m honestly not crazy about it but the price is better.  So then I had another thought… what if we did two cute little his and hers writing desks and split things up a bit?  I stumbled upon this affordable 30″ writing desk that has a really cute shape!Source: http://www.wayfair.com

We would each get our own space, our own storage, and our own chairs. I think it would look really cute to make each one our respective styles.  Thanks to the magic of Photoshop, here is an example of what I mean:I think his & hers desks would be adorable… plus they would fit better in a new space than one giant desk.  Best of all- we could get both for under $250! I am still running all of these ideas by the boss-man but I would love to hear your thoughts!  Please let me know what you think of any or all of the above!  I also welcome other ideas… I would LOVE to get this workspace scratched off of my list!

Update: Woo here they come! :)

Erika

I’m Erika, an interior designer with an aesthetic that is a mix of California Bohemian, Mid-Century, and Scandinavian influences with pops of fun color and loads of natural materials. Plus plants, plants, and more plants!

My sweet family (Walker, Juniper & Hank, as well as pups Arlo & Guillermo) just reloacted from Los Angeles, CA, to Lincoln, NE. We would love for you to follow along with us on this journey!

 
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