I love seeing how people live.  How we are all a bit different, but yet still the same. It’s why I’m drawn to documentary photography. It’s so fascinating to me how each family interacts with each other and what ‘things’ they place value on. So, I thought it might be fun to give you a little glimpse into one of my spaces in our home.  This is where I edit, answer your emails and write blog posts.  These are the ‘things’ that are important to me (and the photos that I cherish!).

The real truth is that I worked at an old dining room table for over 6 months. It was the only place in our house that had enough space to hold my computer and all of my gear, packaging material, etc. But, I hated it (and so did my back and wrists).  I wanted a space that could hold both of our computers, while still having space for the kids to sit and colour or craft without the risk of glue hitting my keyboard (I’ve been there before and it’s no fun!).  I also needed a space that was open to the main floor. The reality is that I work from home, and although the majority of my work is done at night or when my husband is on kid duty, I do sometimes answer emails or edit while the kids are awake and I need to be able to see them.  We decided that an office was more important to us than a dining room, so we took the plunge and traded our dining room tables for desks.

After a marathon Ikea trip we ended up with a configuration that we absolutely love.

There’s space for each of us to sit, for the kids to be at the stools at the middle table (well, one kid right now….two soon once she’s big enough to climb up), and enough storage for my gear and packaging materials.

Above the one computer is a 20×30 matte print.  The matte prints are a product that I recently added to my a-la-carte print options and I can’t get over how beautiful they are. They are so, so rich with the perfect amount of contrast.

Above my desk I have the box from an unbound album along with another box which holds most of my packaging supplies.

The centre unit serves as storage but it also allows us to display some of our favourite personal photos (also part of the unbound album).

In case you’re interested in doing a similar setup, here’s what we used:

• 2 Linnmon/Alex tables (with the white table tops, grey Alex units and square stainless steel legs).
• Kallax desk combination
• Raskog stools

And just for fun, here’s an in-progress shot. It felt like I pushed little wooden dowels in for days!