Last week I shared with you my inspiration for our new home office – you can see it in more detail here. This is what we’re hoping to achieve; but as you read on, you will see we have a very long way to go!

Source list: Desk // Drawer Unit //Office Chair // Cupboard // Mason Jars // Rug // Chair

This is how the office looked last week:

And this was the view into the living room from the office:

In preparation to lay the oak flooring, hubby laid some wood batons and filled it with insulation. He didn’t want to have a ‘floating’ floor as he thinks they move and separate.

As we are having an open plan aspect to the living room and office, we need to remove the french doors between the two rooms.

As you can see, at this point the living room was still full of furniture. As the next step was going to be messy, we removed all of the furniture and stored it in the dining room, with the dining room furniture!

So, for the next however long it takes, this is the only place we have to sit and eat! Oh and no T.V. to watch, just the stairs to look at!

Next the fun part – knocking out the wall!

We took up all of the old laminate flooring as we want to have a continuous run of oak between the two rooms. And this is how it looks currently:

 So this room needs prepping with batons and insulation, the same as the office, which is the next job. So, as I said earlier, a long way to go!

Now that the doors have been removed, the full impact of just how open the rooms are hit me, so now I am reconsidering my designs for the office. I think I may have to have a more cohesive look for the rooms. As we won’t be purchasing new sofas for the living room, this will have to be more in keeping with our existing furniture. I think I can keep the gorgeous pink chairs I am lusting after, but may have to re-think the rug and choose something more neutral.

Hubby and I also had another trip to IKEA on Sunday and spent three hours looking at office furniture (again!). Now I know it’s easy to spend time in IKEA, but the reason we were so long, was that we couldn’t agree! He wanted to stick to our original plan which was the Galant range of storage units, but I am now changing my mind and want something which looks less like office furniture! I am now considering something more like this, which I think would fit better with our living room:

These units can be put together in lots of different combinations and there are also some amazing textured doors, which make them look a bit more upmarket! I think after three hours he either came round to my way of thinking , or, probably more like it, lost the will to live and gave in! So we are a little closer to finalise our plans.

I know it looks like we haven’t achieved much in a week, but as we work away from home three to four days a week, I don’t think we’ve done too badly! And that also includes two shopping trips!

 Header photo by Style Me Pretty