I bet you thought I might not write an entry this week, and then where would I be in my New Year resolutions? Truthfully, I might not reach my goal of two entries, but that’s because I spent my week working hard to realize my other resolution of improving my workspace.

Next month we will move into our new office on the Danforth. To help us get ready, my amazing dad came into the city and helped me paint the two rooms that I will be sharing with my husband’s consulting company. It was hard work with long hours and nothing but a buzzy iPhone for entertainment. Have you ever heard the hits of ABBA through speakers that look like glowing ice cubes and buzz every four seconds? No? I envy you. Anyway, my dad was such a trooper (not to mention an expert painter) and in the end our efforts really paid off. Check out the space before we got our rollers on it:

Burgundy and orange. Together at last.

Quite the colour pallate for a work space. I’ll admit the orange is somewhat stimulating, even if it burns your retinas. We bought the best darn primer we could (at our local Benjamin Moore store – they were really great help) and got down to work. Here’s my dad mid primer:

Ahh. It’s getting calmer already. The white was tinged green to match our final colour, but we still required two coats of primer.

The view from the door. 1st coat paint on the walls.

Finally, to skip to the good part, we finished two coats primer and two coats paint, had the carpet replaced (by local merchants Citi Flooring – also very helpful), and had the two way mirror replaced with clear glass. The end result? FEAST YOUR EYES ON THIS:

Oooooooh. Aaaahhhhh.

Oh yeah. That’s the stuff. Hard to tell from these iPhone pics but the green manages to be calm but cheerful. The carpet is an oatmeal colour with flecks of brown and white. Designer favourite “Cloud White” on the trim. I only remembered to take pics in the evening but during the day the window in the front office floods the space with sunlight.

No words. Should have sent a poet.

My arms still ache and there are some touch ups at the bottom of the trim, but otherwise the office is ready to move into and start using. I’m really looking forward to spending time here. Just goes to show how much difference a little effort (and paint choices) can make!