I suspect there aren’t many of us who can decorate completely according to our own tastes, without considering other household members.
Having (more or less) finished the master bedroom, the next room on my list is our dismal home office. It’s where we spend a huge amount of time and, as with many work spaces, was thrown together in a hurry when we bought the house, with function coming waaaay ahead of form. And since Beloved Husband is the techie genius in our marriage – not to mention major payer of our mortgage – his bits and pieces (by which I mean server, firewall, Cat 6 cabling and other gizmos which would look totally at home on the International Space Station) are pretty much ruling the roost.
A more sensible wife would abandon ship and go stake her claim on a little work area somewhere else in the house (probably making it look like this, pictured right). But since I actually really like hanging out with him (yeah, soppy), I decided to attempt to construct an office which works for both of us, meeting his requirements for practicality as well as mine for attractiveness.
He adores his rather ugly Ikea desk and won’t part with it because it’s height-adjustable and a perfect size. Fair enough. I’m in love with cubes so I’m sneaking some of those in somewhere, probably with a gazillion baskets to hide his electronic necessities. Happily, we both seem to think maps would provide a good style starting point and I’m hoping a very muted, neutral color scheme won’t spook him too much.
Here’s roughly what I’ve come up with:
Likely purchases at Ikea:
Galant Desk, $160; Expedit Bookcase, $70; Drawer unit on casters, $160; Newspaper rack; Vase, $30; Clock, $5.99
And other items I may sneak in there when he’s in a good mood:
Poetry Rug – HomeDecorators.com, $429; File Storage Ottoman – Ballard Designs, $239; Map – National Geographic Store, $5.99; Office Chair – Target, $50; Missoni Home Erode Cushion, $102; Silver Ocean Globe, $45; Origami Platinum Fabric – Calico Corners; Signature Pattern Binders – Russell and Hazel
In true Struggler style, you’ll be amused to know that after three-and-a-half days of exhausting weekend effort, the paint is complete. That’s all. No stylish new furniture, clever accessories, oversize maps or nifty window treatments. Just the walls.
At this point I could refer you to Young House Love, who assure me it’s perfectly possible for one person to paint a room in about 4 hours (leaving time to complete the rest of the decor and get a manicure before lunch). But I’m feeling quite inadequate enough, without you all heading off to worship at the altar of YHL before leaving a comment here.
So, please share, if you have to take someone else’s taste into account, what’s the biggest point of contention? And how long did it take you, the last time you painted a smallish bedroom? Just please don’t say 4 hours. 
