For a growing number of American workers, home isn’t just where the heart is. It’s oftentimes where the office is, too.
TJ is a 4th generation farmer who began farming in 1958. Today he farms watermelons, oranges, and is a cattle rancher. Managing his farm, he spends a great deal of time in his home office. In my mind’s eye I imagine that back in 1958 TJ and his wife Mary started their business in a tiny corner of their home with furniture and equipment that they already had. Or maybe even on their kitchen table. Now, fast forward to August 2019.
When I first visited TJ in his home office, I thought he came up with a clever idea. He and his wife built a dedicated room for their home office, just a single step away from their home. They knew this would be a place where TJ would work, perhaps on a daily basis. This room became part home office and part business administration center. They created a U-shaped design, a layout that keeps the entrepreneurs within an arm’s reach of the equipment and tools they need.
Because it had a masculine interior design, it reminded me of a man cave. It was clear that the massive wood desk was the primary workspace. There was a large credenza that sat against the wall behind TJ’s desk. Between those two items they provide some storage within easy reach, and plenty of work surfaces. But, as you can see from the “before” photograph, there was a sea of paperwork in the office. They not only had a desire for much-needed additional storage, but it was obvious that they had a NEED for it as well. They wanted the new cabinetry to accomplish the storage issues and they wanted it match closely to their existing credenza.
To the far left of the room was a cool live edge table produced from local trees. Unfortunately, this awesome looking table did not provide any storage. Over the years TJ and Mary had collected some favorite paraphernalia, sports memorabilia, and family photos. They wanted to utilize open shelves to display their items on their walls. An office without some charm isn’t worth working in, so their vision was spot on to create the atmosphere they were looking for.
I took a photograph using my old, but trusty, droid cell phone to take a snapshot of one of the credenza doors. I figured it would help me match the old wood with the new. The image ended up not being the best color photograph, so I knew mimicking the exact stain color would be a challenge. However, I was certainly up for it.
Tyler Mowatt and Pat Brun our talented and experienced installers from Just Counters & Other Stuff did an outstanding job in installing this beautiful custom entertainment unit with two new filing cabinets and two full-height base cabinets with a MDF wood top. They used their impeccable eye for detail when they applied furniture base moulding to the bottom of the entertainment unit and installed six floating shelves. We used Shaker style cabinets from Aspect Cabinetry. The auburn stain on American poplar wood is a close match to the existing furniture. Rarely does a room get a transformation in one day. But this one did! Thanks to these two guys!
Some days, I know it can be hard to find the motivation to get to work, but I’ll bet TJ doesn’t mind rolling up his sleeves in this amazing office.
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