Ribbon and Mini Pegs

I got a quote for a laminate desktop and it was more than I hoped so I'm considering other options. It's a pretty decent length (2.7 metres) so it will have to be pretty sturdy. I am only planning on choosing something white so it probably doesn't matter too much what material I choose but I'll already have timber on the floor so I think I'd prefer to steer away from that.

I also have to buy something for the shelves, which will be a little shorter (1.8 metres to allow for a cupboard on one side) but that should just be a matter of a trip to bunnings. That's a job for this weekend if I have time in between cleaning out the garage and working out where we are going to store everything while the house has plaster dust whirling around everywhere.

On the upside, I've found a whole lot more inspiration including a cute way to keep ribbon handy (see below). I also fell in love with the idea to drape a line from one end of the desk to the other and use mini pegs to pin photographs and other juicy tidbits of inspiration to - so I am the chuffed new owner of 60 mini pegs. Thank you ebay.

Tweaking the renovation plans

So I have the quote back from the carpenter and things are progressing (yay). We're at the tweaking stage; thinking even more carefully about exactly where the new walls are to go and which ones to remove. We want to make sure we get it right and maximise the space in a way that suits our needs but also appeals to potential buyers when we eventually sell.

I think we're about 95% there. I decided to carve a bit of space from the WIR-to-be and put a study nook on the other side. I'm super happy with the idea because the newly created hallway won't be wasted space and the living area with the tv will be far enough away that the study area can be used without it being too noisy. I haven't seen any ideas that quite match what I want but here are bits and pieces that I like.











I am going to ask for a quote to add a window seat at the end of the new living room. I was planning to use that end for the couches/tv but I've decided to swap that with the dining area and I can see already that it will work much better.

However, it led me to re-consider the flooring. I had been imagining carpet because I've heard people say you should at least have carpet in one living area. But I think I will go against the grain (no pun intended) and lay timber laminate or floating floors and just add a nice big rug where the couches will be. I don't want to be stressing about food being dropped and I can only imagine it will happen more than once - there's a step leading from the kitchen to the that area. My first preference would be to go with a light oak or similar but my husband only likes the darker woods so we'll compromise and probably go with a spotted gum or similar - like this.