Trying Out a Standing Desk + Livening Up My New Office

I split my work days between two spaces: my lovely home office (above, with its DIY walnut waterfall desk, sunny window with mountain view, and a handy treadmill in the closet), and a windowless office space which literally used to be a closet (below).

I am really trying to make this closet-office work, and I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to work from home some days, but if I am being honest with you then I have to admit that the dreary, windowless space has made it difficult to stay motivated.  It was especially difficult when the days were the shortest, because I'd commute in the dark both ways and then spend the entire day under fluorescent light.  I know that this plight is not unique to me and many, many people log their working hours in less than ideal conditions - and to some, I probably have it really good (did I mention they recently installed a heater in this closet office?  #spoiled).

I also know that I have been very lucky.  Getting to work from home for 10+ years was a luxury and I took for granted how the sunlight pouring in kept my mood elevated and my brain focused.  Adapting to a new environment - the job and the office - has been challenging, but that's life.   

I knew the adjustment would be difficult, but what I didn't predict was how the job would wreak havoc on my body, thanks to a 2-3 hour commute (depending on winter road conditions) each day, combined with extended periods of sitting at a desk.  When I work from home I can skip that time commuting, plus I am more inclined to get up for breaks.  I toss a load of laundry in the machine, take the dogs for a pee break, or hop on the treadmill for 15 minutes.  At the office, I just sit and sit and sit and sit - sometimes I even sit on my breaks and lunch because someone comes in and we chat.  Or I just feel too blah to get up.  For some reason, I just move less at the office.  By the end of my first week, I was getting so sore and achy that it was actually painful to drive home.

The saddest thing is that I am doing research in workplace health - and my own work space made me unhappy and unhealthy!

I decided that I had to make some changes.  I brought in a few things from home to make my desk a little nicer and more functional - even something small, like switching my mouse pad for a prettier cacti one and bringing in a photo of Hubby and I, made me happier.



It sounds silly, but buying an inexpensive electric kettle made my office situation so much better too, because having a nice cup of tea any time I want is so relaxing and comforting, plus walking down the hall to fill up the kettle gives me a reason to move at least a few times a day - but I'm not blowing my pay check by wandering over to the cafe every day.

 

Don't laugh, but I also went exploring and found a bathroom really far away and that's the one I use - so once I filter my tea (haha), I've got an excuse stretch my legs.  Now that the weather is warming up (but still kinda snowy and icy where I live), I keep some boots with good tread under my desk so I can go for a little walk around on my lunch. 

All of these little changes have added up (and I still have more changes to make), but the biggest change was adding a convertible standing desk - which has actually made a HUGE impact on my health.  My physiotherapist warned against a standing desk because standing all day can cause health problems too, but I really wanted the chance to switch between sitting and standing.  I did a lot of research and the problems sitting causes us are so alarming.  The solution seems to be avoiding staying stationary: not sitting or standing in one place for too long.  So a desk that converts from sitting to standing - and a commitment to move more during the day - seems to be the best way to combat the negative health impacts of sedentary jobs like mine.

To help me make my office space healthier, AnthroDesk sent me their ErgoSpring Standing Desk Converter (and an anti-fatigue mat) for review and this standing desk been a life changer for me.

It is HEAVY, so Hubby helped me haul it in (say that three times fast!).  Set up was quick and easy (10 minutes - just as promised), and because of the weight this desk is incredibly sturdy.  It grips my existing desk with four strong suction cups.  Sometimes I lightly lean on it when people come in for a chat (shhhh, you're not supposed to do that) and it doesn't even wobble - it's so solid.

By grabbing two levers on either side, I can lift or lower this convertible standing desk with ease thanks to the gas spring technology.  The desk has six different height adjustments available: 44cm, 43cm, 38cm, 31cm, 22cm, 13cm, which is what I wanted because, at 5"9, I'm not freakishly tall but, as my Mom says, I have a long turkey neck, so I like that the desk height can be adjusted - I always use the tallest height setting.  

In the lowered position, it raised my work surface a bit, so having an adjustable chair was necessary.  

The height and ergonomics are perfect, but I am still struggling a little with the mouse because if my keyboard is where I want it (centered), my mouse is moved to the right and then my hand feels like it rubs under the desk.

But the positive impact on my health has been amazing.  I still experience some pain and stiffness because, as my physiotherapist tells me, I shouldn't be sitting for more than 2-3 hours a DAY - and I do that just driving to work and home.  However, I do feel a lot better better thanks to this standing desk option.  When I'm standing, I try to do some light stretching and movement while I work and that helps a lot - I never keep my feet planted in the same standing position for hours on end.  Plus, when I'm already standing I seem to be more inclined to move, which is great!  The key, for me to feel good, seems to be finding the balance between sitting, standing, and walking around.

I would definitely suggest a convertible standing desk as an option to anyone who sits for work, with the caveat that you alternate between sitting and standing to reap the full benefits.  Huge thanks to AnthroDesk for sending me this convertible standing desk!  The best thing is that they have both a Canadian website and a US website and - major perk for my Canadian friends - they offer free shipping in Canada (for orders over $50).  Check out their FAQ page if you're interested in more information on standing desks.  If you're ready to commit, they offer regular sales and discounts, so be sure to follow them on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  There's a giveaway on the US page right now (good luck!). 



While I adjust to this new work environment, I'd love to hear from readers who have made their work spaces happier and healthier - what are your tips for me?

DIY Air Dry Clay Sculptural Fish Art

I had purchased a package of air dry clay years ago, filled up a Pinterest board with clay and pottery ideas, but couldn't actually commit to a project until I fell in love with this stunning ceramic artwork and was (finally) inspired to make my own clay fish art.

My DIY clay art pales in comparison to the gorgeous ceramic piece that inspired me to unearth my clay, but I don't care because I just really enjoyed the peaceful process of making these clay fish!

Supplies:

(I'm still on my craft-with-supplies-I-have kick and I happened to have everything on hand to make this air dry clay craft project).

• Air dry clay
• Rolling pin
• Cutting board
• Shimmering acrylic paint (I used Artist's Loft Metallic Cobalt Blue)
• Small plastic container with water
• Small paint brush
• Fish shaped cookie cutter
• Fine grit sandpaper
• Toothpick
• Paper towels
• Textured wallpaper sample or scrapbook paper
• Cardboard
• Epoxy
• Picture frame (no glass)

The first step was to cut out my school of clay fish.  My air dry clay had hardened into one solid brick over the years, so I tried my best to stab at it with a knife to make some punctures, then I poured a 1/2 cup of water on it and let it sit in a sealed bag.  Like magic, my clay became workable again, so I kneaded and rolled it into a cutting board (like cookie dough) and started cutting out fish shapes with my cookie cutter.

I dripped a finger in water and ran it along the edges to smooth out the obvious cut edge of each fish.

I used a toothpick (food skewer works too) to poke a little eye, then I shaped my fish to curve different ways - some are flat, some curve left, others curve right.

I set my fish aside on my cutting board to air dry, per instructions.  When the clay was dry, I gently sanded any rough edges with a fine grit sandpaper and then gave them a glimmering coat of paint.  I just took some teal paint with shimmer and watered it down - adding a few drops of paint to a tablespoon or so of water.  I lightly brushed the paint on, trying to keep my application loose and messy.  I let the fish dry, flipped them over, and painted the other sides too.  I ended up doing two light layers of paint, but actually preferred just one coat.

Here's where I made a little mistake: I wanted a glossy top coat, so I tried using some leftover varnish I had, but it made the paint crackle a little.  For this project, it helped my fish look more fishy, with texture that resembles scales, but for any other kind of clay project this is a word to the wise: don't cheap out on craft supplies and try to substitute something else.

I happened to have a textural, beachy wallpaper sample on hand, but there are so many gorgeous scrapbook papers that would work too.  I glued the wallpaper to a cardboard backing for the rigidity and then started gluing on my fish.  I dry fit everything to form my "school" and then, using my 5-minute epoxy, starting attaching my fish - some to the paper, some to each other.




I let everything dry for a couple of hours - just in case! - and then checked to make sure I had glued all of the fish.  I had missed one!  But luckily I caught it and glued it down before popping everything into a simple white IKEA frame I had on hand.  I used this same epoxy for my DIY agate slice art and, almost five years later (wait, what?) it's still holding strong.

I love how this DIY clay fish art turned out - it shimmers when the sunlight hits it, and it has such a fun, modern coastal look.  This would be such an easy project to get kiddos involved with too.

The only trouble is, the best light for photographs is also the best spot for watching the lake, so I had various puppies blocking the light, making it difficult to capture how well these fishies shimmer:

P.S. Even though this clay fish project turned out cute, and I'm so happy I finally found the motivation to work with my air dry clay, I still think the original ceramic art by KaroArt is much, much, much (!) better.  If you have a chance, check out the Etsy shop of this talented ceramic artist from Dublin, Ireland.  Karo also makes gorgeous ceramic bowls, dreamy storm cloud ceramic mugs, and heart-shaped wall art.

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How I'm Hiding My Closet "Gym" | Simple DIY Curtain That Hides a Track

I have an obsession with squeezing as much square footage out of a house as possible.  In both the townhouse and our current lakehouse, I've crammed closets full of furniture, art - basically treating some closets as mini rooms.  Now I'm transitioning our office closet into the most ambitious purpose yet: a teeny, tiny home gym.

In case you missed it, the previous office closet makeover looked like this:

Here's the before:

I loved how we turned the office closet into a little nook and there was still lots of storage space, but eventually we realized that we didn't really need the storage space.  I had emptied those pink bins awhile ago and we spent December and January shredding files so we could ditch the filing cabinet altogether.  After a little de-cluttering, we removed the shelf, repaired the wall, rolled on a can of (slightly off-tint white) paint, and were left with this blank slate:



Now the office closet is home to our sleek new SpaceWalker treadmill and we'll be tackling some more projects, like adding a fan, installing and outlet, and storing our weights, etc.  Even though the new treadmill is so gorgeous, I still wanted the option to conceal this space so I enlisted my Mom to sew a DIY closet curtain.  When we moved here, I had to choose between the existing bi-fold closet doors and a smaller Ikea Expedit, or no closet doors and the bigger Expedit - I chose the latter, with no regrets!  A sliding door like the beachy glass one in our bedroom would be lovely but so awkward, because the bookcase is pretty close to the closet opening.  One day maybe we'll spring for a pocket door (or ditch the Expedit?), but we had leftover curtain track from the laundry room curtain system, and I found a gorgeous cream linen for only $3 per meter - so clearly the Universe was steering me in the direction of a closet curtain.

I wanted to do the closet curtain the same way my Mom and I did the laundry room curtains, because seeing the track never bothers me, but my Mom is so ambitious.  She's always thinking big and she has so many clever ideas.  With some work reflection, she came up with a simple DIY curtain that easily hides the curtain track and looks so seamless.  

Here's how to easily sew a curtain that hides a curtain track.

Supplies:

• White linen fabric
• Curtain track + hooks
• Sewing machine and thread
• Non-Woven Interfacing (ours was about 4" wide, doesn't need to be fusible)
• Shirring tape

The process was actually very straightforward.  First we washed and dried the fabric to settle any shrinkage and then gave it a quick iron.  The edges and bottom were hemmed as usual (folded over, ironed, sewn down) - pretty basic for a curtain.  The top is where we got creative.  To stiffen the top and keep it from drooping and exposing the clips and curtain track, we used non-woven interfacing, which was sewn right into the top seam to give it some stiffness.   

Next we sewed on some shirring tape, focusing the stitching on the bottom third so the top edge of it was loose. 

This is where we attached the clips from the curtain track and - voila! - a super simple curtain that hides the track!  We didn't do any ruching or shirring, we just evenly spaced the clips and so when the curtain is closed it has some soft folds.

Here's a peek at the back:

When the closet curtain is open, it looks like this:

I love this as a solution because it was fast and easy!  I know not everyone would opt for a closet curtain because it can look dangerously student-y, but living in this cottage on the lake I think I can get away with some relaxed design choices.  I wanted to share because if anyone liked the idea of a curtain track - but not how I opted to keep the track visible in the laundry room - then this is an easy alternative.

I am starting to lose track (haha) of how many curtains my sweet Mom has helped me make!  Thanks to my Mom, after that little patterned curtain misstep, both the bedroom and the office boast beautiful back tab tweed curtains (if you need a really detailed back tab curtain tutorial, here it is), the bathroom has a custom, floor-to-ceiling shower curtain, the laundry room is hidden behind some pretty polka dot drapes on a track - and don't forget the clever layered sheers she made for the townhouse and those sweet ruched curtains for the guestroom.  Speaking of guestrooms, she whipped up dreamy sheers for the bunkie too - oh, and the silk drapes and bedroom sheers in the townhouse as well. 

The only space that doesn't have curtains yet? 

Her place!  Oops.  I really owe her a sewing session soon...  

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Easy DIY Tassel Key Chain

While I was organizing the fish room (I still need to show you a tour of the finished room!), I came across so many craft supplies that I had forgotten about.  Having everything in one lovely space, in beautifully organized Ikea cabinets no less, has really sparked my creativity and I decided to challenge myself to use up some of these sidelined supplies.  I have been quite the prolific crafter lately, and I can't wait to show you everything I've made!

Today I'm sharing this sweet and simple DIY tassel key chain.  

This project is using up a supply that will really date me: embroidery thread.  I found a big bag of it, but it's not from my abandoned embroidery project.  Nope, it's from those ubiquitous knotted friendship bracelets - when they were trendy the first time around.  I've been really loving the tassel trend, but couldn't think of where I wanted a tassel (pillows? throw blanket? nope - can't be anywhere the puppers can reach).  Then I came across my collection of vintage skeleton keys (they used to be framed) and it suddenly dawned on me:  make some cute tassel key chains or purse fobs!  As luck would have it, I also happened to have two large bead caps that I had purchased about 15 years ago for another project and these caps made the finished tassels look very polished.

When I was done, I had re-purposed a lot of pretty bits and bobs, which were all collecting dust, into two pretty key chains - one for my Mom and one for me.

If you want to add some flair to your keys or purse, here's what you'll need to make a large embroidery thread tassel.

Supplies:

• Embroidery thread (I used three skeins per tassel)
• Large bead cap (mine is approx. 1" L x 3/4" W)
• Small bead (optional)
• Eye pin
• Small jump rings
• Key ring
• Vintage skeleton key (optional - you can add any charm, or no charm) 
• Needle nose pliers 
• Sharp scissors

Although you can make a tassel by simply folding a skein in half, I wanted to really mix the different colored threads together.  My Mom offered up a second set of hands and I wound the thread into a loop, working the coppery hue evenly in with my bright aqua.

Then I folded the loop we formed in half and tied it tightly with a length of embroidery floss.  I wrapped it a few times, tied it, then kept wrapping and tied it again so the knot was secure.  Then I just let the ends of the knot blend into the rest of the threads.

 

Before moving on to the next step, I grabbed the sharpest scissors in my arsenal and trimmed the edges.  Five or six times.  There's always that one that thread skips a trim!  Luckily I am a pro at this, because it seems like I always need to re-trim my hair when I come home from the hair salon.

I opened up the loop on my eye pin and slipped on the thread before closing the loop with needle nosed pliers:   

Then I added my bead cap and a turquoise bead at the end (optional), before cutting the end of the eye pin shorter and forming a loop with my needle nose pliers.  I have a great how-to for creating eye pin loops in my tutorial for beaded Christmas spiders, linked here.

I added a jump ring, which I connected to a slightly larger jump ring, which was then attached to my vintage skeleton key.  Easy peasy!  I added a key ring and was happy to add a splash of aqua to my truck keys (which were worryingly devoid of my favorite hue). 

For my Mom's blue ombre embroidery thread tassel, I used a ball chain instead of a key ring:

I love the embroidery thread tassel on its own, but the addition of a vintage skeleton key is fun - and I get to use pieces of my collection!  Skeleton keys have always fascinated me, but my framed collection didn't really jibe with the beachy look I'm cultivating in the lakehouse so I had packed them away.  It's nice to be able to enjoy them again. 

Plus there's something really soothing about smoothing out the strands of the embroidery floss - it's kind of like a stress ball.  When I hold my keys, I started to calmly fiddle with the strands and it's interestingly meditative; it makes me feel very chill.  

   
If I can find some more bead caps, I'd love to use up the rest of the embroidery floss and vintage keys to make these key chains as gifts - I already have a couple of friends dropping heavy hints...

P.S. you can also purchase a cute tassel key chain, like this adorable one with a horse, this chic leather one, or this cute monogram version.

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