"Design Happens"

Ken and I have been tripping over piles of books for a few weeks now, and instead of leaning toward the obvious solution (purge those books!), we took the fun road: build more shelving! Ken will take any opportunity he can to play with his table saw, so after a day of blueprints, planning and precise measurements, we arrived at the following design:

The finished product.

Our original hunch was to paint the cubes white and leave a woodgrain backdrop for visual interest, but after Ken finished the first cube with such precision, we wanted his handiwork to shine. I mean, really — look at how beautiful those corners are!

Exhibit A: I married a perfectionist.

So, we left the premium grade pine untouched, unstained and completely lovely:

Gah! This wood is gorgeous.

We chose to design a corner unit to exist directly behind my office chair, creating the perfect storage solution for referencing a design book or staring at my [sorely thirsty] terrarium. The result is modular, unexpected and entirely functional.

A sneak peek of my desk.

The design is a great contrast to our streamlined and modern art shelf we shared a few weeks ago.

Surprisingly, the cubes offer a great deal of storage.

I’m thrilled to say we’re no longer tripping over books, and our DIY cubes house everything I need to keep my office space organized and inspiring. Three cheers for another successful storage solution!

What about you? How do you keep your office organized? Any tips/tricks to share?

Tell me in the comments below.

Erin Loechner is a freelance writer/blogger whose work has been featured in Glamour, Dwell, Lucky, Nylon, Print and ReadyMade Mag. Follow more of her daily renovation musings at her blog, Design for Mankind.