Getting Comfortable Working From Home

Now that working from home is the new normal for many, many people, we wanted to pull together some ideas, inspiration and furnishings that will make your home office or dining table/kitchen island/random-console-end-table office more functional and beautiful.

from lovell Project

Designate a Space and Make it Functional - Whether you have an actual office or not, it’s important to take time to create a space that will work for you while you work in it. If you're spending half your day unplugging and replugging, detangling wires and sifting through a pile of files on the floor, you’re not spending much time actually working. It’s worth taking a couple hours and a bit of money to make it a space you can actually work…and maybe even enjoy spending a big chunk of your day.

Below are some functional items we found (they’re also pretty!) to help create a great space.

1. Cord Wrangler ($15)

2. Cord Organizer ($10)

3. Felt Peg Board - Take advantage of wall space ($10.50)

4. Wood Sphere Push Pins ($3)

5. Acrylic Computer Riser - This is amazing to elevate your computer for an ergonomically healthy working position (if you’re not working at a traditional desk). You can also slide a notebook or keyboard or files under it. ($9 - 1$18)

6. Steel Desk Riser - The intense version of above. We love how clean and organized it all looks. ($20 - $35)

7. Desk Notepad Daily Planner - This is about the size a piece of computer paper (pretty big) and it’s a nice way to organize all the non-work related stuff you have to manage in tandem with your professional schedule…because you’re mastering the art of multi-tasking under current conditions. Are we right?! ($18)

8. Mini Secretary Desk - If you don’t have a desk, but you have a bit of extra wall, this guy is pretty awesome for a temporary solution (or a full solution for a temporary work situation). ($250)

Clear Acrylic - If you’re someone who doesn’t have a designated office, and find yourself working in the middle of the kitchen or dining room…or walk-in closet…you probably need to increase function without adding clunky visual clutter.. Clear, acrylic pieces are sleek and minimal, they’re also great for seeing what you need without having to search around. Check out this storage system and file system.

Image via Anthropologie

IMAGE via One Kings Lane

Stealing Space from Existing Furniture - If you have a dining room or kitchen island near a bookshelf, it’s time to steal some shelf space for your office. All the decor, books and whatever else can be stored away from the time being. We love this inspo from The Cottage Market.

image via The cottage market

Home Office Refresh - If you’re suddenly realizing that you need a full overhaul on your home office, we’ve pulled together a whole new room for about $850 all in. Add a couple coats of paint and you’ve got a complete room makeover for under $1,000. Not too bad!

Paint Color Suggestions - Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore for a calm feel. Gentleman’s Gray by Benjamin Moore for a cozy feel.

X Base Wood Writing Desk - $300

Ivory and Charcoal Dash Chair - $350

Black Industrial Floor Lamp - $90

Acrylic Filing Box - $75

Acrylic Desk Top Organizer - $15

Felt Peg Board - $10.50

Blue and White Watercolor Art Print - $5

Black Frame - $30

Quick reminder to submit all your home design questions - we’re offering free virtual design advice for the whole month of April. We’ll answer everyone’s questions in a series of blog posts! You can even email us photos of your home and ask us to source furniture. We’ll do it all. So, email us, send us a message on Instagram, leave us a comment on Facebook or leave a comment right here!

- Leah

Two Big Announcements - Helping the Front Line and the Home Bound

This is a short post with a big mission.

Big announcement #1: Sonia has done something truly amazing. Her sister-in-law is an anesthesiologist and is currently spending extremely long days intubating very sick COVID-19 patients. It’s some of the toughest of the tough work. After seeing an image of an acrylic box that Taiwanese doctors developed to protect themselves during intubation (below), she talked to Sonia about wanting to make some for herself and her colleagues.

Image Source

Sonia (and her husband…he needs a big shoutout), got on the phone and called everyone they knew and many people they didn’t know. They wanted to find someone to manufacture this box. And they did. Sonia’s sister-in-law refined the box design you see above, Sonia sent the design to a plastics manufacturer in Chicago, they made a prototype and LOOK:

These boxes are now being manufactured by two large plastics facilities. But, we need your help getting them to hospitals all over the country…hospitals need them and they’re asking for them in droves. Please head to the Go Fund Me website, check out the video of this amazing tool and consider donating.

Big announcement #2: We are going to answer ALL your home design questions in a blog post coming next week. All of them. So send us your burning questions. Send us photos of the rooms that are stumping you, we’ll mock them up and post layout ideas or give you links to furniture (if you want to remain anonymous, let us know). We’ll share our go-to paint colors. Our favorite wallpaper sources. Is there some accessory or rug from one of our projects that you love? We’ll share it. Just ask because we’re sharing it all. Think of this like a free Designer for a Day!!!

How to submit your questions:

1. email us - hello@grayoakstudio.com

2. direct message us on Instagram

3. leave a comment on our Instagram or Facebook pages

4. leave a comment here

That’s all for now.

- Leah

Keeping Busy During Quarantine - Vol. 1

In place of our Wednesday Five posts, we’re pivoting to a “Keeping Busy During Quarantine” theme. I think we can all agree that busy minds are less restless. These posts will be focused on activities for us grown-ups with some sprinkles of kid-friendly ideas.

So, what exactly have Sonia and I been doing to keep ourselves busy during these homebound hours?

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Homemade Starbucks Salted Caramel Cold Foam Cold Brew

Sonia discovered a recipe to make herself salted caramel sauce…and thus she could make salted caramel cold foam cold brew coffee, her morning ritual/addiction. No Starbucks, no problem.

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Baking

I’ve been baking, and baking some more. Muffins seem to be my recipe of choice. First, I tried corn muffins. They were great, two dozen gone in about 2 days. The “quarantine appetite” is a real thing. Next, I found a recipe for banana oatmeal muffins (and threw in some chocolate chips). I think the best part of most muffin recipes is that you can substitute all sorts of ingredients without significantly altering the overall goodness. When you’re trying to use what you have, this is ideal.

I’ve also been baking some popcorn - aka making caramel corn. You may have seen this photo on our Instagram Story over the weekend.

via Creme de la crumb

Chocolate covered caramel popcorn (heavy on the sea salt) is my family’s favorite treat. I use the Zebra Popcorn recipe from Creme de la Crumb and skip the white chocolate. It’s quite the process, but, honestly, well worth it. :

1) pop the corn

2) make the caramel

3) carmelize the popcorn

4) melt the chocolate

5) drizzle the chocolate on the popcorn

6) wait for the chocolate to dry

7) Try not to eat it ALL in one sitting. Good luck.

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Taylor Swift v. Kim & Kanye Drama

We (ok…me) have been enjoying the distraction of the Taylor Swift v. Kim & Kanye saga that continues to unfold after 11 years. Here is the timeline (with links and a video) for your pop culture pleasure.

2009 - Taylor Swift wins a VMA and Kanye West jumps onstage, jacks the microphone and declares that Beyonce should have won. A feud is sparked.

2015 - Taylor and Kanye are spotted having dinner together in NYC. Feud finally and apparently over.

2016

Kanye releases Famous, a song in which he calls Taylor a b*tch and takes credit for her fame.

Taylor (through her publicist) publicly objects to the song’s “strong misogynistic message”.

Kim Kardashian releases a portion of a recorded call between Taylor and Kanye, alleging that Taylor knew about and approved the song/the lyric in advance.

Taylor more or less drops off the planet for a couple years.

2020

Miss Americana, a documentary about Taylor, releases on Netflix. Taylor addresses the feud as a pivotal moment in her career.

An unedited version of the recorded call between Taylor and Kanye is leaked that puts context to the prior released portion, negating the alleged approval.

Lots of back and forth between Taylor and Kim ensues.

Just reading all this took up a fair amount of your time, yes?

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Television (obviously)

We took a quick poll on our Instagram Stories and here are the result (along with some of our choices):

Blind Love (Netflix) - If you like the Bachelor franchise or any show on Bravo, this will be a homerun. People meet and fall in love without ever being able to see one another…until after they propose.

Parasite (On Demand) - It’s worth the Oscar hype. Awesome movie.

Ozark (Netflix) - The 3rd season just came out. With only 3 seasons so far, it’s an easy one to binge and catch up.

Homeland (Showtime) - The final season is underway and it’s a good one.

The Sopranos and The Wire and Breaking Bad - These shows top the list of most people (and critics) as the best television series of all time. Now is your chance to jump on the well-deserved bandwagons. I’ve seen all three, and I can’t decide which is my favorite…they’re all sooooo good. The Sopranos and The Wire are HBO, Breaking Bad is AMC.

Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu) - Many say this is currently the best show on TV. It’s has a dark, end-of-the-world-as-we-know it theme…which might be a little too on the nose at the moment. Or, maybe that’s exactly what you’re looking for. The book is also amazing, and it’s available on Amazon as an audio book…which you can listen to for free with a trial of Audible.

Atypical (Netflix) - I had never heard of this show before someone recommended it on our Instagram poll. But, it gets great reviews. Here is the wikipedia page for the cliff notes on what to expect. From what I gather, a high school boy with autism navigating the highs and lows of young adulthood.

Tiger King (Netflix) - Everyone is talking about this newly released docu-series about a man that owns hundreds of wild animals. There’s drugs, murder and lots of wild cats.

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Books

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty - This is my current book. I’m halfway through. I thought I knew how it would end after the first couple chapters…but now I’m not sure. Liane Moriarty also wrote Big Little Lies, which became a great HBO series (though I liked the book better).

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood - This is the sequel to Handmaid’s Tale. Sonia is going for it. She’s braver than I.

Meagan’s Book Club - This is an Instagram account we discovered that has some great book recommendations. Rather than googling lists or reading Amazon review after Amazon review, she does all the hard work for you.

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Master Class

Sonia and I are both taking some master classes! These are online courses by masters of their field. For example, Kelly Wearstler teaches interior design (Whoop! Whoop!), Wolfgang Puck teaches cooking and James Patterson teaches writing. Right now there is a discount on an annual membership AND you if you buy a membership you can gift someone else a free membership. Split the cost with a friend and go for it!

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Watercolor Workshop

Sarah C Nightingale has put together a free watercolor workshop through Instagram TV. We are obsessed with her work and love the idea of trying something new and interesting with this extra homebound time. This is a great opportunity to do school with your kids - they can get in on the Mo Willems fun and you can do your own art hour.

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It’s the start of week 3 of quarantine and you can do this! We can all do this. Stay strong, stay safe and stay home!!!

- Leah

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