Doctors Office gets a Makeover - Ballooooonni Balloon Library & Children's Work Space!

My doctor client now has a consulting room, a waiting area, a small reception and a pretty little library with loads of goodies and space for toddlers to teenagers. When I met her, she was in great dilemma, she has a lot of books, little therapy sessions for kids and young patients, so how could she accommodate all this in her spare area? The room needed to look cute, bright, cheerful on one hand and on the other, demanded space for her books and work area for children. So here it goes.....



A central view of the room, a wash basin, a nice display of children's work on a push pin board and a study on the side.



I thought of displaying children's inspirational handy-work on the central wall of the room. It made the room very warm and welcoming.



Making the room comfortable to sit and work was also important. In case of sessions, a spare examination bed was essential. Hence we gave it enough storage for books underneath and threw pillows to make it warm and inviting.

So far, the view of the library has been hidden. Ardent readers often have problems, they can't resist buying books and then, there is no place to stack them. Small open & closed shelving was made to display some interesting books and the stack the other reference books below them.



However, a desk, toy trunk and toys were important ingredients of this space. Yet everything needed to be compact and comfortable.



A Ballooooonni Trunk was made with a fluffy foam seating, with ample space which serves well as a bench for the table and fits perfectly under it, saving space and making it compact. A lot of people asked me if the cushion came off the trunk while opening it. The answer to this is no, it is completely removable with a removable cover as well and yet attached well to the trunk top.



The biggest highlight of the room were the Balloooonnni balloons on the wall. The light blue wall with a variety of air balloons painted on it made the room look colourful and alluring for not only kids but even adults.

I even thought of making a frilly light curtain to cover a small window. It did wonders to the wall and to the face of the entire room.

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Leisure Lounge @ Home!!

Most of us have little getaways from our mundane lives; and certainly, we need to have at least some of them near us! Well that’s how the idea of the Leisure Lounge came up!

A room not bigger than 200 sq ft needed to be converted in to a lounge area which would accommodate several things and yet make it look like a lounge. The area needed to fit in a book case, study, storage, loft, a bar, a cabinet to showcase a shot glass collection and a stage to accommodate a drum set and other smaller drums from West Africa and Middle East. Now the challenge was to be able to fit so many things in 200 sq ft without cluttering the space and still making it look classy, roomy and artistic!



Very few people have an inclination of collecting something special that will remind them of a place, person or an incident. Here, the challenge was to be able to accommodate over 120 shot glasses collected from travels all over the world. A cabinet had to be made to display, preserve and present the collection.



Next came in another very interesting feature yet a little discreet and innovative. A bar had to be made in a way that an outsider would not know, yet when opened, gave you a surprise! A chic painting with miniature bottles studded on the door of the bar makes it unique and funky! Along with a regular bar, a mobile wine cellar with bottle holders and a tray was also made to be able to push it around to other rooms.



Since this room is a mixture of some fun and work, a study and book case had to be accommodated. More than 200 books needed to be placed and protected from the ever increasing dust. Despite the space constraint in the bookshelf, a small feature had to be added to break the tedium of the quadrangle. An illuminated square was fixed off centre in the bookcase with zigzag shelves which flaunted odd some objects breaking the monotony of its content.



A long desk was made with two storage cabinets. The one on the left was made permanent while the one on the right is movable in order to fit two people on the same desk if need be.



Lastly, the room couldn’t be complete without a platform to hold a striking collection of drum set. The reason for the elevation of the podium was to reduce noise and vibrations produced while playing. Taking advantage of the height, some storage was also created under the stage. The wall and door that bordered the drums was demolished and a glass was fixed in order to cut the noise that made its way outside.

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Quick Tips for Home Office Organisation

A lot of us work from home. For instance, even though I have my workshop, I carry a lot my painting and artwork back home so that I can work at my own leisure and mood. Just a cup of coffee, some good music and the comfort of my home motivates me to do better. There are times when my office space gets cluttered with papers and paints, brushes and catalogue books and it doesn't help me achieve my agenda. To avoid such clutter, I have gathered a few quick practices and no matter what, I abide by them.

Cables and Wires - what a mess!

a) All the cables that are connected to the computer or speakers or TV can be categorized and bundled up in groups. For example, keep computer speaker wires with stereo speaker wires.

b) Some times you do not need all the cables, hence tag them and store them well. Don't forget to label the cords that connect different components.

Position of Peripherals



a)Position your equipment by frequency of use. If the printer is used daily, it should be within easy reach.

b) When setting up hardware, be conscious of access to drives, trays and cords. Don't block access to drawers or take up leg room with tangled cords.

Do have an Activity Centre?



The efficient office should be zoned into activity areas:

a) The Work Area: This is a clear workspace, the computer and frequently used office products

b) The Reference Center: which includes binders, manuals, dictionary and professional books and materials. In my case, my refernce centre is paints and brushes, varnishes...etc. I have a small collection of reference books which I need as and when. Determine your reference area in your study or office.



c) The Supply Center: This area is widely used. It needs to be segregated very well. This contains office and paper supplies.

Project Files, Reciepts and Rough Work...

a) Create an area for storing your current project files and paper work.

b) Establish a permanent filing system for papers you will reference, but not on a regular basis.

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