Home Decor - Pocketful of Joules

Office Thoughts & Sideboards

I love my home office, but I do admit it is a little chaotic if it gets messy. In one room, I have a sewing station, workout area (with walking pad and Peloton bike), Poshmark sales storage, storage for a bunch of different crafts, and the office stuff – desk, laptop(s), files, printer. All in one room.

I’m very into purposeful storage, so at some point I brought in this cube organizer.

It holds a ton of stuff, including a total mishmash of craft stuff, books, and workout stuff (weights, yoga blocks, etc). It serves its purpose, but it does feel a little ‘college dorm room’ to me.

I’ve been thinking that I’d like something with more storage that looks a little nicer. Like maybe a dresser or sideboard? That way, I can store all my stuff away in an organized fashion, and it is a nicer piece of furniture for the background of my video calls.

Here’s what I want: Something that looks kind of mid-century modern, but not with the antique price. I need more storage than I currently have and think something with a combination of drawers and shelves would be most handy. My current cube system is 36” wide… so I’d like something wider.

Here are a few of the designs I’m considering:

Draylen 79.9 Sideboard – currently $324

I really like the look of this one and I like the fact that it has a mix of shelves and drawers. However, it is over 70” long which would mean I’d have to be careful opening my door. Also, I feel like by the drawers/shelving not going all the way down to the floor, it’s a bunch of wasted space when I want MORE options for organizing stuff.

Badel 58” Sideboard – currently $319

Okay, size wise this would fit great. I also like that it has a combination of drawers and shelves, which would be really good for storing various items. This one is a contender!

Modern Berenika 58” Sideboard with Latticework Doors – currently $369

This option looks like it has all shelves, but it actually has two small drawers inside as well. I like the look of the lattice doors, but I’m wondering if being able to see through them would be annoying (and look messy)? The size of this one looks good and I like the finish on the wood, so it’s still in the running.

Atyia 46.7” Double Dresser – currently $243.99

Okay, this one is a full-on dresser with all drawers. It’s so pretty with the light wood and the woven drawer fronts… but it IS a dresser. Does it look too ‘bedroom’ for the office? Also, by having all drawers I have lots of storage, but I’m missing out on the shelves where I can just add in boxes of my current craft stuff. The price is great though. Sigh. This is very difficult!

Acelynn 31.5” Sideboard (Set of 2) – currently $209.99

And here I go completely in the opposite direction – all shelves and no drawers. This is a set of two, so you put them next to each other for a total of 63” of storage. It’s a few more inches than my other sideboard options, but I am giving up ANY drawers in this option. However, the price is so reasonable…

I think I have it narrowed down to these three:

The Badel ($319), Berenika ($369) or Atyia ($243). I’m having a really hard time making a decision though.

Disclaimer: This post contains Shopstyle affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.

August Thrift Haul

Once again, I’m mixing both thrift finds and consignment finds in this monthly update. I only get the opportunity to do some consignment scrounging a few times a year, so I wanted to be sure to share some of my HOLY WOW finds.

Let’s start by checking out some home goods!

MCM Bamboo bowl, $12

You all know how much I love me some mid-century modern, so this bowl was an instant YES from me. It’s a MCM bamboo fruit bowl, but I have it sitting next to my reading spot as an adorable catch-all for my reading glasses, bookmark and chapstick.

Pink Gooseberry Pyrex bowl, $8

Pink Pyrex for less than a tenner?! That’s a ‘start the car’ moment for me. This was happily added to my Pyrex collection!

Rifle Paper Co x Corkcicle travel mugs, $18 each

Sigh. It was like these were just waiting for me to find them. I looooove Corkcicle mugs (they keep your cold stuff cold and your hot stuff hot) and I also looooove Rifle Paper Co’s floral designs. So, when I saw these two ‘new with tags’ travel mugs for $18 each (retail $40 each), I immediately added them to my arm full of stuff I was juggling. And I have used one of these pretty much every single day since I bought them (and washed them) for sipping my cold ice water all day long.

Nemadji Pottery wedding vase, $16 and Southwestern Sand pottery vase, $18

Did I need these? No. Did I immediately love them and want to add them to my desk where I could stare dreamily at them while thinking about all our Arizona and Utah adventures? Yes.

Okay, now on to the clothing purchases!

Torrid dress, $15

Once again, a ‘new with tags’ item, this time it was a $60 dress from Torrid. It’s such a happy orange color and even has pretty embroidered detailing on the bust, so I figured I’d give it a try. I already wore it to my niece’s birthday and plan to get in a couple more wears before summer disappears.

Gingham Skirt, $10

I liked the tiered gingham of this skirt and the fabric is a great weight too. However, I knew immediately that I hated the runched waistline and I planned to chop it off and add in some new elastic. It was a quick and easy project and now I have a super cute gingham skirt for all my twirling needs.

Sorel sandals, $20

This was the ‘I didn’t know my closet needed these’ item, because these were ‘new with tags’ and a great deal, so I bought them on a whim. However, I had no idea how much I needed a pair of comfortable metallic sandals… because I’ve worn these probably a half-dozen times since buying them this month.

Swedish Hasbeen Huarache Debutant sandals, $6.79

YOU GUYS! These are an insane find at Goodwill and I can’t believe they are in my size and in perfect condition. Swedish Hasbeen’s are so timeless and so freaking expensive. I tracked down this particular style and it was released as part of their Spring/Summer 2016 collection and they retailed for around $300. It looks like someone bought them and just let them hang out in their closet unworn for 8 years… because they are absolutely perfect. I’m imagining how cute they will look paired with tights and skirts this fall!

My Walking Pad and Standing Desk Set Up

I had been considering buying a walking pad for my home office set up for years and I finally ordered one in May. Now that it’s been comfortably living in my house for a couple months, I wanted to show you all my set up and what I’ve found works for me (so far).

Here’s what I purchased:

Source: Amazon.com

SupeRun Walking Pad: https://amzn.to/4cny6Gl

Adjustable Height Standing Desk: https://amzn.to/4dJ9F7i

The walking pad I purchased fluctuates in price – the list price is $299, but I’ve seen it for $125 – $160 over the past couple months. As of today, it is $159.99 with free shipping + a $20 off promotional coupon. The desk was $69 when I bought it, but is now marked as unavailable. Which is fine because I wouldn’t recommend buying it.

For those new to the idea of walking pads, they are basically a flat treadmill that doesn’t have any sides/handles to hold onto. You put them underneath a standing desk, so that you can work while you are walking. On my work-from-home days I’m basically glued to my chair all day, so I thought it would be a nice way to give me a break. I also wanted the heart benefits of getting in more activity throughout my day.

Here is what that side of my home office looked like before I made the purchase:

I use it as my sewing corner, with my machine set up on a collapsible table. However, it was pretty easy to move some things around to streamline it a little.

I collapsed the sewing table and added the walking pad and standing desk. Now, when I need to sew something, I roll the walking pad and desk out of the way, lock the table in place and work away. It’s not as convenient as having it set up and ready to go all the time, but this is the space I have to work with.

As you can see, I still needed to prop my laptop up on a couple boxes in order to get the screen to the right height for me. A more ideal situation would be to have a docking station (like I have on my regular desk) where I can plug my laptop into a larger monitor. However, like I said… working with what I have.

After having this setup for the last 2+ months, here is how it works best for me:

Option 1: I start my workday with a 30-45 minute walk while doing those morning work tasks like checking emails and laying out my day. I am bouncing around a bit when I walk, so it’s a good time for reading and researching, but not great for finicky things like web updates where I need to click the mouse on a little tiny box. After I do my morning stuff, I then move the laptop back over to my main desk, make myself some coffee, and get on with my workday.

When I start the day with a walk, it helps me feel more productive right off the bat. I also set my watch with an alarm that goes off regularly to encourage me to get up and take a 5-minute walking break. I can’t always stop what I’m doing for a 5-minute break, but I’m usually able to get in about 10-15 more minutes of walking throughout the day.

Option 2: If I don’t start my workday with a walk, I try to take a morning break for a 5-10 minute walk with hand weights. I grab a couple 2 pound weights and just do nonstop arm exercises during the duration of the walk (most moves from Tunde arm workouts on the Peloton app). Just 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there is enough for a little burn by the end of the day. I also try to start my lunch break with a 10-minute walk, just to get some extra steps into my day.

Option 3: If I finish a big brain task, I get up and do 5 minutes on the walking pad. This is especially great if I’ve been doing a lot of design work, where I basically hunch over the keyboard for too long and get all stiff. It doesn’t add up to a ton, but 5 minutes here and 5 minutes there helps me feel better at the end of the day. Both mentally and physically.

Once school starts back up for Jack, I’m looking forward to using my walking pad more consistently in the mornings. His bus usually comes about 45 minutes before my workday starts, so that’s a great amount of time to set up my kindle for a book or Netflix show and start my day with a little activity.

As I mentioned above, I would NOT recommend the standing desk that I purchased. While it is the size and height that I wanted for my little corner, it is not super sturdy. When I’m walking and leaning on my desk, it moves a bit which is super annoying. I actually have a little piece of padding between the desk and the wall to help with the swaying. If I were re-purchasing, I would pick something with more sturdy legs.

However, I WOULD recommend the walking pad I purchased. It’s super easy to set up, relatively lightweight for moving it around the room when needed, a great size for walking, and feels secure with a weight capacity of up to 300 pounds.

I’ve been averaging 2 days a week with some extra steps on my walking pad and I anticipate using it a lot more in the near future. It’s really nice to have a convenient option for getting steps in as a little ‘brain break’ throughout the day. And I’m sure it will be extra nice once winter hits too!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that clicking on a link may help me earn a small commission at no cost to you.