When we bought our house, I quickly claimed the smallest bedroom for my office. In our apartment, my husband and I split the extra room down the middle and each had our desks and computers in it. My desk was a child-sized hand-me-down, so I did most of my computer work while sitting on the couch in the living room (thank goodness for laptops, eh?).

I was so excited to finally have a room of my own, so to speak, when we moved. I got to pick out the paint color (Dill Pickle by Benjamin Moore), the bookcase and the desk. In the beginning of May, J even surprised me with a Pottery Barn rug that I had been dreaming about to complete the look.

Sadly, I never use my sweetly decorated office. I still sit on the couch with my laptop and clutter the coffee table with my magazines and notebooks. On the days I’m home all day I like keeping the television on for company–and there is no TV in my office. The dog has his crate and his toys downstairs, and I like spending time with him. Plus, in the living room, I’m close to the kitchen… Mmm…

So yesterday I did what I thought was the most logical way to break my bad couch/laptop habit: I brought my desk downstairs and planted it in the living room. I’m not sure how my husband is going to feel about this when he returns home from his deployment next week. In truth, I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. The look of it is going to take some getting used to. But as I’m writing this post, the TV is on over my right shoulder and the dog is lounging on the couch over my left. I don’t feel as isolated as I did when I tried doing work in my little office.

Check in with me a week from tomorrow; I’ll let you know what J thinks of the new arrangement. I have a feeling he may not be as keen on it as I am…

Where do you work on your computer? In a home office, in your kitchen or on your couch?

I received an email from Red Hot Pottery and immediately fell for the organic shapes of Chris’s work. The robin’s egg blue color of these vases are simply gorgeous and would look terrific in my updated living room. Remember, I’m looking to replace my red accents with turquoises and teals for the spring?

My favorite of the two are the trio of bud vases. At $90, the price is reasonable, but I’m a little bit poor these days, so they’ll have to remain on my list of Etsy favorites for a while.

I took the personal style quiz at Sproost and my result was 100% Modern Elegance. I think this sounds like me:

Variety is the spice of life! And nowhere is this truer than in the design of your home. You may love contemporary, but wish it wasn’t quite so cold and austere, or perhaps you’re drawn to traditional rooms but you’d like to create a less cluttered and busy space. Transitional Style is here to marry those apparent contradicting designs.

And guess what? It’s the contradictions that make the mix of contemporary and traditional so successful. The result is an elegant room that appeals to young and old alike. A sofa with modern lines blends seamlessly with a pair of traditional chairs. New fabrics work so well on antique pieces. It turns out that modern art looks even more exciting above a collection of traditional pieces. The room feels simple and sophisticated, elegant and hip.

Take a peek at my living room. Would you call it Modern Elegance?

And this is how the previous owners decorated the same room. Definitely NOT Modern Elegance!

How would you describe your personal style?