kswl: I'm glad to hear it's working well for your DS with the narrower width. With technology changing at such a fast pace and getting smaller and smaller some of these special purpose goodies become redundant. We're opting to skip the CPU cabinet for that same reason. I am putting in a keyboard pullout for me, but not my DH--he wants a pencil tray, but you make a good point about having to scoot out. greenmtn: I agree with that. We do like to open the windows as it brings in a lovely breeze. Lucky we do not get too much direct sunlight as our neighbor has a huge ash tree in his backyard that filters the light without completely shading the room. Tomorrow I will meet with the designer who did the above design. One difference between her design and that of the designer I met with yesterday is the amount of space for seating under the desk and cabinets size. The other designer has more cabinets and less foot room under the desk--which I like, at the same time it could prove annoying. I am also thinking of reducing the depth of the right most upper cabinet to 9" as I don't want to obstruct the window. I am wondering how to treat the upper actually. Do I center it on the wall (which is 33") or line it up so that it ends at the same place as the lower does? If I do the latter it seems to look funny to me -- not centered. If I do a larger cab. and bring it closer to center then it gets closer to the window too--hence why I am thinking of doing the narrower depth. I think I can still store many things there--paper, CDs, smaller books, etc. Hopefully by the weekend I'll have designs from all three. I want to get a custom cabinetry quote as well as I feel the cabinets would be better quality. These three places all specialize in garage/closet/office but the product is all melamine based. They are designed to have minimal backing and they do all the wire management to get power where we need it and hide all the cords. It's a start!

lynn: Our posts crossed. If I look at it from the point of view of what belongs in the room/house, it'd be the cognac or rustic cherry. In the house all bulit-in cabinetry is all either medium or dark cherry with white painted trim and oak flooring. The cognac is the best match in terms of color to DH's built-in, though the grain is a bit different. The rustic cherry is a tad more rustic--grainy/knotty than we have and are looking for. The cognac sample almost looks like it does not have a grain, but some type of rubbed on finish. I need to see the whole office pic again to be sure. When I go in the showroom on Thurs I will take some pics of the offices. That is an interesting point about sticking with the wood finishes as all the offices in the showroom were set up that way. It seems they have laminants that are matched to the cabinets so you get the durability of the laminent counter. So my choices wuold be to either match the counter to the cabinets or to go with some type of color from WilsonArt or formica. I don't want anything too busy or dating.

"I could consider facing the slider. Perhaps I could build the desk so that it is T shaped along the wall with the window and I could sit at the desk facing the slider?" I think this is your best solution. That way, you have the view of the outside, but the monitors aren't floating in the middle of the room. To me, I think your best investment is a larger desk. Built-ins are great, but technology change each day and we are using less and less paper with more stored in our computers. You have that closet already, where items (including your printer) could be stored. Also, consider how long you will be in this house. Will a future owner want to use that space for a bedroom, for example? Best to keep things flexible. On the other hand, if you really want built-ins and have the funds, then go for it. But, the way you wanted the desk arranged in the beginning, the monitors will be floating out in the room. No horrible, but something to consider.

I like Penny's idea of using the closet for the office space. Can you use the dresser for storage? I mean, it's not taking up space in the room empty? For your makeup area, I'd figure out a spot near the window to take advantage of the natural light. Add a large full length mirror for function and style. Figure out what you need in terms of furniture and scour Craigslist and the like for second hand stuff. Anything can be painted and chalk paint is brilliant for this kind of stuff. You paint everything the same colour and there's your space looking cohesive and deliberate. Large scale art in colours you love on the walls will make it come alive. I'd skip the rug with a tight budget but I'm not a huge fan of rugs so... Good luck! Hope you keep us posted with your progress. This IKEA full length mirror has a practical clothes rod in the back: