Whether his wife ends up using it or not, Mike has himself a nice man cave. I think changing the position of the ladder is a good move--going up, there is now a feeling of spaciousness as you approach the loft instead of the wall, there's one less open side and the ladder isn't in the middle of the small room, the desk is better on that side, and continuing it as an L under the stairs now seems more useable. It's a nice one-person room for the activities he has mentioned that he does, and his wife will probably end up doing her art work in the basement. Anne

I have an open concept living area so my office space is open to the more formal living area. I recently remodeled and what I did was incorporate as much storage as possible so that things could be hidden away. My printer is installed inside a lower cabinet that rolls out so that it is hidden. This also stores paper. There is an outlet in this cabinet to plug in the printer. I don't need huge amounts of file storage so at this point almost everything is digital but I have one smallish file cabinet to hold some hanging files. My desk counter area runs the width of the wall and also does a turner at the corner. This is where I have my computer. I have upper cabinets which have sliding decorative doors and these hold a multitude of sins - they also complement the design choices of my living room in terms of color and style as they are Art Decoish in style. I have a little covered compartment by my computer which holds my external hard drives which I use for backup and additional storage of digital files. My designer had suggested using a fabric on the wood between the counter/desk and the upper cabinets which would be a decorative way of pinning stuff. My office needs really aren't into pinning paper as I try to get rid of as much paper as possible but this would be an attractive option for people who do pin stuff. I purchased a very stylish (and comfortable) office chair. It is upholstered non-traditionally in teal blue faux ostrich :-). Again this complements design elements from the living room. For me the key was balancing functionality and aesthetics and maximizing hidden storage.

Wow guys thank you so much for all the help! I am amazed by so many cool ideas! I don know how to reply each one of you so here it go: - Marcie: I live in The Netherlands. Usually the city houses here are quite compact. My house is an exception for being even smaller because it’s located in a historical centenary building, they had to preserve it as it is. I really love your idea of changing the complete layout of the square space. Never thought about it! but will give it a try. The only problem with the couch facing the window is that we are planning on buying a beamer and therefore we need a blank wall to project It. - Decoenthusiast: unfortunately we don’t that much bedroom space. We have half of the floor upstairs just enough for the bed and a closet, also the ceiling upstairs is very low so we can’t go crazy with shelves and stuff. We definitely do have bikes but here in the Netherlands they have a special storage in the building :) - Tangerinedoor: yes I absolutely love Ikea if I need practical and modern solution. I also do love vintage, that’s why almost everything in my loft is bought second hand. I was thinking about what could I buy or make to be multiple functional as you said. It’s quite a challenge but with a lot of planning I can get there. I really wanted to find or make a narrow dinning table that I could use as a counter top since my kitchen sink top is so small I miss some extra space to work. But it’s quite hard to find these perfect made solutions, I feel like I have to make myself most of the things I want. About the couch, I have now a 3 seat Ikea couch positioned on the left side wall (where was the wallpaper) because I need the white wall in front of me to project the beamer (this is my ”tv”). I’ve read that to avoid echo it’s nice to have rugs in the house but like you said, my rustic wooden floor is so pretty I don’t want to hide it. Plus it’s one less thing to worry to clean or vacuum. I love plants and I already put them everywhere in the house 😃 Thank you again everyone for all the tips! I will return to show the results... Caroline.

@User WOW! I love your ideas -- I feel so inspired!! My tv stand is only 60", so 48" would be okay? Sounds like I need to keep proportions and scale in mind when choosing artwork. Do you have any advice on how to divide the space between my living room and my entry table? It feels awkward and bare :( Love the mural wall idea --I did a sort of accent wall up in the loft on a much smaller scale, with some stickers I bought at Target. (Ignore that corner on the lower right -- I haven't quite finished yet!!) @Denise Marchand I never would have thought of that layout -- it's unexpected but very interesting in such a long and narrow space. Do you have any suggestions for under the stairs? Right now I just have a dog bed under there so it's not very pretty and I feel like it could be better utilized... @A Maj Yes, very sloppy right now! I sold everything I own and moved across the country so I'm starting from scratch with my furniture and art, although I'm a little unsure of my vision right now so several of the pieces haven't made it onto the walls yet. I've already re-decorated once. Thank you for sending some inspiration photos -- I especially love this one: It feels comfortable and not too formal. I like all of the textures.