I guess I'm becoming an expert in home office setups the hard way. I'm a lawyer with a true home office (not just a place to pay bills and do scrapbooking). Version 1.0: built in one 11' wall of downstairs bedroom, cost $7K (1999 dollars) for maple. Custom built by local cabinet person. 85 year old mom moves in and takes over downstairs bedroom, so office gets moved into spare bedroom upstairs. Version 2.0: I research all over the internet. I rule out the nice looking armoires because (a) I have too much stuff and (b) you still don't have a place to put your feet even after the worktop slides out; I suspect that all well used armoires end up with lots of scuff marks at foot level on the face of the cabinet. I buy lots of Christopher Lowell Shore (the same line that bestyears bought) and start assembling it. It's all crappy particleboard/OSB/pressboard with a hideous printed finish where you can actually see the pixels of the supposed distressing. It starts falling apart during assembly. Cost: $2200, 2009 dollars. Version 3.0: I order solid maple, made in California not China, from local furniture company, cost $3400, 2009 dollars, which takes up most of a 10' wall -- not built in. (Design wise, it looks a lot like the Logan office suite available at Pottery Barn.) It's decent quality but probably a grade or two lower than my kitchen cabinets. However, I think that a 10' wall of kitchen cabinets would cost substantially more than $3400 from any reasonable quality cabinet company. Version 3.1: My mom is now talking with cabinet companies about installing pull out drawers on the lower shelves in the former office so that she'll have drawers in which to store her clothes...grrrr! I really want my home office back -- although I really, really don't want my mom gone. One important point on drawers: File cabinet drawers look and function very different from kitchen drawers. Blue

I've been thinking about this a lot since it was first posted. I'm not sure I'll be very coherent, but my rambling will make sense (mostly) in my head. We bought this house/property 5.5 yrs ago, it was a neglected house, but the lot was to-die-for (middle of town, near a great park, LARGE (for in town), 7 minute commute to work, on a corner, with lots of mature trees). We stalked it for years prior while the old lady went off her rocker (sadly not exaggerating) as we lived just 2 blocks away. So that's part of our crazy plan- to not contribute to sprawl (it just makes me sad). I live in an area of the most fertile soil in the world- we should not be building houses here. So doing a demo/in-fill makes my heart feel a little joy. We want to create a legacy for our children. I know they may move away and not want this house when we die, but I hope it can be paid for and provided to them as an inheritance. Or maybe they'll want it b/c we're hoping it really creates a love of 'home' and family. We hope to do a lot of the work ourselves (being big DIYers and having done almost everything to the 2 homes we've lived in) and hope to involve the kids in some of that work so that they have some ownership. I really want to create a home with minimal maintenance as the last 2 homes have been non-stop with one thing or another. Like today when our kitchen sink was running slow and after snaking it it was fine- only to go to the basement and realize all water was now backing up from the floor drain. As if mowing, trimming bushes, and cleaning off the back porch from winter wasn't enough to keep us busy today. So new construction is a must. I get water in the basement every time it rains, the joists are termite eaten, there's adequate space (another 200 sq ft would be PERFECT), but it's not built for accessibility for overnight guests and my FIL is in a wheelchair (as is MIL, but she doesn't stay with us) and my mother has had 2 hip replacements and 2 spine surgeries. 1st floor guest room is also a must. When we bought this house we interviewed architects to see about an addition and major remodel- for 17K more the builder/designer could demo the existing house and build the same sq footage as a shell, BUT NEW (my eyes and ears and back like the sounds of that!). That sold us on living here and making do with 3 layers of wallpaper in the dining room, floor that are mushy, a 1 person kitchen, no tub, on and on and on. So we're living in the house until it's paid off so that we can get more of what we want. In the meantime we will continue to play around with plans and have done lots of reading and research. There are some things we'll be able to re-use- some light fixtures, the garage door opener, faucets, all the appliances, and I'm hoping to buy some things in advance and just store until needed. My husband and I agree on quality over quantity. We don't want a McMansion, we both want a rectangle (Colonial). Preferably one that's more energy efficient than our current home (not hard to do), and keeps us warm/cool/dry. A place to live in for as long as I can conceivably live alone (my grandma made it to 95 with her hardy Midwestern genes). The most current set of tinkering plans have very little in the way of compromise- I think if we can do that and actually build the thing we can call it a success and check something off our bucket list while drinking coffee sitting in our screened-in porch on a Sunday morning knowing all we have to do is mow and trim bushes (and maybe clean off said porch :)).

I'm not going to comment on the how the color works. But as someone who has recently been shopping for a new computer/desk chair myself, I hope this is one you can try out in person to first make sure it's comfortable for hours of sitting, that it supports your back properly, and that it has a decent range of adjustments. I'm in the process of returning a chair to a local store, that is great to sit in but has weird, uncomfortable arm rests that can't be adjusted to a comfortable position for mouse and keyboard use.

Ooh I like navy, I hadn’t really considered that...