THE VIEW FROM HERE

So there are two things you should know about me, I love Barack Obama and I love The View. Imagine my ecstasy on finding out that Mr. President was on the show this Friday gone! Barbara came back from her health imposed hiatus, there is no way she was missing this; Joy should be given a job on his PR team, she couldn't gush enough; Whoopi was her usual cool cat self, love Whoopi; Sherri tried her best to ask important questions but couldn't conceal her school girl crush (I don't blame her) and Elisabeth seemed a bit flustered as she tried to tackle him on unemployment. It was great, the guy is unflappable. Naturally the ensuing 'should he or shouldn't he have appeared' controversy is raging on BUT I care not! I loved it. If you didn't catch it, you can watch a couple of highlights here and here.

A good excuse to look at some White House interiors over the years...

JFK Jr. peeks out from under his father's desk in what would become one of the most well known Oval Office images of all time.

President Obama enters The Oval Office on his first full day in office last January.

The president running down the East Colonnade with Bo, the family dog.

Jacqueline Kennedy's Dressing Room.

I love the sofa fabric in the Green Room.

JFK and Jackie in the Blue Room.

Nancy Reagan's study where she refurbished existing White House furniture. Only the gold mirror and the18the century day bed were her additions.

The White House theater, I want one, I want one now.

Michelle Obama with Queen Rania of Jordan in the Yellow Oval Room.

Nancy Reagan in, you guessed it, the Red Room.

My favourite election victory image - the Obamas sharing a "private" moment in a freight elevator at one of the Inaugural Balls.

Images from The Sacramento Bee, The White House Museum, Architectural Digest & Flickr's White House's photostream.

THE HOME OFFICE

As those of you who work from home know, a ridiculous amount of time is spent in the study/office/studio yet all too often it is the most overlooked space when it comes to decorating. In my quest to make mine beautiful I am inspired by these amazing home working spaces...

Love the faux bamboo chair and splashes of turquoise blue, what a great option for the tiniest of spaces!

Image from Decor Pad

The window is an elegant feature and is set off by the framed prints either side. Love the painted cane chair and vintage desk.

Image from Decor Pad

A very feminine space...

Image from Benton

...and another, Charlotte York's desk in SATC

Image from HBO

Love this desk.

Image from My Design Secrets.

For the Anna Wintour in us all.

Image from Glam Home Office

Her actual office.

Image from Fashionologie

Can't understand why people thought The Devil Wears Prada was a parody?

Image from Fashionologie.

The wallpaper adds a jaunty flavour.

Image from Fresh Home

I'm not crazy about the wall colour but love the layout, wouldn't it be nice to have that huge bank of windows to dream out.

Image from Fem Talks

The cluster of photos and prints above the desk is perfect.

Image from Productivity Goal

And an office with an escape to the outside world. Perfect.

Image from Room Envy

And on that note, I'm leaving mine to start my Friday in the outside world. Have a great weekend everyone!

Cinderella Me

Image from Martha Stewart

Everyone loves a good transformation story and my dear little office is no exception! It is wailing for a serious makeover and at last I find myself with some time and inclination to get started. Now the beauty of the before and after shots can only be appreciated when said before shot is followed immediately by the after. So because it is still before and there is no afterglow to bask in, there are no photos to share yet.

But here's what I have in mind for my new "studyio" (pronounced stud-ee-o, meaning a little bit sensible study and a little bit swanky studio):

• A new desk where the view is out my window and not at a blank wall.
• Doors for the seven wall mounted cabinets (IKEA was out of stock when we bought the cabinets and we never went back to check if the doors had come back in, it is a MAJOR trek down to our nearest store)
• Wallpaper on the wall with the door in it.
• A cluster of P&P paraphernalia including frames, plates and a very special 1950s cross-stitch to the left of the window.
• A big inspiration/pin board.
• Some framed prints in a row on the wall opposite the inspiration board.
• And a big old comfy single chair to go in the corner of the room so Mr. B or anyone else can drop by for a cuppa when I'm working :)

Now, may I just say in deference to Martha's photo, I am chuffed at how similar it looks to my current little space and what I have planned for it. We have almost identical shelving (of course my contents are not so aesthetically arranged and coordinated) and wall paint colour (mine's a bit lighter, Dulux Warm Neutral 1/4 strength) and that little space to the left of the window is the same too...it's a sign peeps, let the fairytale begin.