Command Center

It is official - our house has a Command Center.  We decided to convert our little room into a computer room. It has previously served as a my craft room, a guest room (not the best since it doesn't have a door) and honestly, its greatest purpose has been a dumping ground.  We finally decided to take control of  it. I have been wanting my husband to have a space that reflected him and I think we have succeeded. (Please excuse the wacky coloring. It is so small and the light is minimal - every time I take a picture the walls seem to be a different color.) 

First order of business was to find a desk/table. We thought about asking my father-in-law to make one, but knew he had a few projects already going. We were eager to move forward so we decided to buy something. Looking for the right furniture for this room is the most (by far) shopping we have done as a couple in our 5 years together. As my husband has told me many times - women shop and men buy.  There were agonizing hours in several stores. We finally decided on two desks that would go against the one wall so we would be side by side. Despite our best efforts to accurately measure the room, when we put the desks together there was no way they were going to fit. It was very disappointing.  So back to Plan A - order a custom piece and be patient.

We wanted a very clean look with as much out of view as possible. After a couple of consultations, my father-in-law came up with perfect solutions.  The desk is built out of 3/4 inch birch plywood. All of the legs and "beams" are hollow to conceal wires.  As you can see everything is well supported. My father-in-law definitely knows what he is doing.

We didn't want the towers on the table top. But we didn't want them sitting on the floor either where a certain Rottweiler could bump them. Because we wanted to be able to sit side by side, but have space between us, we didn't want the towers to be take up too much space at the sides of the table. My father-in-law came up with a plan that has worked perfectly.  My tower is in a "box" that fits against the back wall under the table. Notice it is custom built to my tower with "breathing holes" for the fan.  He assures me that when I get a new computer he will make me a new box to its specifications.

All of my "permanent" accessory chargers (Garmin, phone, photo card reader) are plugged into USB ports on the back of the tower. When I need to use the ones on the front, I simply reach down and swing the box to the side. Yep, it is on handy dandy hinges and moves so smoothly.  When I am finished I just swing it back in place out of the way.

My husband doesn't mind reaching under desk the rare times he uses the USBs on the front of his tower so he has a permanent shelf in the back you can see on the left side in the picture below

I love the grain in the this wood.  The finish is three coats of tongue oil - it is so smooth. 

The room has been decorated specifically for a certain husband.  The pictures and giant action figures (or dolls as his mom called them) were birthday gifts.  And the Lego AT-AT was his Christmas gift.  The scale is a bit off - trust me the room is a tad too small for a life size AT-AT :)  FYI this pictures is probably the best representation of the true wall color.  In the future, we may paint it to be more man-cavish, but for now we do like the color - it just doesn't photograph well.

This is one happy husband - in his Command Center :)

Picture me blogging away (or Facebooking in this picture) under the watchful eye of a Storm Trooper.

Or occasionally under assault...

For my husband all is well as long as he doesn't look behind him.  I still have a bit of work to do on the shelves and cabinetry on the opposite wall. 

Now on a more health and fitness related note, I made a special effort to add steps to my Fitbit yesterday even though it was freezing cold.  I was inspired by a lady I saw out running on my way to work.  She reminded me of Meg who is  Running Just as Fast as She Can in Michigan.  I am so impressed with how she gets out for her runs despite the cold - way to go, Meg! I didn't have my walking shoes, but I did have my new boots (Christmas gift from my sister).  Speaking of my boots - I am proud to say I have had them for two weeks and Millie has not chewed them up yet :)  Good puppy!

There is a small park not to far from my work. The lap around the "lake" is .4 miles.  Because it was cold and I ddin't have the right shoes, I only did 2 laps. It helped me get get to 8282 steps for the day :)  And I enjoyed the view.

I confess I recently had Chinese food...I know not the most calories friendly food. My fortune cookie might have been worth the calories though. I do love a good vague fortune that I can be applied to almost anything. I am choosing to apply this particular fortune to my weight loss/fitness and to our "other" project :)  Stay tuned.

Keep up the good work...we will all be rewarded!!


I hope it is okay that I am linking today even though I don't have a weigh-in to share.  I am starting a contest tomorrow and am going to start using that as an official weigh-in.  More on that next time.