Archives

Weddings are so very special. Planning a wedding can take months and can be very time consuming with all the details involved. One detail you don’t want to overlook is your make-up. When choosing your make-up style for your wedding you want to make sure you look updated and use the right cosmetic colors.

Plan as we might, unforeseen wedding day crisis may pop up from unwanted blemishes to under eye circles. Luckily, you have choices to seek out good beauty professionals that will assist you and make your day effortless and help you look your best. I have seen so many ruined bridal pictures by wearing the wrong color foundation to wearing purple or blue eye shadow. A bridal consultation is about what the bride wants. We like to use soft and natural tones to enhance the beauty of the bride. Remember, you will be taking a lot of pictures on this most special day; so wearing the correct make-up colors is vital.

Beauty and the Bride
The ultimate make-up application for a bride should be polished and formal without taking away from her own natural beauty. The right make-up for wedding photography creates refinement and pushes a look forward with a natural simplicity with a bridal trendy look. Using soft colors and warm undertones are keys to complimenting the bride’s own style and skin tones, which will photograph beautifully. We, as make-up professionals have a keen eye for detail, color balance and we will help you and your wedding party look their best in pictures.

When a bride comes in to our studio for a consultation, we always ask them what they want to look like and what they are looking for. Usually girls know what they want but they just don’t know how to achieve it; the consultation should be a collaboration of what the bride truly wants and what the artist suggests. This is a formal event, so being finished, flawless and a little above natural should be the option, but also looking like yourself, “soft and glowing.”

At The Rouge we specialize in wedding make-up and have been doing so for over 20 years. Our brow and beauty experts stay current with the latest trends and styles, giving the bride and wedding party the best and the utmost updated looks that are formal yet polished. We do pre-bridal consultations Tuesday through Saturday by appointment only. Please come by and enjoy our gorgeous line of cosmetics by Fleur Visage. Starting the year off right and choosing the right wedding make-up artist is just one more thing off the bridal checklist!

The Baseball Hall of Fame is announcing the results of this year’s election on Jan. 9, just about when this issue of Alive will hit the street. The results for two recent players will be of particular interest.

Barry Bonds was perhaps the greatest hitter since Babe Ruth and won seven MVP Awards. Roger Clemens was perhaps the greatest pitcher since World War II and won seven Cy Young Awards. Both are eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Neither is likely to get in. How is that possible? In a word, steroids.

Bonds and Clemens are widely believed to have used performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) during their big league careers. Both played far longer than normal and put up incredible numbers. Many of us in the Bay Area were thrilled by the performances of Bonds during his 15 seasons with the Giants. During that time he set the single season and career record for homeruns.

Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro each had what would be considered Hall of Fame careers and have been up for election for several years. Both are associated strongly with PEDs, and neither has come close to receiving enough votes for enshrinement.

For many, it is an easy choice. If it is known or strongly believed that these players cheated and broke laws by using PEDs during their careers then they don’t deserve Hall of Fame status. Some think they’re fortunate not to be in prison. Others point out that the Baseball Hall of Fame is filled with dubious characters, so why single out steroid users? Yes, PEDs set a bad example for young fans, but so does racism, alcoholism, wife beating, and drug addiction. There are members of the Hall of Fame who are known to have done all those things.

Another point of view is that the steroid era is just another phase in baseball history, and that since many players from the 1990s and early 2000s were likely using PEDs, all we’re doing is recognizing the best of the best in what was likely a reasonably level playing field.

Before Jackie Robinson played his first game for the Brooklyn Dodgers, major leaguers achieved what they did in a time when a large segment of the American population was actively excluded from the game. Would players like Ruth and Joe DiMaggio achieved what they did if they had to face the best possible competition instead of just the best possible white competition?

International scouting has enriched the major leagues to the point where only about 65 percent of players were born in the United States. Would Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays have achieved what they did if their competition came from around the world instead of essentially from around the country?

The real shame is that players with absolutely no direct connection to PEDs, Jeff Bagwell and Mike Piazza are two examples, have to bear the increased scrutiny of Hall of Fame voters because they played in the steroid era and displayed unusual power.

Ten years ago one could reasonably assert that the very best players in the history of our national game were enshrined in Cooperstown. That is no longer true. Now, Hall of Fame status has to be explained and qualified, which takes something away from the honor for those who have achieved it and also for fans making a pilgrimage to honor the greats of the game.

So … are Bonds, Clemens, McGwire and Palmeiro Hall of Famers? What would you do if you had a vote?

In my December column I introduced a new reason for avoiding non-thinking, overindulgent eating. That new reason is saving your telomeres. Telomeres are relatively newly discovered protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes, quite similar to the plastic caps at the end of a shoelace. Basically, as you grow older each time the cell divides, the telomere becomes shorter and life ends when it is gone.

Protecting the telomere from undo damage can not only extend life and youthful appearance, but help to avoid many common diseases. The way to do this was my concluding sentence of the last column—stay as close to nature as possible. This means eating natural, organic foods and avoiding anything that you can eat straight from a box.

Nature definitely does not include smoking, processed foods and trans-fats. Another villain is genetically altered foods. Recently it has been proven that excessive stress over long periods can do serious damage as well.

The good news is that it looks like science is on the verge of reversing the shortening of your telomeres and therefore extending your life expectancy. An enzyme called telomerase can increase the length of the telomere, essentially reversing the aging process.

In 2011, Dr Ronald DePinho, professor of genetics from Harvard Medical School, shocked the world by taking elderly mice (the equivalent of humans in their 80’s) and returning them to youthful form, including the ability to reproduce. They regained their vision and grew back a normal, youthful brain.

One of the leaders in what it takes to reverse aging, and is involved in making supplements available, is Dr. Al Sears of Royal Palm Beach, FL. He has published extensively on this subject and his work is available online. Although reversing the aging process has yet to be fully accomplished, the reports of patients that have been following his regime are incredible and it appears that a virtual fountain of youth is on its way. The important thing is that we are now aware of what it takes to prevent accelerating the aging process and how to slow it down drastically.

The key factors that accelerate the aging process are: excessive stress; a poor diet high in processed foods, dairy, empty calories (sugar, junk food and alcohol); and trans-fats. There are many supplements that can be taken to stimulate your body’s production of telomerase. One of those is TA-65, an extract of the Chinese herb astragalus. This extract is available on the internet at $219.00 for a one month’s supply. Since the discovery of TA-65, many other far less expensive supplements have been proven to help, including Resveratrol, Green Tee extract (EGCG), N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Vitamin D3 and Vitamin E.

The discovery of the impact of the telomere and telomerase should be taken very seriously. There is no wonder why diabetes, breast cancer, heart disease and arthritis are epidemic in our society. Why bother cooking breakfast for your kids when you can open a box of ready-made cereal (or better yet, they can) and they can enjoy all that sugar and processed grains, not to mention the fact that they lose a chance to eat with you and relieve stress by talking their plans for the day? For dinner, grab something from a box and nuke it so that you don’t have to take the time to share your love through cooking nutritiously, and then why not turn on the TV so that you can avoid conversation?

We evolved without these modern “conveniences” and distractions and it’s time to get back to a more natural lifestyle. That path has been scientifically proven to extend your life. I can’t over emphasize the most important factors that would already have you looking and feeling younger: an all-natural diet without drug, tobacco or alcohol abuse; sensible stress relief; proper exercise and plenty of laughter and love.

Include a commitment to follow the above guidelines in a New Year’s resolution and you could have a vital, active and meaningful life for you and your loved ones in 2013 and beyond.

Robert Brown, DDS has a TMJ and sleep apnea practice in Danville and thoroughly enjoys discussing holistic medicine. You can contact him at 925-837-8048, at info@aodtc.com, or visit his web site at www.aodtc.com.

Shouldn’t keep talking about places I have been, but am doing this little exercise sitting at Cascada de Baja in Cabo San Lucas. What better excuse to ask a few puzzlers about the land south of the Border?

1. In the song “South of the Border,” what told the cowboy that he “should not stay south of the border”?
2. What “mania” possessed the Los Angeles Dodgers in the early 1980s?
3. Who played Pancho Villa in the 1934 movie “Viva Villa”?
4. Mel Blanc played a Mexican character on the Jack Benny radio show in a hilarious, oft- repeated bit. What was this character’s very un-Mexican name?
5. What was the name of the astronaut played by Bill Dana on the Steve Allen TV show?
6. Who was hailed as the liberator of Mexico from French rule in the 1800’s?

December Answers

1. “Dr. No”
2. Ursula Andress
3. Oddjob
4. George Lazenby
5. Timothy Dalton
6. Barry Nelson

DECEMBER WINNER:
MARIA BARANDICA OF SAN RAMON

WIN LUNCH ON BEN!
The first person to email or mail, no calls please, the correct answers to all of the above questions will win a $25 gift certificate for Restaurante Forli in downtown Alamo, compliments of Ben Fernandez! Entries must be received by Jan 20, 2013. In the event of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random. Please email your answers to info@aliveeastbay.com, or mail to ALIVE East Bay, 3200 A Danville Blvd., Ste. 204, Alamo, CA 94507. Employees and family members of employees of ALIVE East Bay are not eligible. Restaurant may be changed without notice.

Or, Why Don’t I Lose Weight Even Though I Diet and Exercise

We all know at least a few things that are supposed to make us lose weight. Sayings like “eating less, exercising more” come to mind (turns out that this isn’t that effective). Some of you may have heard that decreased sleep or eating at night will lead to weight gain, while others remember that a healthy thyroid is the most important weight-controlling factor. How about “eat less fat” or “eat less carbs.” Well, it turns out that even though all of these things are important, it’s actually your brain that holds the secret to stable, long term weight loss.

Your brain communicates with all of your endocrine glands through feedback loops that control the actions of each organ. The weight loss success I’ve seen in my office is due to our ability to address errors in communication between the brain and body. This brain-body feedback — homeostasis, is what controls our fat forming or fat burning status.

The brain utilizes several feedback loops to control weight, or more specifically regulate fat. The most important are those that control and modulate the:

1. Thyroid gland
2. Adrenal gland
3. Sugar metabolism / pancreas
4. Liver / Gastrointestinal imbalances
5. Inflammation
6. Sex hormone imbalances

All of these must be functioning well if weight control is to be effective for the long run. To do this, one more feedback loop absolutely has to be managed, and that is the Leptin Loop.

Leptin, a hormone produced by the white adipose (fat) tissue was first discovered in 1994. At first the immense importance of this hormone was not fully apparent. Some scientists now feel that Leptin is the most important hormone in the body. Leptin acts on the central nervous system by suppressing food intake and stimulating energy usage. Essentially, it tells the brain when we are full. But research began to show that overweight individuals have far more serum leptin than normal weight people.

The question became “Why would Leptin, a hormone that normally maintains leanness be so high in those that are the most obese? The answer was found in diabetics.

Type II diabetics can produce plenty of insulin but it is not used because of constant high levels of sugar. The elevated sugar and insulin cause the cell receptors to “burn out” or to become resistant to insulin.

This same process occurs with Leptin, and if the levels are high, Leptin Resistance will result, confusing the brain and causing more weight gain rather than less. At that point it is almost impossible to get skinnier.

Like insulin resistance, Leptin resistance is inflammatory and leads to progressive weight gain and difficult plateaus of weight loss. But the beneath the “spare tire” lies a physiological dysfunction that dramatically increases your risk for chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions ranging from diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, to stroke and dementia.

Leptin only operates correctly when the thyroid, liver, adrenals, and blood sugar are normal. Because of this, attempts at developing a weight loss drug made with Leptin have been ineffective. And it’s also the reason we can turn your metabolism around. An anti-inflammatory, healing diet is the answer. This diet will reset the hormone system; normalize blood sugar; and support the thyroid, liver, gut, adrenals and lead to healthy functioning Leptin and insulin loop. The diet consists of eliminating inflammatory grains, moderating protein, increasing healthy fats, and incorporating sugar-stabilizing veggies.

Targeted supplements are usually required to increase the function of the other feedback loops we talked about earlier. Each individual has a different need and requires a different approach.

Short term effectiveness and long term stability of weight loss is hinged to the seven feedback loops. Remember it’s not only about the exercise or the calories. It’s about the evaluation where we find out by blood and hormone testing, what approach/feedback loop would be the most effective for you now and in the future.

Dr. Don Davis, D.C., DACNB is a BOARD CERTIFIED CHIROPRACTIC NEUROLOGIST in Walnut Creek. He has been serving individuals with chronic pain for 30 years. For information about how you can get a free consultation with Dr. Davis, call (925) 279-4324 (HEAL). Visit us at WalnutCreekThyroidInstitute.com

Come and spend your Autumn years in an Indian Palace.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is the story of a small group of British retirees who answer the call. An eclectic band of strangers who decide to “outsource” their later years to a less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self, obviously the brochure pictures from an earlier time.

Marigold Hotelhas an interesting storyline but the coup de grais is the ensemble of Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actors and actresses. I could sprinkle them into this review but I prefer to divulge them all at once. Tom Wilkinson is Graham Dashwood, a recently retired judge with a secret. Judi Dench, the Grand Dame, is Evelyn Greenslade, a widow who has never had a job but whose previously successful husband died leaving her penniless and in debt. Maggie Smith is Muriel Donnely, a woman who spent her whole life “in service” to a family who has terminated her for a younger woman. Bill Nighy plays Douglas Ainslee, a man who has tolerated a shrew of a woman his whole married life and is now stuck with her in a foreign country because their daughter borrowed their retirement money for a new business and can’t pay it back. Madge Hardcastle, a mature single woman who is looking for a place she can still afford to live the life she so desperately clings to is played by Celia Imrie. Wow! Is that an amazing cast or what?

There is also a beautifully talented Indian cast led by Dev Patel who plays Sonny Kapoor, the endearing but inexperienced manager of the Marigold whose brothers are all successful when he has yet to find his place in life. The hotel was his dead father’s dream so he has taken it as his own. He wants to build a place so wonderful that the residents would refuse to die! When asked by Madge if everything was going to be alright, Sonny answers, “Everything will be all right in the end, so if it’s not alright, it is not yet the end”.

I truly enjoyed this film that expertly intertwines six vastly different people with six diverse stories. They are all forever transformed by the shared experience of a new environment, less luxurious than promised but majestically teeming with life and love. They find a place where they can begin again when they dare to let go of their pasts.

The message of not allowing your age to define you is front and center. Getting out of our comfort zones is less and less appealing as we grow older yet these new friends find a vibrant life waiting in a place and time they didn’t expect.

Welcome to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful. The talent is amazing. The scenery is spectacular (better than Eat, Pray Love in my opinion). The story is heartwarming, hope-giving and real. What’s not to like? Rent it or buy it (I plan to watch it again) but enjoy it with someone you can chat with about it afterwards. As always, I love your comments at chastings@rockcliff.com.

The condition known as Sciatica is one of the most common conditions that we treat at Align Healing Center. Some of the typical symptoms of Sciatica are sharp pain in the low-back and/or buttocks accompanied by numbness, tingling, aching or burning down the back of the leg. In severe circumstances, weakness in the leg may also be seen.

The Sciatic Nerve is large and travels down the back of the leg to the foot. The nerve is buried deep within the muscles of the buttock and leg making it difficult to treat with common physical therapy methods. The Sciatic Nerve is composed of several smaller nerves and originates from the low back. It passes under the piriformis muscle (underneath the main buttock muscles) on its way down the leg. Irritation of the Sciatic Nerve at any point along its path is commonly known as “Sciatica”.

Understanding Sciatica
Let’s talk about nerves for a moment. Nerves are the electrical wiring of the human body. They carry the signals that allow us to move, feel, digest, detoxify, respond to our environment, and so much more. Plain and simple, if the nerves do not work the body will not work. That being said, it is important to understand that unlike other tissues, the primary blood supply to nerve tissue is actually located WITHIN the nerve itself. So, if a nerve becomes impinged or compromised, so does the blood supply to the nerve. Without proper blood supply, the nerve does not receive the energy and nutrition that are needed for the nerve to heal itself. Over time neural impingement leads to a painful chronic condition called Neuropathy. The definition of neuropathy is a disease or injury affecting nerve cells. The common symptoms of Neuropathy include sharp pain, burning, muscular weakness, numbness or tingling either at the site of the nerve injury or wherever the nerve travels. The condition known as Sciatica is a form of Neuropathy that specifically affects the Sciatic Nerve.

What can I do to relieve my Sciatica without drugs or surgery?
Since 1999 Align Healing Center has been offering many different modalities to heal Sciatica. We have found that a combination of Class IV laser therapy and spinal decompression offer outstanding results in healing stubborn Sciatica. Class IV Laser Therapy allows the practitioner to stimulate healing within the damaged tissue by delivering the necessary energy directly to the injured area. This creates an optimal healing environment that reduces pain and inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms and stiffness. In addition to laser therapy we implement spinal decompression to restore spinal disc health. Decompression works by gently stretching the spine, creating a vacuum effect which can restore disc height and even reduce the severity of bulging disc conditions associated with chronic pain and neurological symptoms.

We have found laser and decompression therapy to be most beneficial for patients with pinched nerves, arthritis, herniated discs, and degenerative disc disease. This unique combination of non-invasive therapy offers a chance for realizing a permanent cure. The treatment is finite and typically lasts for about a month. This eliminates the long-term care commitment forced upon patients by other symptomatic sciatica treatments. With proper care and rehabilitation of your spine and nervous system you can be back to your healthy self quickly!

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA has been active in natural health & wellness since 1999. For more information or to set up a consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com.

New year. New resolutions. The best of intentions.

So how’s it working out for you? I am much less idealistic than I was in my younger years (and this applies to all sorts of things). Now I am simply determined not to beat myself up over an occasional dietary infraction, especially since the “rules” I break are self-imposed to begin with. Instead, I just hold my double-chins high and carry on. One day at a time.

The easiest way for me to stay on track doesn’t embrace fashion crimes involving rubber-soled shoes and clothing made from stretchy synthetic fibers. What I put in my mouth is more important than what I put on my body. So instead of spending Saturday mornings sweating in a stuffy gym, my regime revolves around the farmers’ market.

I know I can’t stray far off track when I shop there. With no freezer section or candy aisle or liquor department to divert my attention, I can feel quite virtuous. Even if I go a little heavy on the carbs one week (who can resist those loaves of freshly-baked bread?), I know that everything I’ve purchased is at least wholesome, if not downright nutritious. For me, that’s about as good as it gets. So as I’m leaving the market, I reward myself with a bouquet of fresh flowers. Yup, that’s how I roll.

One of the cruel ironies of life is that the new year begins in winter, when our natural inclination is to hibernate in the coziness of our homes; when nothing beats comfort food on a chilly evening. But “comfort” doesn’t have to mean giant bags of potato chips or gloppy sauces made from salty canned soup. Nor does it ever mean a scoop of cottage cheese or a few limp lettuce leaves. Somewhere, there is a happy median. And I think it might be spaghetti squash.

Everybody understands zucchini and crookneck squash. But winter squash? Not so much. Sure, they can be huge and unwieldy, but all that’s needed is a sharp knife and a little confidence. Spaghetti squash is good for beginners, as it is reasonably easy to cut. Look for pale yellow (or orange) watermelon-shaped squash that are smooth and firm. And here’s the best part: 1 cup of spaghetti squash contains only 31 calories and 7 grams of carbohydrate.

Serve this as a side dish with broiled chicken or fish fillets, or as a light entrée with a big crunchy green salad. Recipes like this one beg for improvisation, so feel free to add chopped fresh herbs or whatever else you generally like in your spaghetti sauce. For a change of pace, use kale pesto (from last month’s column) instead of marinara sauce; or simply drizzle the shredded squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Sort-of Spaghetti

• 1 smallish spaghetti squash (about 2 1/4 pounds)
• 3/4 cup marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought), warmed until hot
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled California Goat Cheese

 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using a cleaver or large, very sharp knife, cut the squash in half lengthwise.*(You don’t need to remove the seeds at this point. It’s easier to do after the squash has cooked.
2. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray. Place the squash, cut-sides down, on the sheet and pour in about 1/4-inch of water. Bake until the squash is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 45 minutes.
3. Carefully scrape out and discard the seeds. Drag the tines of a fork across the flesh of the squash, forming long strands. Divide the mixture among 4 warm, shallow bowls or plates. Top with marinara sauce and pass cheese at the table. Serves 3 to 4.

*Alternatively, pierce the whole spaghetti squash several times with the tip of a sharp knife. Microwave on High, turning once, until tender, 12 to 13 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut the squash in half lengthwise and proceed as directed in Step 3.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com. This market is made possible through the generous support of the Town of Danville. Please show your appreciation by patronizing the many fine shops and restaurants located in downtown Danville. Buy fresh. Buy local. Live well.

Q. After pruning my roses, is there any special winter fertilizer I should apply to my bushes? In addition, what should I treat the bare stems to minimize the Rose Rust, and Black Spot this year?

Ans. While there isn’t any special type of winter fertilizer for roses, they do need to be fed but it’s a bit early to start. I’d wait another month or when the new growth is about one half inch long to make my first application. There are a lot of great fertilizers available for roses, so no one brand or type is the best. Dr Earth is a fabulous, organic fertilizer. Miracle Grow is perfect for those that love to fertilize often and for those that fertilize infrequently like me, there is Osmocote. Osmocote is a time-release fertilizer that is applied every four months. Roses are heavy feeders, so whatever fertilizer you choose, reapply it regularly right through October. To start your rose disease control program. I’d spray the canes with Bonide Copper Spray but first strip off any of the remaining leaves and remove all the debris from under the plant(s). The spores from Black Spot, Rust and Mildew can over-winter in this material. This should be done sometime in the next couple of weeks. Ideally, before the new growth is too far along. This is a preventive measure to remove any of the local sources for the diseases. It sort of sanitizes the area. The spores of Rose Rust, Black Spot and Mildew are air borne, so there is a better than average probability that they’ll return with wet, damp and rainy conditions. The length of time moisture remains on the leaves after the sun goes down triggers the problems. The damaged leaves show up about ten to eighteen days after being infective. Last spring, the rose diseases were a big problem almost until Mother’s Day, because of the wet spring we had. So applying a rose fungicide to foliage is recommended and again there are a lot of choices. There is no fungicide that will eradicate the diseases, they only control them: hence, depending on the weather, repeat applications must be made until the rainy season ends. Also keep in mind, to be effective, the fungicide must be on the foliage before the moisture arrives not afterwards. This can be challenging with all the other things that can be happening during a week. My solution is Bayer Advance All In One Rose Care. It feeds my roses, provides a systemic fungicide for six-week control of the rose diseases, and finally as a bonus takes care of the Aphids, Thrips, and Spider Mites. Bayer Advance All In One Rose Care is available in a liquid, which doesn’t have to be sprayed on the foliage and easy to apply granules. Unfortunately, Bayer All In One Rose Care is not an organic solution and I only use it in the spring until the rainy season has concluded. You can certainly separate these into individual tasks but I prefer one and done.

Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional.  His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523 and on Facebook at Facebook/. com/Buzz-Bertolero

Built-ins for storage, a free standing or built-in desk, a great desk chair, and seating for guests are the basic necessities for any home office. The style in which you choose to execute them is up to you. Custom built-ins behind a desk should have lateral files to organize and store paperwork and other cabinets below for heavier items that need to stay out of sight. Top lit upper cabinets can have glass doors for displaying awards, fun accessories from travels, or books while keeping the dust away. Open shelves are great for binders or items that are used every day for easy access. The layout of your office should reflect your work habits and needs. If two people are using one office the individual spaces should be cohesive yet designed for each person’s requirements. This is a great design challenge for an interior designer to tackle—taking each person’s wants into consideration and creating a space for both to work comfortably. 

Maximizing the space you have is the most important thing to think about. If you have a return wall in addition to the focal back office wall that can accommodate more cabinets, corner desks maximize unused space and take up less room. Floating a desk in the middle of the room with your back to the built-ins is a great use of space as well, leaving plenty of room to have seating for guests on the other side of the desk. Traditional wood paneled walls, Contemporary wallpaper, or a faux paint treatment can each bring a different design element to a home office. Two comfortable upholstered chairs and a nice rug will add some warmth to the room to balance the heaviness of traditional wood cabinets or more contemporary glossy finished cabinets. Recessed cans around the perimeter of the room will provide task lighting to work in your new office space. A great chandelier or interesting track lighting can add elegance and interest to an otherwise bare ceiling. The sky is the limit when it comes to designing an office. Find your style and add personal touches to make the space your own.