Hello friends! I have just finished creating a home office space and wanted to share it with you. This area that I converted to an office space is a small landing upstairs surrounded by bedroom and bathroom doors. Since we moved in this home about ten years ago, it has been the video game room and looked more like a campus dorm room.
Above is the before photo. Most everything is wrong with this room. The rug is too small. Nothing matches. The old television and stand are horrible. The new curtains are even too short. The picture hanging on the wall is only there because I had a nail there and felt that something needed to be hanging from it. In the South, we’d call this a hot mess. OK-you may be looking at the elephant in the room but don’t think that I’m going to point it out as being something wrong. The orange accent wall. I love orange. The long wall that stretches from the downstairs foyer and up to this loft area is painted orange. Below is a photo of my inspiration…the foyer of the London house in the Disney movie Parent Trap.
Here is the after view. So much more soothing, don’t you think? I looooove the gold book case from Joss & Main that sits outside my bedroom door. I filled it full of books and family photos framed in gold frames. My home is very traditional and most of the decor is similar to the home. For this small space, I wanted a modern vibe with clean white curtains, dark wood and gold accents. The area rug was my first purchase. I fell in love with the colors of teal, rust, dark blue and orange–and the beautiful aged look of the rug. It worked perfectly in the space.
My favorite part of the room is the light fixture from Wayfair. I cannot tell you how long I searched for the perfect lighting. Here’s my weird fact about me for this blog: I have issues with exposed light bulbs. I am legally blind and wear contacts. For some reason, I cannot look at light fixtures with exposed light bulbs without it being uncomfortable on my eyes. When it comes to shopping for light fixtures, it is sometimes difficult to find them with the bulbs covered or in a globe.
From this angle, you can see more of the details of the rug. The old vinyl fold-out sofa from before has now been replaced with a sleek, off-white settee from Joss & Main. I love the tufted back.
The desk and rolling chair are also from Joss & Main. I loved the look of the desk but it was given a lot of bad reviews online due to the assembly instructions. I ordered it anyway. I warned Donnie ahead of time and we read other purchaser’s tips and tricks on how to assemble it…only to put it together and take it apart several times before getting it right. A little stress was worth it because I really like it!
The gallery wall and lamp seemed to be my biggest hurdle. I first bought a modern, colorful, abstract painting to go over the desk. First, it was too small for the space. Second, I wanted a modern look but the art just didn’t reflect who I was. Lastly, the artwork was colorful and busy and I felt it was too much for the eyes when you’re trying to work.
I asked my son’s girlfriend, Kaytlen, what she suggested. Kaytlen is currently in school for interior design and has been in an internship with a commercial design company for over a year. She suggested a gallery wall. I loved the idea but had two issues with this–I would have to put in a lot of thought and planning, not to mention that more than one nail would have to go in my plaster walls. My second issue would be my flashbacks of the 1980’s when everyone I knew had Home Interior “groupings” on their walls. (Do you know what I’m talking about?) The current gallery walls that I see on blogs and Pinterest are really cool but I was afraid mine would turn out looking like it came from the pages of the Home Interior magazine. (Chills.)
I anchored my wall with two framed drawings I already had. I love drawings of homes and streetscapes. The oversized “Y” was a Christmas gift from my brother and sister in law and I’m pretty sure it came from Hobby Lobby. The modern gold shelf is from Michaels as well as the flower head. The other accessories were purchased at Target…the three plates are Hearth & Hand with Magnolia and the pineapple lamp (I love pineapples in decor and food) was on the discount aisle.
On the other wall, I hung a simple cork board (a yard sale find) and painted a small orange chair (I bought years ago at a yard sale) an off white.
This is the room where I have my Harry Potter Christmas tree in front of the window. This window overlooks the street and looks great with Christmas tree lights glowing from it. Last year was the first year I had the tree here. While I was decorating it, I realized that I’d never put up curtains. (Remember…it looked like a dorm room.) I ran to Walmart and purchased these straight white panels and Donnie helped me hang them. When I hung them up, they were too short (as noted in the Before photo). My mom came by, saw the curtains and suggested I get clip rings to hang them on–saying this would make them look more modern and add length. Since she is the Queen of Hoarding (she only points out my hoarding issues to deflect attention from her own) she actually had clips that worked perfectly.
The gold bookshelf sits right outside my bedroom door. Because of all of the colors in this small room, I tried to be selective on what I put on the shelves. I didn’t want to overcrowd it.
This was such a fun project because I chose to move a little out of my comfort zone. Honestly, I am so relieved and thankful that it’s done! I am happy with the end product and get such a calm when I am in this room. This room has me thinking about revamping my master bedroom to add some modern flair and a little glam. The wheels are already turnin’……
Until next time, thank you for stopping by and spending your time with me. May your day be blessed and may you find a place where you can feel the calm and reflect on what’s good in the world.
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