My Home Office Reveal
Awhile back I shared a few mood boards for the design of my home office (read here!). I wanted to give an update on my office since I’m 99% of the way done! I knew I wanted to get my home office wrapped up before September. I take a couple classes during the year. That, along with client work and marketing, I need a space just to myself to come up with ideas, create floor plans, and scheme up designs. It’s also worth mentioning that you need a LITERAL TON of stuff in the interior design industry: drafting supplies, rendering supplies, lots of tech, and mountains of samples. I need to seriously organize the closet in my office, but that’s a project for another day! Today I’m showing you guys my office and I’m very excited about it!
The Before
To kick things off, here are a couple “before” photos. The walls were a bright butter yellow. I looked like I had jaundice every time I stepped into that room. The previous homeowners had installed picture railing instead of crown molding, and it cast a shadow on the ceiling and made the ceiling feel shorter. And the cherry on top was the plastic blinds!
My Wants
For a home office I knew I wanted a couple specific things:
A clean, bright space so I can see colors and details accurately
Some feminine touches, since this is primarily my space
A comfortable office chair
Open shelves for pretty storage
Tactile mood boards to display fabrics, paint samples and design inspiration
A designated place to drop my bag and supplies
I chose a crisp white paint color for the trim in semi-gloss and the same color in a satin finish for the walls. Painting the walls and the trim the same color gave me a blank slate, which is exactly what I was going for. I wanted to minimize the visual stimulus in my office so I can focus on the design I’m working on.
To add some pattern and color, I opted for these green floral curtains. William Morris was an iconic textile designer in the 19th century and this is one of his prints. I love the deep olive green base with the muted florals. It feels playful and sophisticated at the same time. Curtains are a great way to introduce some femininity and personality to a space, without the commitment of installing floor-to-ceiling wallpaper.
My favorite part is this linen bulletin grid! I searched high and low for a pretty corkboard to display fabrics and paint samples. Most corkboards are a brown-ish orange color. Since our floors have so much orange in them, I wanted to avoid adding more of that color. After a ton of searching, I decided to take matters into my own hands! I’ll do a separate blog post on how I made these later, but they were pretty easy and very inexpensive? They work perfectly for what I need: I can separate projects or rooms onto different squares, move samples around, and there’s plenty of room to display them.
I think there are two groups of people: those that need a completely clear desk to concentrate, and everyone else. I fall into the first category. I need my desk to be very minimal and have plenty of surface area to work. I decided to orient my desk smack in the middle of the room. This allows me to walk all the way around my desk when I’m pulling samples out of the closet. I wasn’t short on space in this room, so I didn’t think it was necessary to push the desk against the wall.
I love my open shelves! I toyed with the idea of creating a built-in, but decided against it for the time being. I have plenty of storage in my closet and really just needed a place to display reference books and a couple cute trinkets. I tucked a bench beneath the shelves in the nook to give me a place to drop all of my things when I get home. I have a tendency to unload all of my stuff onto the kitchen island, so hopefully this will remedy that.
These closets were surprisingly a doozy! They weren’t in great shape: the track was super squeaky and the doors were filthy. We originally planned on replacing them with new doors and hardware, but because the closet opening is an unusual shape it would have cost significantly more than we were wanting to invest. Back to the drawing board! I decided rather than replace them, I would give them a little TLC. I patched the dings, greased the track, gave them a couple coats of fresh paint and replaced the hardware. This is the perfect example of being nimble with your design and being selective in how you spend your budget.
I love how my office turned out. Rather than the dingy and depressing spare bedroom, I now have a clean, fun space to create designs and get work done. I am a million times more inclined to spend time in my office now, which was exactly the point. How your space looks and feels can change how you live in your home. It can affect your productivity and your mood, which is why good design can make all the difference!
That’s all for now! Keep an eye out for a post with sources for my office and a tutorial on how to make the bulletin grid!