Reveal: Home Office

As you know I’ve been working on the home office for a month or so.  Really, most of it has been done for a long time but I just haven’t gotten around to taking pictures and writing up the post since my ‘real’ life has been a little hectic.  I’m back with a picture-heavy post of the updated home office.  I’m not 100% done with this space – I’m not loving the color and I need to make a pillow for starters but here’s where it stands today.  Is anything ever really done, though? :)

Before:

After:

I started by painting the office before my cousin hung the new crown molding. I wanted something that tied into the rest of the house (whites, beiges and blues) so it didn’t stick out like a sore thumb but I also wanted to move away from the blue.  I envisioned this space a little more feminine than other rooms in the house and I wanted to bring some coral into the space.  Why coral?  Because I was using the vintage linens I bought back in November as my inspiration for the space.  I bet you all forgot about them!  Back to the wall color.  I went with Glidden’s Cool Cucumber since the patches I painted on the walls were a white with a hint of green, which is exactly what I wanted – white with a little interest.  However, once the entire space was painted it was more of a pale green – not what I wanted but for now it stays since I’m taking a painting break. Some days I hate it and some days I like it so who knows where I’ll end up.

Once the walls were painted and the crown molding hung, I went to town making things to add/scouring the house for things to repurpose/painting light fixtures/buying new items.  The first thing I did was to add pompoms to the bottom of the white curtains. I bought a few yards of a dark green pompom fringe from JoAnn’s for around $10 to attach to the bottom of the curtain panels. I simply used fusible hem tape to attach them – no sewing needed.

I knew I wanted to add a long white shelf and a large bulletin board above the desk. I reused brackets I had for the shelf (bought seven years ago from the Container Store if I remember correctly) but I bought a new six foot long closet shelf from Rubbermaid (at Home Depot) for $11. The shelf was centered over the desk and hung high but low enough that the inspiration linen would fit on the shelf once it was placed in a frame (more on that later).  The shelf would hold the family wedding pictures I previously had on display in the office: my parents (8x10), paternal grandparents (4x6), maternal grandparents (left side of 4x6 dual frame) and maternal great grandparents (right side of 4x6 dual frame). 

The bulletin board was up next – I made a canvas bulletin board by stapling some left-over canvas (one piece of canvas drop cloth from Home Depot created a desk skirt, memo board and now, bulletin board and I still have some left over) over a new bulletin board ($10 at K-Mart).  It reminds me of this linen bulletin board from Pottery Barn, except I only paid $10 for my version. Right now I have some cards and other fun memorabilia hanging but I imagine this will get covered with items that I find inspiring.

I found these great yellow flower wall hooks from Pier 1 on sale for $6.50 each so I bought two of them to hang next to the bulletin board.  I’m not sure if I’ll hang anything from them but I like that I have the option and they add another color to the space.

The next craft project was to frame the inspiration linens.  I found two white 12x12 frames from Michael’s on clearance for $12.99 each.  The napkins were popped into the frames for instant art and color.  The larger placemat linen was a little more difficult since it measured 12x16. I had a hard time finding a frame that would work but finally I found a cheap frame at Michael’s ($7.99) that I spray painted white. It was a little larger than the linen but I think it works (scroll up for picture). I hung these on the same wall as the dry erase memo board that I created last year.  I replaced the wrapping paper with a piece of the dark green fabric that I found in the clearance bin at JoAnn’s for $2.

I found some great wall organization from Real Simple at Target ($15 each) that I decided to hang next to the bookshelves so that I got the papers off my desk.  Target sold these last year and I was upset that I never bought them so as soon as I saw they brought them back this year (and they had green leather accents!) I quickly snagged two of them. I still need to make labels but I haven’t decided what to name the pockets yet.

The biggest purchase for the room was an antique chair from Craigslist for $50….way more than I normally pay but I loved it and the color of the seat was perfect for the space. Originally I thought about painting the frame but I fell in love with it when I saw it in person so for now it remains as-is with a rust velvet seat and wooden frame. Currently I have a white pillow on here but I hope to make a fun pillow soon.

I decided to paint my $5 Salvation Army lamp base that I showed you last week with Heirloom White spray paint so it didn’t compete with the gorgeous linen lampshade I bought at HomeGoods ($35).  It sits on the corner of my desk with a gift I received from my brother and his fiancée for my recent promotion at work.  Let’s look at the before and after, shall we.

Before:

After:

The last project was to paint and hang the new office light. I know this type of light may not appeal to everyone but it was exactly what I wanted for the space and you can’t beat the price ($5).

That’s the office that was inspired by vintage linens.  I love the feminine feel to the room and the little touches of color that you won’t find in other rooms of the house. 

 

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Now I need to get back to work!

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