We're All Works in Progress
Alright...it's about to get real up in this blog. I don't know if it's just me or if all creatives are this way, but the thought of sharing an unfinished project paralyzes me to my core. I mean, on one hand I'm really excited to let you guys see what I'm working on, but on the other hand, my projects are pretty fluid so what you see may not be what you get in the end (wysiNwyg—my designer friends out there will get what I'm saying). BUT...I'm a firm believer in being authentic, so I'm facing my weird fear to let you see a little bit into the beautiful mess that is my current life. Let's dive in, shall we?
I mentioned in my last post my husband and I bought our first home at the beginning of last year and the bathroom took priority on the list of rooms to be renovated. Trust me, it was pretty dismal. Aaannnddd, here we are a whole year later and it's still not done. <Sigh.> Eh, whatever. We're not here to talk about that...(another post, another day). No...today, we're talking about my home office—where the magic happens.
Here it is in all of its newly-purchased glory...
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it used to be a little girl's room (I think the purple polka-dots give it away). Before we even moved in, we painted every room upstairs and after throwing on a fresh coat of paint, this room was on the up-and-up for sure.
(And now I'm realizing I never took a photo of this room after we painted it. Lol! Classy, Missy.)
Sooo...here are some photos of the room with wet paint.
Side note: I have to take some time to gush about that guy up there on the ladder (aka: my dad). He is AMAZING at everything he does! My family painted without taping or putting tarp all over the floors, because this guy taught us the tricks of the trade. #hero
Once we moved in, this room became the "catch-all" room. Some people have drawers. Others have shelves. Me? I have a room. Don't judge—we were still remodeling our bathroom and got our bathwater from a copper pipe sticking out of the wall. Lol! #hardtimes
And here are the most cringeworthy photos for me to share.
Disclaimer: As I've said before, I probably have OCD and I LOVE for things to be organized and have their specific place in the world. Since the moving boxes in this room never got unpacked, our paperwork continued to pile up, and I had nowhere to file it. No drawers. No shelves. Nothing. Which led to me working amongst towering piles of paper and cardboard boxes, inching their way closer and closer, enveloping me in a pit of despair. I was trapped and retreated to working from the couch until we could start renovating that room.
Sharing this is a big step for me, guys. Be proud.
Okay. Now we're to the fun part...buying new furniture! From the start, I knew I wanted to have a wall of bookcases to give me tons of storage. I just didn't know how. Then, good old IKEA came to the rescue! We opted for base cabinets (#notsponsored #wishIwas) along the entire length of the wall. Since I chose dark green colors for the walls (Sherwin Williams SW 7623 Cascades and SW 6201 Thunderous #alsonotsponsored), we went with white cabinets to help bring contrast and brighten up the room. Above the cabinets, we'll mount floating shelves thanks to IKEA's EKBY BJÄRNUM shelf brackets. And if you think I haven't name-dropped enough in this blog post, keep on reading.
A few things I'm really excited about with this project:
1. Custom Countertop, Shelves, and Desk
My husband is a carpenter and builds furniture for a living, so he has an extensive knowledge of different types of wood and has the ability to build whatever I can dream up (within reason). We decided to use Elm as our wood of choice, with a very light stain to bring out it's natural tones. It's going to be gorgeous. 😍
2. A New Desk Chair
If you do a Google search for "best desk chair," you'll come across names like Herman Miller and Steelcase. Being in the design industry, all I ever heard was Herman Miller was the way to go. So, we made a special trip out to the only distributor in our area to try one. It really is a nice chair—comfy and crazy adjustable. I thought that was it. That was the chair I was going to get...until we stopped at Color Art, a Steelcase distributor. As soon as I sat in the Amia chair, I was in love! And...Steelcase chairs are fully customizable! Want a bright yellow upholstery to match your company's brand? They can make it happen! (again...#notsponsored)
3. Accessories!!!
I can't wait to display my vintage camera collection, artwork, paintbrushes, and more. It's the little touches like changing out the ceiling fan to a pendant light and hanging art on the walls that really make a room.
I could keep going, but this post is crazy long, so I won't. Make sure to stay tuned for a post about the finished product!