We all knew this would happen, right? The first room I tackled in my decorating plans, the first space to keep my mind busy while we waited and waited and waited for progress to magically happen during construction... is the misfit of the house.
Yes, I'm talking about the office. When I started planning the office a year ago, I hadn't fully transitioned to this french farmhouse meets the coast thing I have going on now. And that, surprisingly has stuck like glue! And as I started to work on the plans for other rooms in the house and they all sort of worked well together, the niggling little voice in the back of my mind was warning me that the office couldn't work amidst all the soft muted colors carried through the rest of the house. But the stubborn mule in me wanted a peacock room and by golly I was going to have my peacock room. I accomplished my goal of a peacock room that doesn't punch you in the face with a peacock, so I patted myself on the back for executing it.
And then about 24 hours later I was over it. Like utterly and completely over it. This is one of the darker rooms in the house in spite of the large window because of the direction of the sun, and the shape of the house. I knew the walls shouldn't be dark navy, but after I got that beast of an armoire painted the perfect gold it really needed a navy blue backdrop. :) It was like I was too far in to turn back. All of your enthusiasm and encouragement bought me some time, so thank you because there's no way I could have let the office bog me down before the rest of the house was more settled! Now that we're settled, here I am, laying my design remorse on the table for all to see.
I've reached that point now. I hate the dark walls in here. They're dark even with 4 flourescent can lights on in the daytime! While I love the modernness of the apple green leather chairs with white frames, I don't love them in this house, particularly so close to the main living area with its softer tones. I love the gorgeous eggplant colored velvet drapes, but I hate that you don't even notice them because it's a dark color fabric against dark walls with the weird back-light from the window. I even hate the layout of our desks. Brent's desk blocks the french door from opening all the way, and the goal with my desk position was to face out the window, and I'm not really facing out the window!
So I started thinking about how to address all the issues to make the room a happier place for us. For starters, I want to rearrange the furniture, and the reason we were sort of forced into this layout is because we had the settee and the big armoire which were critical elements in my peacock plan. I purchased them, then painstakingly refinished them for the sole purpose of using them in this room. Thing is, the settee really crowds the room, blocks much needed light from the lower section of the window, and makes me nervous when anyone sits on it because it's 220 years old! So don't shoot me friends, but the settee has already left the office. I tried it in the foyer and it didn't work there either. Anyone want a peacock colored antique settee?? :)
Here's what it looks like in full daylight, but without the settee. It is actually brighter at night.
But still, it was an instant improvement by removing the little sofa. So then I thought, well maybe if I just throw some really bright curtains up it would brighten up the room and that would suffice. I'm SO into nautical stripes right now, and I love how it looks on the nugget's bedding with his navy walls. It might look something like this:
This is how I design every room, by the way. You get to see the madness for yourselves! I'm a very visual person, so I have to mock up every crazy idea to see it for myself before I make any real life changes. I have an old photo editing software copyright 1998. Yup, and it's still kicking though just barely. It is more advanced than, say, Microsoft Paint, but far less sophisticated than today's software and nowhere near the capabilities of Photoshop. However, in all my time using it I've become ONE with it and I'll be so sad when it's finally incompatible with whatever operating system comes next. And, almost on queue it crashed on me again. *sigh
Anyway, these bright, high contrast curtains definitely seem to brighten up the office a bit, and I like how the green chairs still work. However, I know me. It would be such a temporary satisfaction before I'd be moving on to the next element, which may or may not work with the stripes. So, what this all means is that I'm entirely re-doing the office. Walls, curtains, the chairs will get recovered, and the armoire will be severely tamed and punished for its golden ways.
I can't decide if I want to paint the walls the original color they were before I painted them away into a black hole abyss, or if I want to just choose a soft color from the palette of the rest of the house. I already have the original silver dollar paint. Then again a soft blue, soft green could be a nice change...Long story short, I don't know what colors, patterns, or fabrics yet, but when I do, you'll all be the first to know. :)
I'll probably stick with a leather or vinyl for the chairs, and I'm kinda feeling these from the looks of the online swatches. I'll have to order real swatches and see where that takes me. I've been known to order swatches 3-4-10 times as I hone in on exactly what I never knew I was looking for in the first place. haha Or else I have to go the old fashioned route and drive around to the fabric warehouses in Dallas. One way or another, the room will be airy and fresh for sure!
So I'm really excited to start fresh, but it has to wait just a little longer. I've got a project I'm working on for my little cousin who's expecting her first munchkin in the fall. Maybe she'll let me share it with you. It's super mod! :)
Stay tuned for the office and more.
Yes, I'm talking about the office. When I started planning the office a year ago, I hadn't fully transitioned to this french farmhouse meets the coast thing I have going on now. And that, surprisingly has stuck like glue! And as I started to work on the plans for other rooms in the house and they all sort of worked well together, the niggling little voice in the back of my mind was warning me that the office couldn't work amidst all the soft muted colors carried through the rest of the house. But the stubborn mule in me wanted a peacock room and by golly I was going to have my peacock room. I accomplished my goal of a peacock room that doesn't punch you in the face with a peacock, so I patted myself on the back for executing it.
And then about 24 hours later I was over it. Like utterly and completely over it. This is one of the darker rooms in the house in spite of the large window because of the direction of the sun, and the shape of the house. I knew the walls shouldn't be dark navy, but after I got that beast of an armoire painted the perfect gold it really needed a navy blue backdrop. :) It was like I was too far in to turn back. All of your enthusiasm and encouragement bought me some time, so thank you because there's no way I could have let the office bog me down before the rest of the house was more settled! Now that we're settled, here I am, laying my design remorse on the table for all to see.
 |
| Seriously, I mean, it's pretty clear which one of these rooms doesn't belong! |
I've reached that point now. I hate the dark walls in here. They're dark even with 4 flourescent can lights on in the daytime! While I love the modernness of the apple green leather chairs with white frames, I don't love them in this house, particularly so close to the main living area with its softer tones. I love the gorgeous eggplant colored velvet drapes, but I hate that you don't even notice them because it's a dark color fabric against dark walls with the weird back-light from the window. I even hate the layout of our desks. Brent's desk blocks the french door from opening all the way, and the goal with my desk position was to face out the window, and I'm not really facing out the window!
So I started thinking about how to address all the issues to make the room a happier place for us. For starters, I want to rearrange the furniture, and the reason we were sort of forced into this layout is because we had the settee and the big armoire which were critical elements in my peacock plan. I purchased them, then painstakingly refinished them for the sole purpose of using them in this room. Thing is, the settee really crowds the room, blocks much needed light from the lower section of the window, and makes me nervous when anyone sits on it because it's 220 years old! So don't shoot me friends, but the settee has already left the office. I tried it in the foyer and it didn't work there either. Anyone want a peacock colored antique settee?? :)
Here's what it looks like in full daylight, but without the settee. It is actually brighter at night.
But still, it was an instant improvement by removing the little sofa. So then I thought, well maybe if I just throw some really bright curtains up it would brighten up the room and that would suffice. I'm SO into nautical stripes right now, and I love how it looks on the nugget's bedding with his navy walls. It might look something like this:
This is how I design every room, by the way. You get to see the madness for yourselves! I'm a very visual person, so I have to mock up every crazy idea to see it for myself before I make any real life changes. I have an old photo editing software copyright 1998. Yup, and it's still kicking though just barely. It is more advanced than, say, Microsoft Paint, but far less sophisticated than today's software and nowhere near the capabilities of Photoshop. However, in all my time using it I've become ONE with it and I'll be so sad when it's finally incompatible with whatever operating system comes next. And, almost on queue it crashed on me again. *sigh
Anyway, these bright, high contrast curtains definitely seem to brighten up the office a bit, and I like how the green chairs still work. However, I know me. It would be such a temporary satisfaction before I'd be moving on to the next element, which may or may not work with the stripes. So, what this all means is that I'm entirely re-doing the office. Walls, curtains, the chairs will get recovered, and the armoire will be severely tamed and punished for its golden ways.
I can't decide if I want to paint the walls the original color they were before I painted them away into a black hole abyss, or if I want to just choose a soft color from the palette of the rest of the house. I already have the original silver dollar paint. Then again a soft blue, soft green could be a nice change...Long story short, I don't know what colors, patterns, or fabrics yet, but when I do, you'll all be the first to know. :)
I'll probably stick with a leather or vinyl for the chairs, and I'm kinda feeling these from the looks of the online swatches. I'll have to order real swatches and see where that takes me. I've been known to order swatches 3-4-10 times as I hone in on exactly what I never knew I was looking for in the first place. haha Or else I have to go the old fashioned route and drive around to the fabric warehouses in Dallas. One way or another, the room will be airy and fresh for sure!
So I'm really excited to start fresh, but it has to wait just a little longer. I've got a project I'm working on for my little cousin who's expecting her first munchkin in the fall. Maybe she'll let me share it with you. It's super mod! :)
Stay tuned for the office and more.
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