Our House: My Long Neglected Office

Last fall I made the permanent shift to working from home full time and my home office went from mainly unused to needing to support actual work.  No longer just a place to put paperwork and random furniture (my husband's massive wing back chair, the Room & Board Loring Sofa that wasn't comfortable enough for the living room....) but the room in the house where I'll spend a huge chunk of my time.

This was such a 'non-room' for me that I don't even have any proper before photos:

The only in progress photo is a random one taken by my mother in law shortly after we moved in (before it was totally crapped up):

When I look at my Home Office board on Pinterest there are some common themes that jump out to me right away:

Clearly I like the two matching tall bookcases flanking a desk or shorter table (and I must be the only one that needs actual office equipment in my office.)

I picked up this vintage drafting table on Craig's List for $100 (and was THRILLED with the price):

Clearly it needs some cleaning up but I still think it'll be perfect for my office.

Sometime last spring I came across a set of campaign bedroom furniture and just had to the buy a single drawer, 2 door little 29" tall chest.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it but I couldn't not get it.  So it sat in my garage as one of the many pieces of random furniture that were occupying my parking spot for months.

Then I bought a 3 drawer campaign chest the same size and decided I should have hutches built to get my vision of the tall bookcases.

Then I got prices for the hutches.  I seriously miss my hourly finish carpenter. Badly.

I procrastinated on the hutches for months.  My office is embarrassingly overflowing and disorganized at this point.  Olive thinks blueprints are her bed (which makes perfect sense considering slippers are her favorite toys).

Yesterday I bought two vintage Stanley furniture bookcases at St. Vincent de Paul, they're well made, in a great condition, and cost far less than having the hutches made for the Campaign chests.  Not to mention they are ideal for my needs:

They've already been stripped of their hardware, cleaned and sanded.  Choosing the 'right' dark teal/peacock inky blue color is proving harder than I expected.  I'm debating between these two colors at the moment but oddly enough Hague Blue looks brighter and lighter in most actual photos and Teal darker:

          

           Farrow and Ball Hague Blue

             Benjamin Moore Teal

Either way though, the inside is going gold!

I'm not still feeling the massive surge of motivation to get stuff done like I was a few weeks ago but I'm definitely ready for this progress. 

Spring Fever

I'm not sure if it's the season, my in-laws impromptu visit next week or just having reached the point where I need my own house to feel more done while I continue working on other people's homes but I've been buried in various at-home projects for the last few weeks.  On top of my regular gig and client load.  I'm a tired girl at the moment but pleased with the progress for sure!  I'm "this close" to being done with 10 different projects so I have no final photos to share yet.

The hunt for a credenza to use as a media stand has been never ending.  Last month at a local consignment shop I found a faux bamboo bedroom set that had a long dresser similar to this one:

I felt moderately guilty showing it to my husband, I mean the guy actually wrote into our wedding vows that I couldn't put faux bamboo and lucite in every room of our house but after weeks of seeing nothing else I took him to see it Saturday afternoon.  I made a direct beeline for it when we got to the consignment shop and was so relieved it was still there I didn't even notice the SOLD sign that was silently mocking me.  I wanted to kick my husband for pointing out that it had sold the day after I'd planned to go back for it earlier in the week.

At our next stop we did finally mange to find and agree on a piece and our TV is currently sitting on all 81" of it's MCM glory.  I couldn't be more pleased with it.  It's exactly what I wanted originally and I'm loving the warmth that it brings to the room.  Photos to come.....

As soon as we got the credenza home I decided it was time to paint the coffee table base.  So this is currently in the garage with it's first coat of gold paint on it:

I love this table like none other, and did long before antlers were everywhere.  My husband thought he could not possibly hate it more, until I told him I was painting it gold.

I'm not loving the current gold spray paint I'm using so I may be running to the hardware store for a few others tomorrow.  Any suggestions?

If I could sort out a fabric color for the ottoman (I'm thinking coral, my husband readily agreed but pointed out it might be bit much with the gold table, uh huh) and what to do about end tables I could possibly almost start to feel like our living room was making real progress!

Desperately Seeking Benches

I've been looking for a set of upholstered benches forever (to put under my console in our entry) but I so rarely see ONE bench much less a matching pair that I'm not all that optimistic.  I've done everything I can, short of offering a kidney, to get a friend to part with her pair of vintage x-stools (that she picked up at a local auction for something ridiculous like $115, makes me ill to even think about it) with no luck.  I can't bring myself to pay ebay prices either. So I'm still benchless.

I came across these last weekend and only considered them for about 20 seconds before moving on.  They're just not what I really want.

Then I started thinking about how they aren't totally unlike some of the Paul McCobb styles like these:

My wheels started spinning along the lines of painting the bases and having a box cushion top done on them.  Then I remembered the likely cost of that cushion and that these aren't want I really want.

Then I came across this photo from Jenny's moving sale on LGN and I started thinking about the benches again.

via Little Green Notebook

So now I'm back to pondering the little metal benches.  Who knows when I'll finally come across the perfect vintage upholstered pair?  Am I nuts for thinking that $75 seems like a small price to pay to feel like my house is ever so slightly more together?

I'm Obsessed.......

I saw this wallpaper (Geisha by Cole & Son) at a home decor store in London back in October and I haven't been able to get it out of my head.

I've become convinced that the wall above the chair rail in my dining room should be covered in this wallpaper and the area below the chair painted a dark dark blue color pulled from the paper:

I'm not sure how well it would work with the huge oil painting (or the Candy Apple Red buffet my husband not so fondly refers to as Red Death) I have in there currently but that probably isn't a deal breaker on the wallpaper for me.

Or maybe my powder room needs it??  Or is it too much with the penny tile running up the sink wall?

I'm not sure this an idea I can sell my husband on though!

Our House: The Living Room, Media Stand

After months of hitting my favorite consignment/thrift shops and trolling Craig's List on a regular basis I've finally made a decision on a media stand.  The very kind Heidi from Lily Field Furniture found it for me on Craig's List after I'd somehow managed it miss it, even with the title of "HUGE Dresser or Buffet" (and since size was always the issue I'm baffled on how I managed to miss it).

Anyway, hopefully in about a week this beauty will be in place:

In this color, Annie Sloan paint in Graphite:

(please ignore the puppy blanket!)

Heidi started looking for a piece for me after I commented on one she posted on Facebook that sold in a matter of hours.  Once she procured this one (with me in mind but knowing she could easily sell it if I wasn't in love) she was incredibly patient during my week of deliberations and mixed at least four different test colors for me trying to get me to the perfect dark charcoal.   I'm excited to see the finished result and really curious to see for myself how the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint holds up.

To be continued....

Our House: Exterior Paint

I was so focused on getting the interior of the house move in ready last year that I totally ignored the badly peeling paint on the exterior.  This year it had to be taken care of while weather permitted.

I originally wanted grey body, white trim and a red door which my husband didn't care for.  He wanted something in the green family on the body of the house.  After tossing around a bunch of options, we compromised with a grey-green for the body, white on the trim and black doors.

I love interior lighting and it's almost always one of the most fun parts of putting together a room for me.  I expected to find exterior lighting that I loved and was really disappointed when I could find anything I loved at any price point.  Given the number of fixtures I needed and the cost of even 'cheap' fixtures, this was going to get expensive really fast.  I knew I wanted black fixtures and I was pretty excited when I came across some closeout fixtures at my favorite local lighting warehouse (almost the ONLY time I don't find better pricing online is when I'm shopping at this place) that I actually liked, even really liked the larger fixtures for at the front door.  I was able to get all 7 fixtures I needed for $140 instead of the $300 - $500 I was anticipating otherwise.

Before:

  
And after:

Our House: The Living Room, Chairs (Business in the Front, Party in the Back)

Chairs are woefully expensive in my opinion.  As much as sofas in a lot of cases and often boring and very cookie cutter.  I really wanted something vintage that I could have reupholstered for my living room.  After spending months searching for a pair of vintage upholstered chairs in the right size and shape, at the right price point to justify the cost of new fabric and professional re-upholstery I decided to use my husband's grandmother's chairs that had been in our basement among my collection of furniture waiting to find a home or a purpose.  The chairs are comfortable, low enough that they could be placed slightly in front of the (when I finally find it) media stand/credenza without blocking the TV, and best of all FREE.

I searched for a few inspiration photos but I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted.  I loved the idea of doing a print but I loved the tufting (which IMO can be tricky depending on the pattern).  On a trip to Calico Corners I came across a bolt of amazing seafoamy blue/green velvet on super closeout.  Originally priced at something like $65 a yard it was $10.50 a yard if I recall correctly.  I've always loved the Dwell Plumes fabrics, have pined over the pillows in azure forever so I was thrilled when I realized that the birch colorway worked perfectly with the velvet as well as my sofa color.  It all just fell into place so perfectly.

For some ungodly reason I decided I was going to strip the original upholstery and caning myself (because I was going to paint the frames before giving them to the upholsterer). If I'd been thinking clearly I'd have taken both chairs (instead of just one to talk pricing and what I wanted) and had the upholsterer strip them for me before painting.  It was a miserable task, that I (true to form) waited until the last minute to do.  So there was blood, lots of cursing, blisters, and begging my (wonderful) husband to run to Walmart for me at 10:30 on a Sunday night.

Just a few hours before my in-laws flew in yesterday I picked up my chairs and I LOVE the end result.

There is enough of the velvet left to do the ottoman and I ordered enough of the Plumes fabric to do a couple of throw pillows for the sofa.  For less than the cost of one of the chairs I liked at Crate & Barrel, I  (will) have two chairs and an ottoman that are totally unique to me and my house.  I'm happy with the results.........and looking around what I can send to the upholsterer next!

Our House: The Living Room, Drapes

All of the window treatments in our house on closing day promptly ended up in the dumpster that same weekend, including the blinds the previous owners had on the windows in the living room.

I knew that I wanted the drapes to run from over the upper windows all the way to the floor and given the cost of the custom drapes I was more than a little gun shy about making a commitment to a fabric.  I dragged my husband with me to look at fabric one day and he decided that THIS would be perfect for our living room drapes.

I was worried it would be too traditional, too champagne, too something.   But my husband liked it, it worked well in the room and at less than $10 a yard it seemed low risk so I went with it.  I feel the need to cave to my husband every so often since he typically just lets me do whatever I want with the house.

After a very miserable experience having them made and then 3 trips for installation they are FINALLY done and up.  First I hated how close to the window casing the rods were installed which left me with barely 6" of exposed window.  The tall super skinny window effect was not good.  Once I had the right poles the installer and I realized that the drapes varied in length from one side to the other between 1/4" and 1/2" per panel.  I got to spend a week fighting with the shop that I used to have them made as they kept insisting that they were all perfectly square.  Thankfully the workroom took them apart and re-hemmed them even though they insisted they couldn't find the issue either.  Whatever they did worked because they're perfect now.  So after one final issue with a finale not being threaded properly everything is as it should be.

Next up the chairs and ottoman need to make their way to the upholsterer!

Did I mention I need to get this room done before my in-laws come for Christmas? I'm starting to feel the pressure......

Our House: The Living Room, The Sofa

Replacing the Room & Board sofa was the most important thing on my list and the one I tackled first.  After visiting a friend that has an Arhaus sofa that is super deep I was determined to find one with a similar depth.  I had a Crate & Barrel gift card burning a hole in my pocket so that was our first stop and we ordered the Domino sectional.  We looked at it in stores, we were convinced it would work well in our space (with the open floor plan and cased opening that leads into the kitchen).  Best of all, we loved the stock color so we could get it in less than a week.

The old sectional sold and was picked up the day before the delivery was scheduled for the C&B sectional.  It wasn't until the old sectional was out of the way and I really started to look at the room that I started to worry about the new sectional fitting.  Once I actually laid it out I knew it would never work.  I was able to cancel the order with 5 minutes to spare.  It was then that we decided to move the R&B sofa into the living room and see if it would work for us.  As I mentioned yesterday, not so much.

So we started over.

I dragged my husband to the nearest Arhaus location in Chicago and they had several options that would have worked for us but nothing we totally loved.

On a whim we headed to one of the larger Crate & Barrel stores in Chicago and stumbled on the Lounge Sofa. 

It had the depth we wanted and we both liked it, and we had that gift card.  And a registry completion 10% off.  This time I went home and measured first, then ordered!

It was a special order item that took every bit of the time frame quoted (and then some, boo for Crate & Barrel who is clearly not winning me over between the dining table and then the delayed delivery).  It's in place now and overall I think we're really happy with it.  If I had to rate the workmanship on it I'd probably say a 7 or 8 out of 10, maybe a 6 or 7 on overall quality.  I have some concerns about how it will wear but I'm trying not to obsess about the details!

• A comfortable but still attractive sofa
• Window treatments
• Something to replace the WS sunburst mirror that is clearly too small for that space (lesson learned for me regarding living in a space a bit before buying items, same goes for the R&B sofa)
• A proper fireplace mantel
• Decide if I'm keeping the antler table in the room, if so what color to paint the base and to replace the glass top (scratched and chipped)
• Side tables
• Loveseat or a set of chairs
• 'Entertainment' unit, I need something for the TV other than the random console table it's been sitting on since we moved in
• Pillows, throw, and accessories 

Progress is progress!

Our House: The Living Room, Change of Plans

Our plan when we bought, renovated and moved into this house was that the living room would be the 'pretty' living room and that we'd finish the basement for our TV watching and lounging.

Of course not being able to wait, I started buying a few things for the actual living room.  We were practically starting from scratch with it so why waste any time right? RIGHT?

The first was this Williams and Sonoma Home mirror I was obsessed with:

Followed by a Room & Board sofa:

And then this Surya rug:

I'd picked up this coffee table (via Craigslist) while we were still living in the hotel just because I was in love with it and had to have it, so it was planned for the living room as well:

So the short term plan was to use the 1st floor living room as our comfortable TV room until we finished the basement.  The massive overstuffed sectional with reclining sections in it (belonged to my husband before we got married and he LOVED it) took up the majority of the room and we used the random tables we had already.

After a few months of living here I realized that I really loved the first floor space and being able to see my kitchen I love so much.  Not only that, but our 2nd floor space never gets used and I hated the idea of more unused space in our house.  So the plan for finishing the basement went out the window.

So the real fun starts.

I had this clear idea of what I wanted for the living room and my husband has his ideas about comfortable furniture.  He didn't want me to have to give up the things I wanted in the living room but I didn't want him to feel like he was sacrificing his comfort for my 'vision'.  (Not to mention I still feel slightly guilty for selling just about all of his furniture on Craigslist since we've been together).

We sold the sectional on Craigslist and moved the Room & Board sofa into the living room (had been up in my office since it's delivery).  I love the lines of the R&B sofa, but it's not very deep and after a few weeks of using it we were hating it for our new purposes.  Something had to be done.

So after 9 months of living here I still don't have a furnished and functional living room.  I'm keeping the Surya Rug and hopefully the metal antler table (I still love it).

So on the list are:

• A comfortable but still attractive sofa
• Window treatments
• Something to replace the WS sunburst mirror that is clearly too small for that space (lesson learned for me regarding living in a space a bit before buying items, same goes for the R&B sofa)
• A proper fireplace mantel
• Decide if I'm keeping the antler table in the room, if so what color to paint the base and to replace the glass top (scratched and chipped)
• Side tables
• Loveseat or a set of chairs
• 'Entertainment' unit, I need something for the TV other than the random console table it's been sitting on since we moved in
• Pillows, throw, and accessories 

I'd love to have the room done by Christmas as my in-laws are coming.  My father-in-law hasn't been to the house yet and my mother-in-law saw it last Thanksgiving (I think she actually took the picture of the room above).  Not to mention I'd just really love to have it done!

Our House: The Laundry Room

I feel like this little room has dragged on forever.....pretty much because it has and that's totally my fault.  Anyway!

This is the only 'before' I have of this space and it's not really a before, it's more of an in progress photo. You don't get to see the gross laundry tub and blah flooring that was there when we closed.  The new tile had already been laid (and was being protected) and the trim painting had already started.

When we moved in, we had this.....

The upper cabinets were existing, we added the crown and had them sprayed BM White Dove (using Cabinet Coat). No doors in this picture because they were still being sprayed when we moved in.  I figured of all the things to live without this wasn't the worst thing in the world.  The walls are painted BM Quiet Moments.  The floor tile was a closeout tile from a local supplier. There was barely enough of it to get that room done.

I really wanted a built-in look to the washer and dryer so I had a carpenter build a cabinet and side panel the same overall style as the (very simple) cabinets above.

And after what seems like a ridiculously long time I'm finally completely and totally done with it.  The cabinets are all painted with the Cabinet Coat in BM White Dove.  I had a carpenter build the countertop using one of the Wilsonart HD laminates (to coordinate with the granite in our kitchen).

Trying to keep jackets from ending up in the kitchen I added a couple of hooks from Lowe's, the mirror was a consignment shop gold mirror (though even and I type this I'm contemplating swapping it out for a faux bamboo gold mirror I have in one of the guest rooms) spray painted Heirloom White and the table a flea market find.

So mostly I'm done....unless I swap out the mirror, decide to paint the table, or get motivated to DIY some faux roman shades.  

I'd like to think it'll stay this tidy but let's be real.  Not going to happen!