This is our office. Sometimes I call it the study because I like the way it sounds. In reality, it’s a square box that houses scholarly things like pencils, a computer, our degrees, and my Harry Potter books.
As you can tell, it’s not particularly attractive at present. Up until a few weeks ago, when we made it our mission to clear it out, it was more of a storage closet than an office. But now it’s office-like, with officey things – most of which will be politely removed from the situation once we find replacements. I know I shared a plan for this space awhile ago (and some of that hasn’t changed), but now that this room is our focus and changes are more of a reality, I thought I’d give it another go.
Priority #1: Chalkboard wall. I’m being selfish and making this a priority, even though it totally isn’t the most important thing to do first. But it’s the part I’m most excited about – and I think it will get the ball rolling on everything else, once we see how AWESOME it looks. It'll be the wall below.
Priority #2: Curtains. This is an actual priority. It’s actually super hard to work on the computer in the afternoon because the sun shines directly in these windows. It’s awesome, given how dark the rest of the house is (this room is the brightest in the house), but it’s also pretty much impossible to work in the afternoon without sunglasses on. So, curtains need to happen sooner rather than later. These windows are also exceptionally high, so I’m thinking standard premade curtains won’t work and I may need to make the curtains myself. I’ve wanted to try a project like this for some time, so I’m pretty excited. Likely, we’ll just do one super wide curtain that can be pulled all the way across, given how little clearance there is on the left side of the windows. I haven’t decided on fabric yet…
Priority #3: Hang those dang degrees. We worked hard for them. And they’re presently getting no respect, piled in the corner. I’m thinking they’ll go to the right of the curtains.
Priority #4: A larger desk. More specifically, a rectangular wood table. This desk is my old one and although it’s cute (and in great shape!), it’s obviously way too small for both of us. I’ve been stalking Kijiji, looking for something with the right dimensions and a dose of character. Wish me luck!
Priority #5: Whiteboard wall. This wall will be opposite the chalkboard wall, with the doorway to the living room. A whiteboard wall is the boyfriend’s request, and the only reason it has a lower priority than the chalkboard wall is because he wants to take some time and do a bunch of research on what will work best. Not all whiteboard paint actually works – so thorough research on the subject is a good idea.
Priority #6: Paint the other walls. I’m not really a beige/taupe girl. And given that we’re already painting two of the four walls and this room is fairly small, it’s a fairly simple undertaking (unlike the rest of the main floor!) I’m leaning towards a nice light cool-toned grey for the remaining two walls. I might see if I can mix the leftover paint from my old bedroom with some white.
Priority #7: Rug. Initially, I bought this rug for the office. But the office was still full of junk at that point, so we rolled it out in the dining room and ended up loving it there. So the office is in need of a rug of its very own. The boyfriend made an off-hand remark about getting another oriental rug for the office, and the idea stuck with me. I think it would make for such a great library feel. There are some really cute and reasonably priced versions on Overstock and RugsUSA – and I’ve heard positive things from other people who have ordered from them. We shall see.
Priority #8: Bookcase. Obviously, this one is overflowing. I’d like something not too fussy and not too expensive. I really love the look of industrial wire/metal bookcases in indoor spaces (rather than garages). Alaina from The Everygirl has a great one in her kitchen. I’d like to put one along the wall opposite the windows and use it to store our books, as well as a few odd objects for interest.
Priority #9: Matching chairs. Once we have the larger pieces of furniture and textiles in place, I’ll start looking for matching chairs. I imagine we’ll probably use dining chairs in the meantime. I’m not a fan of rolling office chairs, like the current one… because they’re usually ugly and the ones that aren’t are WAY out of our price range. Given that we use this room for a few hours (at most) per day, I think we can get away with nice upholstered non-office chairs. I’m leaning towards something with mid-century lines, like these or these.
Priority #10: French door. This may sound extravagant but I actually think it’ll be fairly simple. All of the bedroom doors in our house are French doors… weird, I know. They were installed before we got there and apparently someone didn’t really value privacy? Either way, at some point, we’ll be switching them out for something a little more suitable. At that point, I’d like to move one of the French doors upstairs to the office. I’ll paint the casement on the door black (it’s now a brassy gold) and possibly replace the knob with something a little more fun. The added benefit to using a French door is that because this is the brightest room in the house, a little of the light should spill out into the living room, brightening up that room as well.
Priority #11: Reading chair. This one is perfectly functional for now, but once we have other furniture in here, it may be a bit large. At that point, we may switch it out for something more suited to the space.
Whew. That was a long post. Thanks for reading all the way to the end... so what do you think of our plans now that it's office go-time?
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