A Home Office Goes Horizontal

I love a good home office makeover and this is my new favorite (for 5 minutes until another one catches my eye - I'm fickle that way). 

Stephen Saint-Onge, who does those monthly makeovers of rooms for Better Homes & Gardens did this one for a reader recently. 

I won't bore you with the before photos.  Just picture a plain room with crap scattered here and there.  We all have a space like that somewhere no?  Well, maybe it's just me.  Moving on, this is the finished room with...horizontal stripes.  Aren't they beautiful?  Loving how the crisp white wood stands out against the stripes.

 I had actually though of doing horizontal stripes in my home office until I found out what hell they are to execute after doing them in my dining room.  BTW, they referred to this as an "easy stripe treatment".   I'm guessing the author of the article has never actually tried to paint horizontal stripes in a 70 year old house.

This is my favorite part of the new room:

I'm not sure how much work actually gets done when you have a chaise in your office, but it sure looks good doesn't it?

I thought this was just decorative, but the article said the drawers were used as storage.  Not really practical given it's location in the room so more than likely she won't use it for storage of anything she needs quick and easy access to.

Love the little table cause it's green and I pretty much love any furniture painted green.  The lamp was a spray paint project that started out black.  Love :)

He also turned this empty closet...

Into this...

Honestly, as cute as this little work station is, I would think outfitting it with shelves for storage would have been a better use of the space.  I have two closets in my home office and I use every spare inch of space in them.  But hey, BHG hasn't hired me to makeover anything so I'll just shut up now and go away quietly.

Happy Thursday :)

A Little Home Office Charm

I have (FINALLY) successfully completed the base in the dining room and am dreading looking forward to doing the stripes.  I’m pretty sure I'm going with SW Greek Villa.  It's much whiter than the Crème I originally chose and will achieve a crisper look.  Who am I kidding?  I still can't decide.  Thank God I don't agonize like this when doing someone else’s house.

While sitting in my favorite chair having my morning tea yesterday, I was admiring the new fresh dining room color when I had the startling, and somewhat disturbing, realization that the new color appeared to be just a shade or two lighter than the living room color.  I mean, I wanted a soft transition, but I wasn't looking for the same thing!

In any event, I need a break from dining rooms.  I have also been thinking about home offices lately.

Three years ago when I set up my home office, I chose a soft yellow for the walls (are you seeing a theme here?) because I read that the color aids in concentration, clarity for decision-making, sharpened memory and protection from lethargy and depression during dull weather.  You know, like now when it’s freezing in the Midwest and the snow around my house is knee deep – that sort of dull weather.

So, here are some home offices I think are loaded with charm and that are very achievable for most of us normal girls (you know, the non millionaire types).  Some are clearly pricier than others, but finding cheaper alternatives is what we excel at right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The one below might seam super pricey, but elements of it are certainly affordable and it can be imitated with pieces from IKEA or even built if you or the Hubby are shop class grads.

I actually have these Pottery Barn shelves in the rubbed white in my home office.  I had admired them for a long time, but waited patiently for them to go on sale when they offered an even bigger discount for a multi purchase.

I'll share my home office soon, but that means I have to clean it so don't hold your breath cause I don't want to lose you as a reader okay?

XOXO,

Christine