It turns out that this "office" will actually be redesigned as more of a multi-purpose room. My mom has decided that she doesn't want a desk since she uses a laptop and prefers to sit in other rooms of the house. She doesn't want to paint the walls because they were just freshly painted. She would like to have a place for Avery (my 2-year-old daughter) to sleep when she stays at Grandma's house (she really doesn't want a big bed in the room though).
Did I mention that my dad also uses the room? He keeps his clothes in the closet, so the room is a type of "dressing room" for him.
I did say multi-purpose, right?!
The design has changed several times as we've talked and planned. I'm sharing what the current plan is, but that plan is subject to change. Unexpected things will come up, but I'm happy to have a semi-finalized plan in place. Now, we can at least take some steps forward.
Here are a few things currently in the room that will be kept or left alone.
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| Expedit Bookshelf, IKEA |
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| Carpet Colour |
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| Wall Colour |
The bookshelf will provide some good storage once we get things a little more organized. The carpet and wall colours aren't exact, but these are fairly close to the existing colours.
The room really needs some colour so I searched for a fabric that would coordinate with the floors and walls while adding that needed splash of colour. Here's what I found through Tonic Living. It's called Sweet William, Sand (and I think it's sweet indeed). Greens, white, pink and burnt orange. Perfect! (Oh, and mom thinks so too!)
The fabric will be used for the window dressings and perhaps a throw cushion on the chaise (keep reading).
A white, slipcovered chaise. This would offer seating for mom if she wants to sit in the room and work. It would also provide a place for dad to sit while he pulls on his socks. And, if the chaise was pushed up against the wall, Avery could easily sleep on it. (The chaise is just over 5 feet long.) Plus, the slipcover is easily removed and washed.
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| Ektorp Chaise, IKEA |
A 6-drawer dresser to keep mom's teaching supplies organized. It could also hold some of dad's sweaters if need be.
I'm thinking of purchasing a second hand, 6-drawer dresser and then painting it in a burnt orange/red colour.
Something like this...
Colour? Check! (I still have to convince mom of this part of the design. The amount of work it takes to find the right dresser, sand it, paint it, etc. is NOT appealing to her. Fingers crossed.)
We also want to do a kind of family gallery wall above the (orange?) dresser. Mom seems to really like this idea. Here's some inspiration for that.
O.k. now here's a look at everything put together in a design board. The decorative elements like the mirrors, lamp, area rug, etc. are just suggestions or ideas for now.
So, what do you think?
Now, let's get this show on the road and make this design a reality! Woo hoo!
-Sarah
p.s. If you could comment on how fabulous that orange dresser is it would really help my cause. Hee hee.