What classic color scheme is better for a shared His-N-Hers office than good ol' black, white, and red?
Well, okay, there are lots of options but since we already had a bunch of black, white, and red stuff from our last house, this is what I came up with for our new office area!
All the furniture, rugs, and drapes were from various parts of our old house, just regrouped to fit this new space. Recognize the ribbon photo board from my previous studio?
This is a view of how open it was before we had the wall added. By closing that space off to the front entryway, we gained a lot of usable interior office space with room enough to have a bookshelf and a reading chair instead of a 10 foot opening. I know many people like the modern open concept, but for me this works MUCH better. I'm not a fan of having things so open that there are no boundaries between various spaces of the home...not to mention the mess visibility factor!
The drapes were reworked from the ones I had in our master bedroom in the old house - Steve was nice and let me have my polka dots, even though it's his office space too. :-) At least they weren't pink polka dots, right?! I normally hang my drapes with the rods almost to the ceiling, but since the ceiling in this house is at 9 feet instead of 8, I hung the rods lower than usual. I wasn't in the mood to add on extra length at the bottom of my drapes for this room.
Speaking of the curtain rods, would you believe that they're just 1" diameter PVC pipe?
Yup, true story. I didn't want to spend a fortune on these walls, and I wanted the drapes to completely cover the space between the windows, so I knew I could get away with the 45 angle PVC couplers and the super cheap curtain rod brackets (you can buy them in unfinished pairs at Lowes for a couple bucks each set). So I painted the pipes black with spray paint that's especially designed for plastic, and I only had to buy 2 unfinished finials for either end of the curtain rods (which I also painted black, obviously).
The whole rod setup for those 3 windows, including the pipes, brackets, spray paint, and finials, ended up costing about $20 - and $5 of that was for the spray paint!
To make the finials (which come with a screw inserted in them already) attach to the ends of the PVC, I could have glued wooden dowels inside the ends and then screwed into that, but instead I sprayed some of that expandable caulk sealant stuff (the foamy kind that expands and then hardens) into the open ends of the PVC, then taped the finials in place on the end before the foam had a chance to expand/escape/ooze out the end. Once it hardened (about 30 minutes) they were firmly secured in place and I didn't have to go try and find a dowel that would fit just right inside the pipe.
Here are these baskets again - I've had these forever, but in order to make their original blonde finish less noticeable on their new shelf, I stained them with a watered-down glaze which was a deep brown/black color.
This is my side of the room. Except normally there are a bunch of papers from my sketching and all the stuff the kids noodle around with everywhere. No, I didn't clean up just for the photo - I just took this as soon as I was done decorating = before we had a chance to mess it all up!
Perhaps one of these days I'll actually live by that "Keep Calm" motto...I've got the "Carry On" part down okay, it's just the Keep Calm part that continues to elude me....maybe by the time I'm 80 I'll get that part figured out. Or maybe by the time we stop moving around? Hmmmm....I wonder......
Love your office. I have a bay window in my kitchen that has remained curtainless for 8 years. I'm going to use your PVC idea and finally put up curtains in my kitchen - thank you very much! I am so glad you're back. I have missed your blogging so much - and your great ideas!
Posted by: Beverly Atkins | September 06, 2012 at 08:27 AM
What's your paint color?
Posted by: DeAnn Green | September 06, 2012 at 09:35 AM
office is looking good!
Posted by: Beth | September 06, 2012 at 04:23 PM
Amazing and inspiring, Shelley! I am so glad you are back!
Posted by: Morgen | September 09, 2012 at 06:29 PM
Love the striped black and white sofa plus the red carpet. It balances everything because of the color combo. Honestly, will copy this but will refine to reflect my personality too.
Posted by: egg chairs hanging | September 20, 2012 at 10:03 AM
I just discovered your blog by checking how the traffic on my blog found my blog and I clicked on your address and found your blog! THIS IS LINA's mom!!! Thank you so so so very much for donating to Lina's auction and adoption! Wow what a blessing and now to find your blog! YOUR BLOG is beautiful...I LOVE your decorating and your home and everything about your blog...oh my goodness I feel like I could just climb into your blog and love living in the spaces you created! Awesome! Just wanted to say thank you for helping Lina to come home! She is the most precious child ever...she is learning to give high fives, kisses and wave hi and bye! She talks and chatters all the time and is able to sit just a bit on her own now and ride in a shopping cart and a swing. She has grown over 3 inches and 10 pounds since June!
May you be blessed in all your work and in your family...with love,
stephanie brian sasha ellianna avigayil and lina carpenter
Posted by: stephanie carpenter | October 02, 2012 at 03:43 PM
I love the first picture. I always love red, black and white themed.
Posted by: A1 Laminators | October 23, 2012 at 02:56 AM
I am so grateful you're returning. I have skipped your running a blog so much - and your excellent ideas!
Posted by: A0 Laminators | October 31, 2012 at 08:16 AM
I love the way you decorated your place,specially the working table which have a window layer which you can see the outside beauty of your house in case you want to have some dull time.
Posted by: plumbing | November 02, 2012 at 10:08 PM