Decorating Making it Yours (MiY)

Making it Yours 15C: Pink Persian-Style Rug

Persian-Style Pink Rug, West ElmTaking a break from painting my soon-to-be office to get back to my Making it Yours series and button up the last of designs around this pink Persian-style rug.

I’m always tweaking the format, playing around with it to see what’s an improvement and what falls flat. I’ve created narratives for the fictional people that live with these designs, I’ve done five variations (which felt like whoa too many, and I’ve done quick changes within a series to play with the palette. This fifteenth round has been all about expanding on the ‘why’ of each choice that goes into the finished design. I intended to space them out a bit too, but then I think I myself spaced, and here we are with the third look coming long after the other two! (Oops.) So let’s get into it.

We’ve already seen a tween’s bedroom and a living room (with a bonus alternative color scheme), and now we’re finishing up with a home office. This has been a fun one to come back to and work on right now since I’m in the middle of setting up an office for myself! I get to work in one of these office chairs I’ve been eyeing.

Pretty Office Chairs
PRETTY OFFICE CHAIRS: Carson Desk Chair, Ballard Designs • Liv Upholstered Wingback Office Chair, Crate & Barrel • Reeves Desk Chair, Pottery Barn

Next, some storage in the form of these modular bookcases, either in the warm brown or black finish.

Arhaus Tremont Modular Bookcases
STORAGE: Tremont Modular Bookcases, Arhaus

And of course you need a desk in a home office. I love a good writing desk, but it’s not as practical as one with drawers or a flip-down tray for the keyboard (a feature I like in my current desk). Here’s a mix of options I would consider, all in black (though some are available in other colors).

Black Desks
BLACK DESKS: Cynthia Rowley Fleur de Glee Writing Desk, Wayfair • Niles Writing Desk, Birch Lane • Vintage Painted Desk, Chairish • Rubbed Black Quade Desk, World Market • Noir Portugese Desk, Candelabra • Knox Metal Desk with Hutch, Pottery Barn • Threshold Campaign Desk, Target • Maison Desk, Restoration Hardware

So we’re at a point where we can pick the basic elements now. The wingback desk chair is my favorite (I rounded up similarly shaped dining chairs not long ago), and I love the turned legs of the Noir desk (I am in love with everything that company is doing right now). Pairing those two up with the bookcases, I prefer the black finish. It could go a little matchy-matchy, but I think we’re good as long as the rest of the room adds variety.

Desk, Office Chair, and Bookcases
BASIC ELEMENTS: Noir Portugese Desk, CandelabraLiv Wingback Office Chair, Crate & BarrelTremont Modular Bookcases, Arhaus

Lamps with Marble and/or Brass AccentsOn to the lighting. I want to bring back the floor lamp from last time. I like the thread of not only bringing back one piece, but incorporating other parts of the previous designs, just as you may move things around in your home over time. The more modern styling of the floor lamp plays nicely with what we’ve got going so far, and I like one of these cute marble and brass lamps for the desk.

LAMPS WITH MARBLE AND/OR BRASS ACCENTS:
Threshold Marble Base Edison Lamp, Target • Winding Course Table Lamp, Anthropologie • Cylinder Floor Lamp, Rejuvenation

I’m imagining that this home office is in a builder-basic suburban house, maybe from the 80s or 90s. Not a McMansion, just a comfortably sized home, but without much going on in the room architecturally. Standard white trim, mid-toned wood floors, and smooth, unadorned walls. A crazy spiky chandelier in the middle of the room could be awesome.

Spiky Lighting Fixtures
SPIKY CHANDELIERS AND SEMI-FLUSH MOUNT LIGHTING: Hudson Valley Sparta Ceiling Light, Lamps Plus • Arteriors Home Zanadoo Chandalier, Wayfair • Spike Ceiling Light, Shades of Light • Crystorama Galileo 8-Light Pendant, Wayfair • Arteriors Home Roxanne Flush Mount, Wayfair • Arteriors Home Hanley Ceiling Light, Lamps Plus

Time to put the whole thing together with accessories and finishing touches, like a throw to keep on the back of the chair, art (and a giant calendar) to dress up the walls, and a tray to keep the desktop neat.

Pink Persian-Style Rug: Making it Yours 15C, Making it Lovely

  1. Arteriors Home Hanley Ceiling Light, Lamps Plus

  2. Bunny Williams Leather Pencil Cup, Ballard Designs

  3. Bunny Williams Leather Valet, Ballard Designs

  4. Nate Berkus White Ceramic Urchin Box, Target

  5. Tremont Modular Bookcases, Arhaus

  6. ‘Moody Blue’ Paint, Sherwin-Williams

  7. Rosemade Mirror, Horchow

  8. Case Study Large Hex Planter with Wood Stand, Modernica

  9. Hayley Mitchell ‘Madalyn’ Print, Furbish

  10. Cylinder Floor Lamp, Rejuvenation

  11. Perk Pink Mug, CB2

  12. Egg Press x Schoolhouse Big Picture Calendar, Schoolhouse Electric

  13. Winding Course Table Lamp, Anthropologie

  14. Pink Wool Throw Blanket, Neighborly

  15. Pink Persian-Style Rug, West Elm

  16. Noir Portugese Desk, Candelabra

  17. Liv Upholstered Wingback Office Chair, Crate & Barrel

Making it Yours 15: Pink Persian-Style Rug

Want to see all three looks from this edition together? I aim to please.

Making it Yours 15: Pink Persian-Style Rug | Making it Lovely

This is giving me a big boost of energy to continue working on my own office. I’m not implementing this look exactly, but if I could wave a magic wand and have this show up, I wouldn’t be mad at it. And I heard from someone that they were using the ‘tween bedroom’ as a guide for their daughter’s room, which just makes me so happy! I’d love to hear from you, too. Do you have a favorite, or a request? I’m thinking I’ll do the next round without any pink whatsoever for a change (how ’bout that?).

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  • Marty@A Stroll Thru Life
    January 25, 2017 at 11:11 am

    I love this grouping so much. I could really enjoy a space like this.

  • Peggi
    January 26, 2017 at 5:44 am

    Wowza! I adore everything about this room. I might even get some papers graded if I had that home office. Just kidding. I’d probably just sit in there and read magazines and write to-do lists. Amazing work, as always.

  • Danielle
    January 26, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    So pretty! I love that you always seem to find a new source for beautiful furniture/lighting/accessories – thanks for sharing! That desk is amazing.

  • Liz
    February 1, 2017 at 11:56 am

    Beautiful! Thank you. Love the 90s suburban house office inspiration – my house!