One Room Challenge: Week 2 (Office Design and Layout)

I have the design for the office to share with you this week! First up, let’s talk layout.

Look how fancy I am! Marvel at that rudimentary animation! I made it myself, and yes, everything is to scale. I’ve leveled up a little with SketchUp and it’s no longer the frustrating exercise it once was to create custom furniture. I even made the lamp on the desk! YAY FOR NEW SKILLS.

Anyway, I have still images too, which are probably more helpful in discussing the space.

The room is all angles, so the layout was a little challenging, but I took advantage of the one long wall by lining it with 7’ of modular storage. The ceiling wonkiness is limiting, so to avoid everything being at the same height, I added a hutch atop the cabinets.

Floating in the middle of the room will be a brass and marble dining table. It gives me extra space to spread out while planning big projects, but it’s also a secondary desk, a homework spot (the kids like to hang out up there with me), and an alternate location for tabletop shoots. There will be four modern green chairs for everyday use, but the table can seat six.

Next, the placement of the desk and chairs. This is controversial?

They can be flip-flopped, and in theory a desk in front of the windows sounds lovely. In reality though, the sun can be super bright there for a good portion of the day and I think it would hurt my eyes to be staring at a backlit screen (and I don’t want to draw the curtains all the time). I also have a window AC there which is very necessary on the third floor of an old house without central air, and I don’t want to sit directly in front of it. And also? I don’t want my back to the room’s main entrance! It feels wrong. My desk has been where it is in the mockups for months now, and I like it. I can also swivel to reach the scanner/printer which I don’t use every single day, but when I do I feel very much in control of my little command center.

Placing the desk in front of the window would make for a pretty picture, but the window nook will also be beautiful with my pair of vintage chairs and sconces on each side.

OK, and the closet. Excuse me, I mean “The Rainbow Room.” My family loves this little space at the very tip-top front of the house with its demilune stained glass window. We’re all pretty excited about giving it an update! I’ll be putting up the most amazing wallpaper with vintage-style illustrations of birds and bugs, and then painting the trim a complementary color (likely green). Four bookshelves will line the sides giving us tons of storage while keeping a clear view of the window at the end.

I’ve got a design board with the major pieces in place to share too. I always start my process here, adding each element layer by layer so I can swap things in and out as I make decisions.

This board isn’t 100% final, but it’s pretty close. The room will need more to fill it out too — more art, accessories, and little styling touches — but that all comes in at the end.
* An asterisk denotes items that have been sent by sponsors for inclusion in the room.

1. Ornithology Wallpaper, Milton & King*
   Birds and bugs! That illustration style! You guys, this is right up my alley.

2. Audrey 8″ Sconce, Cedar & Moss*
   Well these are pretty much perfect, yes? Customizable too. Mine will plug in.

3. Alexa Hampton Basil Small Brass Pendant, The Mine*
   Much nicer than the ceiling fan it’s replacing. I’ll be centering the pendant on the marble table.

4. Globe Table Lamp, West Elm
   There are less expensive options for a simple globe lamp, but I’m picky about the glass. I didn’t want plastic or anything etched/frosted. Beautiful milk glass all the way.

5. Benchwright Hutch, Pottery Barn
   The ceilings have funny angles and I needed something with height. This sits atop my storage cabinets. (Discontinued, but here’s the rest of the collection.)

6. Martha Stewart Living Craft Storage Console, Home Depot / Home Decorators
   Modular, so you can build your own storage solution. Alas, I’m only seeing this one in white now.

7. Martha Stewart Living Craft File Cabinet, Home Depot / Home Decorators
   More modular goodness, but this one is still available in wood, along with white and black.

8. Archive Walnut Bookshelves, Article*
   These have arrived and not only are they sturdy, the walnut is gorgeous.

9. Freer House Slim Keith Vase, Jill Rosenwald*
   Little vases painted on a larger vase! Delightful.

10. Marble and Brass 60×36″ Parsons Table, Crate & Barrel*
    I cannot wait to start covering this table with walllpaper samples and paint swatches. Perhaps its beauty will inspire me to keep a tidy workspace?

11. Ruth Green Dining Chairs, The Mine*
    I’ve been looking for more ways to bring in mossy green, and these chairs excellent in that regard. Digging the modern style too.

12. Vintage Blue Slipper Chairs, Divine Consign
    I grabbed a pair of these and used only one in my first One Room Challenge, but now they’re reuniting in my office.

13. Pom Pom Velvet Pillows, West Elm
    I’ve used these in other rooms, but my pillows like to shuffle around. I think they’ll be happy in the office, at least for a little while.

14. Kendrick Currey & Co Side Table, Bellacor*
    This is the cutest side table and I’m sad to say that it’s being discontinued. I was considering this quirky side table too, which is still available.

15. Pink Curtains, TBD
    I might steal these from another room, but then that would leave that space naked. Find something else? Keep the others and pick up some new ones for this room? (Pink for every window, everywhere!)

16. Silas Round Convex Mirror, Overstock
    Another item I might steal from a different room (the snug). But I think I might like it even better in the office.

17. ‘Emerald Beetles’ by Kate Roebuck, Artfully Walls*
    It’s too good. I had to.

18. ‘Flowers in Vase’ by Ruti Shaashua, Artfully Walls*
    Great colors and an equally great drawing style.

19. Paint colors: White Blush, Benjamin Moore; Simply White, Benjamin Moore; Authentic Black, Dutch Boy
    The second and third floor has white trim and black doors throughout (with just a couple of rooms left to tackle). The pale blush walls are the same as my bedroom — I loved the color that much.

20. Morris 60″ Desk, Crate & Barrel*
    Drawers! So many drawers. I’m going to devote one exclusively to novelty toys just because I can.

21. Minna Vase, Crate & Barrel
    I picked up four of these a while back. I have three children, and not so coincidentally I suppose, I now also have three of these vases.

22. Jane Robert Abbey Table Lamp, Bellacor*
    I’m playing with scale here. This lamp is huge, and it’s going under an angled ceiling. It should work, but until I see it in person I’m crossing my fingers.

23. Bukhara Ikat Indigo Blue Pillow, Arianna Belle*
    Oh my do I love this pattern. My desk area needed a little shot of blue.

24. Liv Upholstered Wingback Office Chair, Crate & Barrel*
    My number one choice for a desk chair. It’s so dang lovely.I’ve written about it before!

25. Coziest Rosette Throw, West Elm
    For chilly days.

26. Ladies Blue and White Fishbowl Planter, The Mine*
    There are touches of blue and white everywhere, and I’ve been wanting to add a planter like this somewhere in the house. I realized the office is the perfect spot to do so.

27. Pink Ikat Genevieve Gorder Capel Dhurrie Rug, Pottery Barn Kids
    An oldie but a goodie. The dusty pink is hard to find in rugs — they’re usually baby pink or much, much brighter.

Everything is coming together and I’m feeling good about it — except for the windows. Am I stealing curtains from another room? Leaving those and adding yet another set of pink curtains to my house? (Not that I would complain.) I’ve played around with lots of fabric patterns, going bold with scale and color, and I keep coming back to the subtle backdrop of plain pink. What do you think?

Follow along with the One Room Challenge participants!

• Boxwood Avenue • Coco & Jack • Design Manifest • Dwell with Dignity • The House That Lars Built • Little Green Notebook • The Makerista • Making it Lovely • Old Brand New • Old Home Love • The Painted House • Megan Pflug Designs • Pink Pagoda • Erica Reitman • Sacramento Street • Simply Grove • Jill Sorensen • Sugar & Cloth • Vintage Rug Shop • Waiting on Martha • Media Partner House Beautiful • TM by ORC

My One Room Challenge Posts

Follow along from the beginning!
• Week 1: Hello, Office • Week 2: Design and Layout • Week 3: It’s Curtains • Week 4: Putting it Together• Week 5: What Trim Color?

And check out my previous One Room Challenges!
• Spring ’16: Our Bedroom and Den • Fall ’16: Front and Back Entry, Stairs, and Hallways

p.s. Here’s a smoother animation for you.