I’d had enough. After all, this was where I spent the majority of my life’s days, writing, thinking, creating, practicing, recording. My office/writing room was nothing short of, well…blah. It was an inspirational vacuum: there was no pep, no pop, no imaginative petrol. It was time to make a change, so I gutted the place, which, by the way, felt oh, so good! Below are the “before and afters” of my new brilliant room, along with tips, links, and musings as to my design process. Blah, no more!
Before: Blah. After: Brilliant!
Room View 1
This room surrounds me with inspiration; from the wall color (totally out of my comfort zone!), my guitars (great hanging wall art), a retro cassette tape vinyl sticker (so fun! Hu2 Design), to the original painting of me rock’n out, artfully painted by my wonderfully talented mother-in-law, Roseann Munger (mungerart.com).
Room View 2
A well organized gallery wall and work space allows creative energy to flow. If you can believe it, because of the configuration of my old desk, I hadn’t opened this window once in five years! Now, with my computer situated properly, the sunlight pours in, while I peer out as I work to the beautiful palm trees dancing with the ocean breeze. Ahhh…nice.
Room View 3
My writing room is also our guest room, so I created a private little nook, placing this vintage desk and refurbished stool for visitors to use with a view of the backyard garden.
Room design inspriation
I created a color palette (referencing helpful sites like colorcombos.com), along with inspirational photos, artwork, fabrics, and accessories to help pull it all together into a cohesive design coloration plan. TIP: First find the fabrics you wish to use and then create your color palette from swatches. It was very difficult to do it the other way around.
Ottoman Before & After
I found this junker otto on DiggersList but saw its potential. Voila! (Green area rug: Crate ‘n Barrel, Flex sleeper sofa & green tree/blue textured pillows: CB2). TIP: when recovering/reupholstering an ottoman, be sure to add new and/or additional padding for a more tailored finish.
Stool Before & After
This groovy stool was another find on DiggersList that had refurbish written all over it. Probably the simplest transformation you can DIY!
Clockwise: re-shaded hand-made lamp (base: Tiki Torch Designs, shade Anthropologie); pink flowered buttons to “girlie-up” this masculine plaid fabric; cool circular mouse pad to tie in room colors (In His Name); fabulously whimsical and natural linen mermaid cushion cover to add personality (Art That Moves). TIP: pulling together old and new elements (store bought, DiggersList finds, family heirlooms, or repurposed items) is a great way to create a variety in feel, which adds that something special and personalizes your new space.
All photography by Skaie Knox, HomeJelly
