Office makeover
From a blank, empty room to a quaint office inspired by an old, British gentleman’s study.
Textiles
To execute on the studious vibe we wanted for the office, it was important to incorporate heavy textiles and textures. Cue the rich wood, leather, wool, brass, and velvet. I think if we went lighter on any of those elements, for instance, going with a light linen curtain instead of velvet, it would have detracted from the library-ish feel.
Let’s talk layout
Griffin and I both work from home so one challenge was creating a space we liked that we could both comfortably work in (the room would be a perfect size if only one of us needed it). The room is relatively small but we both wanted to have our own desks and we fell in love with these from Pottery Barn. They are, arguably, too large for the room but we’re not throwing any parties in here so who cares? The function of a desk with a large surface area was too alluring—it’s nice that it can hold multiple computer monitors, my coffee, some flowers, and my camera gear without it feeling super cluttered. We purchased two of them and pushed them together in the center of the room.
Before
After
(click to expand)
Details
Mom’s piano
It’s difficult to characterize the journey of getting my mother’s old, upright piano moved from North Carolina to Tennessee. It’s been sitting in a storage unit for 10 years so the first step was finding someone in my hometown (~300 miles away) who would be willing to clean it. With the power of social media, I was passed a man’s name who cleans and tunes a lot of the church pianos and would do it for pretty cheap—perks of a small town.
Then, I found someone from Nashville who was willing to drive all the way to my hometown in NC, pick it up out of storage, and deliver it to our house here which was pretty remarkable. It wasn’t my original plan to have the piano in the office but once I found out about the rich history (I had no idea it was made in 1906) and saw the beautiful patina, it made so much sense to have it in our study where we are celebrating antiques. I love having this kind of history in our house and this piano was such an escape for Mom for years—a sentimental, family heirloom for me.
Pigeon
We painted the room ourselves (walls, ceiling, trim) all one color: Pigeon by Farrow & Ball. F&B’s website describes it as a blue grey but it is most definitely a green color, which we knew going into it but I find it odd they describe it that way. It’s interesting to see how it photographs in different light (you can see quite a bit of variety in all of these photos) but I promise it’s green! Pigeon is a pretty commonly used color and I just knew it was what the office needed to add character to the space. If we had kept the walls white, I feel like the room wouldn’t have as much of a “bookish” vibe.
City of Oaks
I changed out the door handles with these from House of Antique Hardware. It sounds cringe to say out loud, but these are actually cabinet pulls but when I came across them, I couldn’t resist. For one, the brassy color looks so good against the green and two, the oak leaves are meant to pay a little homage to a city that feels like home to me: Raleigh, NC, the City of Oaks.
The rug
To me, the rug is the star of the show for the office. It was backordered for months and the room just felt flat without it. I tend to gravitate towards calm neutrals but the rich, bold colors underneath the wooden desks are what makes the room feel more like a Hogwarts Common Room, which we love! Plus, Griffin is extremely picky when it comes to rugs in the house so almost every one we have is wool.
Plans moving forward
The office has come such a long way but I don’t think I’m quite finished. I think this room is absolutely begging for some molding on the walls. I think I’d like to add some picture frame molding and potentially some crown molding to lean more into the classic, studious air we’ve created. Something else that’s always in the back in my head is adding a statement chandelier. The reason why I haven’t added one is because there is a huge window that takes up about 60% of the front wall and with a large window comes a lot of heat in the Spring and Summer. So for now, no chandelier.
Product links
paint | desks | chairs | rug | cabinet pulls | upholstered cube | curtains | desk pad | mirror