One Room Challenge - Week Five

Welcome to Week Five of the One Room Challenge where I have six weeks to transform my traditional red library into a glamorous and girly home office for myself. Click here to catch up on weeks one through four. Next week will be the reveal!

I had a very productive week. My gorgeous gold zebra rug arrived from Wayfair and it is stunning. I never realized that there are gold zebras. Who knew? They probably hang with the unicorns.

Wayfair Gold Natural Zebra Cowhide Rug

And I received this gold striped magazine bin from Jayes Studio, a great place for my shelter magazines.

Cream and Gold Striped Magazine Bin

I received this beautiful limited edition print from Minted called "Looking Up" and it is very dramatic. It takes up most of the wall it is hung on and looks fantastic.

Looking Up

Also framed and hung are these two botanical peony photographs from The Pink Pagoda. They are absolutely gorgeous. I hung them above my desk so that I can look at them all the time.

Pink Peony on Black

Pink Peony on Black II

I ordered pink hanging files for my built in file cabinets and organized all my files - what a great little project.

And I've been busy styling my desk and bookshelves, getting ready for my photo shoot in a few days. Inspired by Kevin Sharkey's office, I have been playing around with arranging the books by color.

Kevin Sharkey's bookcase

And this little angel is going to be very happy when I finish the room and can get back to devoting my every waking moment to her.

Margot has mixed feelings about the One Room Challenge

Now let's go check out what progress everybody else has made. Next week are the reveals!

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

  

One Room Challenge - Week Four

Welcome to Week Four of The One Room Challenge. I am in the process of transforming my traditional red library into a glamorous and feminine space for myself for blogging and interior design. To catch up on weeks one, two, and three, click on the gold ORC button in my sidebar.

My goal this week was to decide on a desk. After getting rid of my massive mahogany desk, I fell in love with how huge my office feels. I decided I wanted a gold leaf and glass desk that was not too large. All I really need in there is a computer desk for my iMac. This Worlds Away Brentwood Desk above is just the look I love but too large and about $1,700.

I already had sitting in my office this Ikea Vittsjo Laptop Desk. I used it previously for my printer and my inbox. I have been using it temporarily as my desk while I hunted for a new desk.

I suddenly realized three things.

*First, it is very much the same style as the Worlds Away Brentwood Desk.
*Second, it is the size I was looking for.
*Third, I already owned it, so it was free. The original cost was $39.99.

I decided to gold leaf it myself. What was the worst that could happen?

I first thought about gold spray paint, but decided against it. The gold is not as rich as I would like and the finish ends up too even - I want it to look like gold leaf.

I then thought about real gold leaf. Having used real gold leaf sheets on a Martha Stewart project a while back, I decided with all these thin metal surfaces it would be a real pain.

So I turned to liquid gold leaf. I have used this stuff a bunch before and it is wonderful. I headed to Michael's and bought two bottles of Plaid Liquid Leaf in Classic Gold and two thin sponge brushes. The thin size sponge brush is important so it fits into that little bottle.

Coat number one took me 30 minutes. I waited 1 hour for it to dry - it dries so fast - and put on coat number two - another 30 minutes. I still need to put on an acrylic sealer to prevent tarnishing.

The cost was about $20.00 and it looks fantastic! Here it is drying in my laundry room.

Here are some darling gold accessories I found to style the desk.

Jonathan Adler Gold Carnaby Stacking Dish

Giraffe Ring Holder - from my collection - no longer available from Anthropologie - I will use it for paper clips

Kate Spade Gold Dot Cloverdale Vase - from my collection - no longer available - for fresh flowers on my desk

Kate Spade Light Up the Room Candle

Kate Spade Bow Paper Clips

Kate Spade Patterned Erasers

Kade Spade 2015 Agenda

I guess you are getting the idea that I have gone wild over gold for my desk.

Now let's go see what the rest of the gang has been up to this week -

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

  

One Room Challenge - Week Two

Katie Armour inspiration office

Welcome to Week Two of the One Room Challenge. If you missed the launch last week, you can find it here. I have also added a gold ORC button to my sidebar so you can refer back anytime you wish.

I made very good progress this past week. Salvation Army came and took all of the furniture and my small claustrophobic office now feels huge. I went to Benjamin Moore and selected a group of lavender paint swatches.

I wanted a lavender toward the blue side and I narrowed it down to these.

English Hyacinth - 1417

Lavender Ice - 2069-60

Iced Lavender - 1410

Lavender Mist - 2070 -60

One tip I always use when deciding on a paint color is to go to Pinterest or Google and search for rooms painted in these colors. It gives me the big picture. I ultimately decided that English Hyacinth will read blue as opposed to lavender and eliminated it. The room is a bit dark and I decided that Lavender Ice was not bright enough. I found Iced Lavender a bit too gray.

The verdict - Lavender Mist was just right. Enough blue to look great with blue and white Chinese porcelain, enough gray to be sophisticated, and bright enough to add the bright and airy look I so want after having red all these years.

After two coats by my painter Brad, I was in ecstasy. The room is gorgeous. I could leave it empty and just look at the walls every day. Not really, but close. You don't get to see my office just yet, but here is a room from House Beautiful painted in Lavender Mist.

House Beautiful - Lavender Mist

I used BM Aura in Lavender Mist in matte finish on the walls and my go-to BM Decorators White in semi-gloss for the bookcases and trim.

Decorators White CC-20

My To Do List is quite manageable. The room is small and has an entire wall of built in bookcases, so  here is all I need to do -

1. Select a rug, art, a desk, and a chair
2. Style the bookcases
3. Decide on a window treatment
4. Accessorize

For inspiration, I have been pinning some rooms.

I am so in love with how big the office feels after getting rid of my large desk and chair, I am leaning towards a petite desk and chair.

Domaine Home

I love the idea of a ghost chair because it will take up no visual space.

Annsley McAleer

I want my desk accessories to be girly and pretty and feminine.

Lonny - Elizabeth Blitzer

I think I want my desk facing the window. I know this is not feng shui, but I think you will see that in this room this placement makes the most sense.

K.D. Designz

My husband has tons of books that I agreed (I had no choice) to retain in there, so I need them to look good.

Domaine Home

I'd like my office to be very glamorous, with lots of gold and an animal print somewhere.

Pink Peonies by Rach Parcell

Pink Peonies by Rach Parcell

Now I'll start tackling my list of things to accomplish and I'll report back next Wednesday. Let's go see what everyone else has been up to.

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

April Fools' Day Aftermath

Paper mache deer head

Yesterday was an odd day. For those of you who did not grow up on this planet, it was April Fools' Day, where the tradition is hoaxes and practical jokes. This year I decided to combine April Fools' Day with social commentary on the awful trend of using dead animals in interior design. Most of you got it, a few did not.

Here is a favorite comment -

"Thanks for a great April Fool's joke used to bring attention to an important topic. This isn't, IMO, a "design" or "taste" issue - it's a humanity issue. Animals killed purely for sport, sewn together at their hind quarters and bedazzled with fabric is just horrifying. There is no redeeming factor here - these aren't animals killed for food humanely by people who used animals as food; these were animals killed by people who thought it was funny to shoot and kill and then stuff them and ship them home and laugh about them while they hung on their walls. Sorry to get so worked up, but thanks CC - I adore you for sticking up for pink, Palm Beach Chic, and animal welfare."

One follower had a meltdown -

"This is the most surprising and horrific post I've ever seen related to fashion design. You are help creating a demand for animals that will decimate populations already endangered and also employ suffering and an untimely death for "decorations." What's worse is that you dress the bodies up in costume as some sort of humorous attempt at clever decor -- when you know full well that these majestic animals were in fact, killed for this purpose. It's not only creepy, but immoral. These animals are a part of our natural world; They are important part of the web of life and stand as symbols of majesty and beauty -- in their own living world. Wild animals such as you portray are currently suffering and endangered by the mass slaughter by poachers for their coats, plumage and ivory, For shame that you would project such a oblivious attitude towards these animals all for the sake of superficial show. I hope that you will revise your thinking -- borrow from nature, yes -- but do not kill the precious few we have left! Manmade textiles and materials are a much better choice than Dead Animals. Your cynicism is so hard to take. There is nothing Chic about this. Please write an apology to your readers and make a donation to the World Wildlife Fund to actively support the preservation of these animals.

I hope I don't have to release myself from your blog because I've enjoyed it -- until now."

After emailing her and explaining that I was trying to shine a light on this horrible trend, she got even more livid that she had been duped -

"You know, it's really a stupid joke Beth because it's not funny and because clearly so many of your readers also believed it to be true. I wouldn't do a piece on jewelry from Holocaust victims' fillings for April Fools -- this is in the same vein of horrendously bad taste and poor judgment on your part as Dead Animals. That you could take up my time for a post and "fool" a busy educated journalist and mother shows an incredible lack of judgment on your part, it's beyond the pale. I subscribe only for design, not tasteless jokes at my expense.

I'm unsubscribing."

Yikes!!!!! She sounds like lots of fun.

Update - a great email I received just now -

"I am sorry the other person did not get it and chose to make a horrifying Holocaust reference; she needs to push a faux bamboo gilded bar cart over to her sofa, pour herself a frosty cocktail, lie down on a Scalamandre pillow, don a Lilly P eye mask, open an enameled pill box, remove a Xanax, swallow it, and get over it. "

Well, back to interior design and Chinoiserie. This week I am focusing on a DIY version of the juju shown below from the apartment of Lonny editor Michelle Adams since I can't find it anywhere. There are lots of DIY tutorials.

I will also be working on styling my bookshelves for my home office makeover. I have a Pinterest board on bookshelf styling here.

I am awaiting one more piece of art for the gallery wall for my office and I will begin the framing. I have a Pinterest board on gallery walls including some with Chinoiserie and some with pink walls for inspiration here since many gallery walls are more modern or monochromatic than mine will be.

My Gallery Walls

These are the pieces I have so far for my planned gallery wall in my home office -
A vintage Vera scarf from eBay - arrived.
A nude sketch from Furbish - arrived.
An abstract by artist Kerry Steele
A 24K gold and pink flamingo from Etsy - arrived.

I have decided to play around with a DIY project on the framing. Here is the gallery wall below that I did for my kitchen One Room Challenge. I used a mix of unframed canvases, ready made frames, and custom frames and love the result. I smile every time I look at it and yes, I love pink!

Vintage Scarf Update

Yesterday, I posted that I wanted to do a gallery wall or at least a grouping of art in my home office, anchored by a framed vintage scarf. I found this wonderful vintage Vera scarf on eBay minutes after my post for under twenty dollars with shipping. I also ordered this 24K gold and pink flamingo piece and a nude sketch. Once I receive them all, I'll decide if I need any more pieces and on framing.

The Vera scarf has hot pink and acid green polka dot Peruvian pottery animals (llamas, men on horseback, bulls, and roosters) on a chrome yellow ground. Isn't it darling?

My daughter and I are going to run and play today including a stop at JCPenney to check out the Jonathan Adler Happy Chic collection. I have never been in a JCPenney, so this should be fun???  I'll report back on what we think about the collection in person.