I'm a jacked up nightmare of snot, plus Ike is home for the "holiday" today (seriously?! Jesus is already risen -- back to work, teachers!) so I'm not sure how witty and entertaining I can be this morning. However, I really wanted to say thank you for your comments regarding my shelving dilemma. I read each and every one, and thought very deep thoughts about them. Here's what I came up with:
#1. I think the tan leather couch would look better in here, but I did some measurements, ran some calculations, assessed the wind speed, etc, and Alexis the hot uncomfortable couch just won't work in our family room. It's way too low. So for now, tan couch stays where it is, and someday (hopefully maybe this year) when we replace it with something bigger and sexier, tan couch can move into here and I will pimp out Alexis on craigslist.
#2. I decided the painting wasn't working in here. I love it on dark colored backgrounds, but you were right when you said something horizontal would look better. But how about something round? Cuz that's what I came up with.
#3. For now I plan to go with gloss wall color for the shelves IF they stay on that wall... I'm still a bit undecided here. I think we may need to address the door situation first and see if the shelves intrude on the walkway. If the shelves don't go there, they can go on the opposite wall -- just as soon as I figure out what to do with the thousand pound limed oak hutch currently holding court on that wall.
#4. Exit coffee table, enter rug.
#5. I realized all I want in the world is for the office to look something like this room by Amy Howard (minus the wtf roses):
Mmmm mmmm delicious. I love the dark, low contrast wall paired with light sofa and peachy pink pillows/rug.
So here's my mockup, designed to head in that direction. I painted one shelf charcoal and the other wall color... I think wall color wins. I replaced the lady painting with a large round brass tray I already had (how to hang this behemoth?!), flanked by some small vintage lithos. Don't hate my peachy salmon pillows because they're beautiful. I already own the vintage malayer rug, but it's redder in real life and I fear it may overpower the space...
Plan B
I think this may be better -- more masculine. The rug is definitely lower contrast in real life, so I think it will blend with the floor rather than chopping up the tiny space. And you'll just have to imagine that both shelves are wall color. Don't worry -- my paint job will look better than that in real life. I HOPE.
Just to mix myself up a bit, I tried painting the shelves green since I like the teal/jade/coral color combo, a la Kelly Wearstler:
My version:
I got lazy with the photoshop... sorry. So, the green isn't quite right, but it doesn't really matter because the wall color isn't accurate either (it's darker and greener in real life). I don't care for this much color on this wall, but I think muted jade shelves might look nice on the opposing wall, flanking the window with a neutral desk setup in front.
So maybe that is Plan B.
And that's what's happening with the office -- largely lots of photoshopping, head scratching, and fondling of paint chips.
Speaking of paint, I got a zillion samples from Sanders this weekend. We painted an attic closet that Matt enclosed for us, and I also started the process of selecting a whole house color palette that includes every bedroom plus wallpaper. So you know... I'm not overwhelmed or busy or anything.
Don't worry -- you'll be hearing much much more about this business later.
T minus 17 weeks until my due date...
!!!SHITBALLS!!!