Mockup Madness: Ike's New Room

Thanks again for indulging all my hemming and hawing about the office. I think I've fully vetted the possibilities and have a pretty good idea of what to do for Plan A and Plan B. I've also come to the scary realization that we need to get some doors on that room or it's not going to matter how pretty it looks -- it won't be functional for an office. So decor for "the office" is tabled for the time being until we solve that problem, and I'm moving on to one of the many other rooms that need attention before baby gets here: Ike's room.

If you don't recall, here's what his room in the old house looked like:

Now for this room I really wanted to give him something different, but I also want to reuse as many things as humanly possible. I have so much stuff to buy for this house that I need to make SOMETHING easy on myself (ha! as if). So, without further ado:

Hmmmm, yeah. Maybe not that different. Let's discuss the room itself. It's long and narrow and has zero architectural interest -- not even the pair of large windows the other room had. The one small window faces west, so it's dark during the day and then gets a burst of sun in the evening. There's no way a light color would work in here, so Sanders helped me pick Deep Secret, a kind of gray/navy that I think will look nice with the sisal carpet and also have some kid appeal (I foresee some hubble telescope posters in here someday soon... Ike is obsessed with space).

I don't love the white furniture, but I tried very hard to use what I already had, and Ike still sleeps in his crib... IT'S A MIRACLE. Like, he climbs in himself, but we have convinced him that climbing out is dangerous. It's kind of hilarious. Anyway, when we he outgrows it I'll get a cute antique twin bed and paint the white table set, or more likely just pass it on to #2.

So the only things here that need purchasing are the curtains, light fixture (hot air balloon fixture is going in baby's room), a colorful basket, and that leopard stool -- which is only $1400. Just kidding, suckers! I'm going to paint the old ottoman and add a cute cushion. Donezo.

I think the basics are here, but it's missing the wow factor. Does it need wackier pillows and bedding? Or maybe I have a big piece of art I forgot about... Or perhaps I should spend $400 on a roll of this wallpaper and frame a few panels:

But $400/roll?!... I'm thinking no.

Ok, enough of what I think. What do you think?

State of the Office Address

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!!!

What Color Should I Paint My New Shelves?

So I really really need to whip the office into shape. Ben is planning to move his stuff 'n' things downstairs to make room for new baby plus old baby plus a guest room upstairs, but we're a ways away from making the former dining room into a functional office. Namely we desperately need to figure out how to fit doors to our double wide entry that opens into yet another door, but considering that conundrum is giving me a headache so instead I bought some pretty shelves. Behold.

Nice, yes? They're solid mahogany so the whippersnappers can't flip them over whilst riding tricycles through the house. Also, I like that they offer some closed storage down low. But that color is barfaroni and I must decide what color to paint them. To give you an idea of what's going on with the rest of that wall, I'm planning to add sconces to either side of the painting, toss in some pillows, and get rid of that monstrous coffee table.

I know. I know. I've been threatening to get rid of it for two months, but this time I really mean it. IT HAS TO GO THIS WEEKEND OR I MIGHT DIE.

Not that I am feeling melodramatic about the situation or anything. Anyway, if you recall my original plan was to install built in shelves around the sofa and paint them wall color, like so:

But then my buddy Christian suggested I get a pair of vintage brass etageres to avoid constructing a box around my already boxy sofa.

Yes, these would do nicely. The problem is that the office is very tiny and dimensions are tight -- I just couldn't find anything that would fit. Oh, and the other problem is budget -- the pair of shelves I purchased cost less than a third of one vintage etagere. Not having to double mortgage your home to buy one shelf = priceless.

So back to the matter at hand: what color should I paint the shelves that I already bought? I confess to having a certain yearning for a corally salmon color, like this:

But then I reminded myself that this is to be a man's office, and it's already bad enough that I have a giant painting of a girly lady hanging front and center. (Not that this guilt will stop me from buying some pillows in that delicious color...)

Also, these guys are a little hulking. I think it's best to choose something darkish that recedes into the wall... And although antique gold is still appealing, perhaps I ought just go with the wall color (Dark Harbor) in a gloss finish, as per the original plan? Karly thinks so.

Other choices might go a little something like this:

On the left is Black Iron (same color as our banister trim), and on the right is City Shadow (cool gray with maybe a hint of purple).

Ok guys. My job here is done. I'm tired of looking at paint colors, so it's your turn.

What should I do?

[Inspiration images via Maison 21's pinterest]