Planning our Home Office

We were lucky enough to be able to buy a house last October. After moving our 4 kids and 2 dogs in we had fun celbrating the holidays here and then on December 28th started a major kitchen renovation. Now that the kitchen is done and we’ve lived in the house for about 5 months now I figured it was time to start on our home office. Sean works from home and I do a lot of freelance work as a graphic and interior designer so that room gets used a lot. The previous owner took an attic space and had it converted so while it is an ok size at 8×12′ it only has a skylight, no windows and has a few interesting bump outs in it. The timing seemed so right for this project since I am not working from home after quitting my job and I’m hoping to not only kill it on the design front but also create a space that is not only functional but also inspiring and fun.

Before I get into what our home office looks like now, I’ll give you the plan and the inspiration first!

Not only does this room serve as our home office it also serves as a secondary guest room. While our house has 4 bedrooms, they are all taken with kids, so this room will be an extra space for guests. By adding this futon/couch we are hoping that we can use the sofa as a place to relax with our laptops but also have extra sleeping. I LOVE the blue velvet on this couch. It’s a way for me to bring in a dark moody color without painting all the walls dark (Although, if I have it my way, I’ll be able to paint them dark anyways!).

Because I’m a graphic designer, I have collected a lot of posters a long the way from different design conferences that I have been to so I’m hoping to use a ledge we have to create a gallery spot which can have art rotate in and out as I get new items. The more colorful the better and this is probably the area I’m most excited about.

Now, to give you a preview of the room.

Here it is in all its glory. It’s skinny and long with no windows, but still has great light because of the skylight. There is a bank of cabinets at one end which offers great storage, but I’m still debating how to treat this area since I’m not really fond of it. Some ideas are taking the upper doors off and using it as open storage (they are deeper than most so it might not look great, I could also paint them  or change out the doors so they are a little more modern. I think whatever I end up with will be a surprise not only to you all, but to me too!

A couple challenges of this space is that bump out on the wall, the recessed portion next to that bookshelf (don’t worry, that is already gone) and the access door to the attic. That ledge is what will be our gallery ledge, I’m also planning on putting a large piece of art in front of the access door. And, the recessed section will turn into a mini bookshelf.

The first thing we did when we moved into the house was install new floors so the place is bare and ready to go.

I think the most challenging but also coolest addition will be this accent wall which will be on the same wall as the door. I am plannign on doing a cool wall treatment with wood whcih will not only balance out the gallery wall but it will also add an awesome graphic element to the room. Perfect for a designer and her husband! I can’t wait although the thought of cutting precise angles makes me a little nervous!

I’m so excited I have a plan for this bland room and I can’t wait to get started! I’m hoping it will be one cool transformation that will inspire us everyday.