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Bower Power

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Office Inspiration

OUR 2nd HOUSE

Are you prepared for some unedited photos of one heckova ugly space?

It’s Friday the 13th…time to celebrate the scary.  I thought you’d never ask.  Welcome to the office.

Right now it is sporting weird fleshy pink walls.  Not to be confused with the previous salmon sushi walls of Will’s room or the serial killer walls of the guest bathroom.  The color falls somewhere between Irish American and Britney’s sequin see-through suit…you totally know what I mean.

And the trim…yup…the same color as ruddy doo.

Note that these photos were taken when we were in the middle of the office bathroom renovation – so the vanity and the random supplies are sitting in here…I wish I could say that it was cleaner now that the bathroom is done.  I wish.

There is actually quite a bit of light in this space – which is really nice – but totally swallowed by the dark paint.

The room has really tall ceilings (like the rest of the house) but there is only one dinky light bulb in the entire space.  You can imagine me in there trying to photo edit…it’s not pretty.

I can imagine that this wall (the one with the entrance door) would be great for some shelves.  I really need an office to have lots of storage.  And since Jeremy is no longer working from home…yup…that happened.  I cried.  He probably would cry if he were here.  Which he’s not.  He’s getting ready to sit in his two hour commute….back to the point…since this entire space is all mine and I need it for blogging, crafting, sewing, and the photography biz, I definitely need a spot for all my props, supplies and it’s gotta look cute.

This is the view I’ll probably be looking at whenever I’m working.  I love that there is so much wall space to work with.  And I hate having my back to the entrance door – so having my back to a wall is a must.

Oh and then there is this little door nook.  The door leads into the garage…and is constantly locked.  Jeremy suggest that we put even more storage over here (I have about three hundred baskets and bowls and blankets for photoshoots) so it would be nice to have additional space that is organized and easy to grab and go.

And here is what I am thinking for this space…

Of course, I want it to be bright and fun and inspirational…and girly.  I already have an old small yellow trellis rug from Pottery Barn and a teal wingback chair – so those are my jumping off points.  I also have the Pinterest Challenge watercolor artwork…so that really will help pull in more color.  The desk is actually an old Ikea desk that I plan on painting…scary.  And of course, the entire space including the ceiling, will need painting.  I’m thinking white and a light blue that has more teal in it’s blood than baby blue.  Oh and then there is the storage, curtains, fabric for the lumbar pillow and gallery wall for my favorite photoshoot pictures (all Ikea)… hopefully all that will help turn this beast into a beauty.

Do you have a home office?  Is it gender-specific or more neutral?  Do you have tons of storage or are you a purger and not need it? Any suggestions for how to make this sucker better?

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  1. I envy your nice big space for your supplies and your supplies alone (I share a small room with Hubby and we have got to pull it all out anyhow seeing as our 9 month old and 2 year old won’t be sharing a room as soon as weplanned (hoped, dreamed & prayed). Have fun reating your space!

  3. Booooo to Jeremy not working at home anymore, what’s up with that?! I seriously hope your “2 hour commute” comment was an exaggeration. I work over an hour from my house and it’s definitely not fun and it gets old reeeally quickly.

    As far as the room, LOVE the new mood board. The fabric for the curtains is so fun and girly and I think your DIY wall art will looks all kinds of awesome in there.

    Hope you guys have a great weekend and good luck adapting to Jeremy’s work situation, I’m sure it’ll be a challenge but you’ll get used to it sooner or later!

    Ann

  4. I HAD a home office, but I kindly gave it to my husband so he could have a “man cave”. I am now in the process of creating a small office area in my living room. Just something big enough to house the computer & bill paying supplies. If you are in the Chattanooga area & are bored anytime soon, feel free to stop by! I love reading your blog & seeing all your great ideas…keep ’em coming!

  5. 2 hour commute!!! Yikes poor Jeremy! I hope he can work from home again soon. I grew up in the ATL so I know how brutal the traffic can be.

  7. 2 things.

    1. Yes I have a home office, and unfortunately the space is sad 🙁 Light filled and brimming with potential, but I have yet to help that little diamond in the rough get any less…rough.
    2. Sad to hear that Jeremy isn’t working at home anymore! It seemed like that worked really well for you guys. I’m sure you’ll make this new situation work all the same, but sorry to hear that you’ve had to go through a tough change. Hopefully your soon-to-be new, beautiful office will lift your spirits 🙂

  8. Hey Katie,

    I always read your blog and have yet to comment, so here I am.

    I think once the fugly wall and trim color is gone, this room will take on a life of its own in a good way.

    I have a office, but I don’t use in part because of the color on the walls. Last year I painted the walls ” Heavenly Blue”. It’s a Martha Stewart color that I had color matched at Lowe’s.

    The color is fine early in the morning and at night, but any hour inbetween those times leaves the walls looking as though a bunch of Smurfs threw up on them. BAH! I know paint colors change during the day and usually I’m fine with that, but how a color can go from calming to flat out obnoxious is beyond me. So I’m back to the proverbial drawing board and have paint swatches stuck all over the walls, again.

    The rest of the issues with the room are minor, so it’s really the color that keeps me out. Anyway, I also purge stuff so even when my office is considered usable space by my standards, it usually isn’t filled to the rim with stuff. Clutter drives me nuts, so clean office space is just as important as having the rest of the house clutter free.

  9. I can totally envision the space already and I love it. I’m also beginning to think you must have a seret room with all these things you just have on hand that we’ve never seen before. I mean, I’m sure we have seen them before , but I think it’s amazing that you’ve got a lot of things already owned or thrifted or goodwilled that you can work with. Awesome sauce!

  10. Love the inspiration for your office, but the thing that actually caught my eye was the white elephant lamp base on the shelf in the cubby area. Where did you find it at?? I LOVE it!! 🙂

  11. Love the mood board! Right now my office is so full of junk I can’t even use it. As in, I can’t even walk in the door because every square inch of the floor is covered with projects/junk/books/old clothes/other stuff I have no idea where it came from. At least you can use yours!

  13. I love it!! The color scheme is perfect and I love the fabric!

    I’m sorry Jeremy isn’t working at home anymore. I’m sure that is hard for you 🙁
    Lots of love!

  15. I wish it was an exaggeration. It is only 1.5 hours in the morning…2 on the way home…so Will and I don’t get to see him till at least 7pm. It stinks more for Will than me because that means he only gets 2 hours tops with Jeremy present every weekday. I’m trying not to complain though – because I know that it could be a lot worse 🙂
    xo – kb

  16. Katie we just finished “redoing” our home office/guess room this week! I have yet to post it on my blog but can’t wait to share it. I did an accent wall (chevron style) to bring color and we even made our own desk inspired by Sherry and John’s . We made sure to create lots of storage on our desk. Our main goal was to take advantage of our space and have tons of light and some some pops of color. It was a challenge to make it not too girly or not too masculine but we found our balance. I guess this doesn’t help without a picture but I’ll make sure to send them to you next week when I post it. I had to much fun doing the whole thing, I hope you have fun redoing yours too 🙂

  17. Love the space and 2nd the idea for your prop storage closet. I too would prefer my home office desk to face the entrance way. while I love the look of a floating desk in the room, I just can find a usable tech solution to the cords for my laptop, printer, etc. Ugh (for me anyway!)

  18. I’ve always felt that the key to my office/DIY space is pretty storage bins. The kind that you don’t mind being exposed because you have to constantly rummage through them! Other than that it’s all about having a space that inspires you to work 🙂

  19. Katie, you should totally think about painting your office sherwin williams sea salt. It’s such a great really light blue with hints of green that literally goes with any decor. I have it in my living room and can easily transform it from winter (with tans, greys, and white) to spring with really bright bold colors (almost exactly like your mood board) to summer (deep reds and navy blues). It even picks up my sometimes feminine decor of pinks, white and tans. The color transforms with each decor change and seems to pick up the colors around it and compliment them in a great way (maybe like that makeup which is supposed to read your skin type and transform to that color?) You can search pinterest to see rooms already painted this color. I tried so many shades of blue, just to be really disappointed with the final result-it usually looked like the most stereotypical boys nursery. I even almost changed my mind when I saw the paint chip which looks like a really really really light shade of grey. But I swear once it’s on your walls you will LOVE it! Good luck!

  21. Can’t wait to see what you do in here! And so sorry about Jeremy not working from home now- if it were me I’d cry too!

  22. Love the mood board and that you get to use that lovely octopus painting! There’s definitely a lot of whites going on so the pops of color (teal, yellow, etc.) will look great. How about painting one of the walls (maybe the one where your back is to the wall) a bright, happy color? Then you could also use a portion of it for photographs, if you wanted to. Also, that doodoo paneling is gonna go, right? Yikes. 🙂

  23. So so SO sorry about Jeremy’s new work situation. I know there are much worse things, but that is still going to be a huge adjustment for all of you. Does he have a new job or just a change to his existing job? Whatever the case, I will be praying for all of you as you adjust!

    I can’t wait to see the office all freshened up and girly 🙂 Hope it goes well.

  24. While it is sad that your hubby doesn’t work from home anymore, it is SUPER exciting that YOU get your own office space now… I actually was wondering where you do all your blogging work from. I am also just a little jealous that you get to have an entire office space for work/crafting/etc! Love the mood board 🙂

  25. These are the curtains I picked out for my new office. They aren’t as cute in this picture as they are in person. I love them!! They have all my favorite colors in the print. I’m no where near done with my office though!

    http://www.lowes.com/pd_328753-36428-1606461_4294788358+4294817628+4294798676_109_?productId=3477339&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Floral_4294788358%2B4294817628%2B4294798676_109_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=Floral|Panel

  26. I’m currently trying to work on my office. It’s got hard wood floors, tan walls, and white trim. It’s small, angled ceilings, and one window. But it works for me. I want to add built in shelves. I just bought a zebra rug and am looking for a teal chair (or something that could turn into teal) and some fun curtains and accessories. Love the potential in your room! What if you sealed up the door to the garage and put a huge shelf system there?

  27. I’m actually working on my office right now. Hopefully my little space will be cleaned up and organized by the end of this weekend. I don’t have a whole room, but rather a small landing on the 2nd floor that houses my desk and a bookshelf. For my purposes, that should be enough. Of course, I have a separate sewing room that needs to be worked on . . . that’s much larger and will be a bit more fun. 🙂 In the meantime, the only thing I’ve accomplished so far in the space is the corkboard that will sit over my desk . . . I had a fun time zazzing it up the other day and finally got around to posting about it this afternoon: http://www.skooksplayground.com/2012/04/cork-board-refresher.html

  28. I love the potential home offices hold! I’m curious to know if you plan on keeping all the moulding on the lower parts of the walls of if you’re going to be removing it?

    I finished my office a couple years ago: http://accordingtoboyle.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/the-office/

    And my husband’s was done for his birthday last year:
    http://accordingtoboyle.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/jerrys-man-cave/

    You’ve actually already checked out mine and commented! 🙂 My office is quite girly and Jerry’s is on the borderline of manly. (There is a print of dinosaurs smashing a cityscape). I’ve run into a problem in mine now since I wasn’t very crafty when I redid my office. I need more storage for non-book items. The books may need to come off of my Expedit so I can store random housewares and crafty bits.

    Good luck on your transformation and be strong – you can totally get on a ladder and paint that ceiling like the amazing semi-pro painter you are! (Professional painters get paid). 😉

    Have a wonderful weekend!

    Emily

  29. That’s a great room! I can’t wait to see what you do with it! We have an office that we are sharing now but it hasn’t been decorated. It has plywood floors and nasty melamine furniture. We do plan on renovating an office space on the other side of the house to share. I think the decor will probably end up being on the neutral side.

  30. I painted a kitchen/family room area this really beautiful warm yellow once. Until night and the lights went on- then it became a screaming neon yellow. I couldn’t beleive how much it changed. And it was a lot of repainting to do! So now I get the small paint samples and paint big patches and wait at least 48 hours before picking my color. Then I paint one wall and wait before proceeding. I’m not going through that again! 🙂

  31. I LOVE your plan!!

    my craft / scrapbooking room is shared space with the guest room. Colors are based off of bedding we already had – a navy and red quilt. I have a lot of family photos in there. And some of my older daughters artwork. I’m hoping to keep the mess cleaned up and add a wing chair both for guests and as a quiet reading chair for me.

  32. Love your mood board and the fun fabric for the drapes. We just finished our home office and Ikea was our source for storage… the Expedit, along with a Craigslist dresser I got for a steal. It’s a little on the “girly” side, but hubby doesn’t seem to mind. Our dining room still holds all the stuff I didn’t want to bring back into the space… 🙂
    You can check out the new space here:
    http://www.sweetavakate.blogspot.com/2012/03/home-office-reveal.html
    Have a great weekend!

  33. Oh no! That sucks that Jeremy can’t work from home anymore. Is it a temporary thing, or forever?

  34. My goodness…what kind of crack was the previous owner smoking when he/she chose the colors in your house. I know you’ve commented on it before but geez, it’s just awful! It’s great that you saw beyond the paint when you first looked at the house. You’re making wonderful transformations, room by room. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with this space too! BTW–have you seen this? I thought of you immediately:)
    http://upadowna.com/2011/10/05/rules-bacon

  35. looks good! i used a great blue/gray with green undertones for some rooms in my house: ben moore’s quiet moments. it’s such a good light blue without being a baby blue.

    also, i think i have the same vacuum as you. an old school electrolux?

  36. What color are you painting the old Ikea desk? And why?! From looking at your mood board, the desk looks like it would fit in perfect if it was kept white. I trust that you know what you are doing though! You definitely have more of a creative eye than I do! 🙂

  37. oh no katie i know EXACTLY how it is… my hubby leaves at 6:15am to venture into NYC (yep we in the Dirty Jerz) and doesn’t come home until 7:30/8pm so he only gets 30 minutes to an hour tops with our daughter, Lucia. it sucks. hang in there sweets because you are right – it could be a lot worse!!
    the office mood board is lovely. the blue reminds me of the Gentile Tide S&J used in their old house (i think in their bedroom??). i love that chair and the pops of red are delicious! can’t wait to see this space all finished 🙂 haha no pressure
    love!!

  38. I’m a photographer myself who just moved to a new house and got to set up a home office… Since you’ll be using the room for photo editing, you might want to really think through painting the walls a color because of the color cast you’ll get on your monitor… as pretty as that blue is, it could impact your editing (skin tones in particular). I did a lot of research into this when I was planning out my office, and wound up going with bright white… a lot of photogs go with grey, and there are plenty of pretty but neutral greys that would work. I love color — I have deep greens, turquoise, pale coral, pinks, and robin’s egg blue in other rooms of the house — but am glad I went with the white in my my photo editing space. I’m adding in color with accessories, art, and a huge bulletin board full of — what else — photos. Just my 2 cents. : )

  39. I totally back up Sea Salt. I painted my bathroom this color and it is a gorgeous color on the walls in all stages of daylight! I am in love with your drawing, those colors in it will look amazing with all kinds of colorful decor. I can’t wait to see you whip this room into shape!

  40. Katie! I love your mood board! I’m so excited to see the whole thing come together. It looks like its going to be a really cute girly clean space to work in! Those curtains are precious, gotta love all the ikea stuff too! I wish one was closer to my house. I’m with ya girl can’t wait to see the next step!

  41. Oh that room is going to be breathtaking with some new colors. Those giant windows and the ceiling beams…. that would inspire me! The desk will look new with some fresh paint and maybe new hardware too. I think wicker/rattan baskets will offer pretty storage whatever you decide to do…

    We have two home offices. DH’s is slate blue (Benjamin Moore’s Tranquility) with old tan carpeting (ick – it’s gotta go), and mine is green (BM’s Soft Fern) with light hardwoods. DH has dark brown Hemnes furniture from IKEA and mine is a mishmash of stuff from World Market, Pier 1 and vintagey hand me downs. I guess mine is more feminine but not overly so. We don’t need a ton of work-related physical storage, but office supplies and computing devices live on shelving units.

  42. I love the mood board and cant wait to see the transformation!!
    I have a sewing room…which doubles as a junk room and a spare room! Its small and has really fugly builtins without doors. I have to have a portacot set up all the time as I babysit 2-3 days a week. We rent so I cant do much with the space and it also holds stuff that is meant to be in the shed but the one in this house only just fits the lawnmower!! So I have a cupboard full plus plastic tubs full of stuff I never use but need to be stored safely.Drives me crazy!! I pin ideas for my dream room here…http://pinterest.com/jakkim/sewing-room-inspiration/

  43. iIdont think i have ever commented on your site before but I just have to say I love the mood board!! WOW!! Also really like the jellyfish pic. Where is that from?

  45. I have that same desk, and I’m so over it – I’d love to see how painting it works.

  47. I honestly kinda like the wood trim. I think you can totally “girly” the room up without touching that. It will add an edge. Maybe something is lost in the pictures (like it’s uglier in person?), but I think you can work with it. Maybe just try leaving it first, then changing later if you totally hate it? Hey, it will give you more to blog about, right?

    Here’s my “office.” http://www.thebookofjimmy.com/?p=346. I converted my closet into my office space. That’s little apartment living for you.

  48. I have that same white Ikea shelving unit in my office and I LOVE it. The shelves are super deep, so I put some storage baskets in a few for stuff that I don’t need everyone to see displayed. And the walls are like the color of that chair, just a little darker. Great color!

  51. You’ve been at this much longer than I have so I am assuming you have more props than I do. My advice… go all tall to the ceiling as you can with open shelving to hold things that are nice to view, and have closed cabinets on the bottom for all the stacks of baskets, bowls, stools, etc that can fit in there so you can pile it in. Also don’t forget about the ability to hang awkward sized items possibly inside a cabinet or closet. My office is smaller than yours and I had a very hard time finding the right storage because honestly I didnt want to look at a stack of baskets. My other big problem was room to store heavy lighting equipment. I decided to stack in closed off corner of the closet with hanging space above it. That’s the best I could do because of the weight. I chose white, teal, and black because I need my office to be very happy for me to enjoy. The rest of the house is compromise but my office is *my* office, craft space, storage space etc. Good luck and have fun with the decorating!! I’m sure whatever you decide will be gorgeous. 🙂

  52. Great space with good light. In an office, I think you cannot ever have enough storage. And yes it should be PRETTY!

    I like things behind closed doors ( I’m anti-clutter) but hubby likes to have his stuff readily available on his desk/work area…so just knowing your own style is a good first step.

    He will never be as tidy as I am, LOL, and I have to respect that.
    I went to his office once and I broke out in hives. Then I helped him sort stuff a bit and showed him how to keep his files/calendar/etc in a way that works for him. So far so good.

    I think getting rid of that door that’s always locked is fab.
    That area could be a kid nook, too, if you wanted to work while home with the kidlets.

    We rebuilt a cinder block wall/fence this weekend. Stuccoing next. Oh, the joy…more fun to paint and decorate that’s for sure!

  54. Katie, I am so sorry that Jeremy now has to schlep down to the Equifax office. I cannot imagine spending nearly 4 hours a day in Atlanta traffic. And I cannot imagine how it changes life at home for you and Will. I was driving home on Friday and thought I saw him in a blue SUV. I did a double take but thought it couldn’t be Jeremy since he works from home. So I guess it could have been him.

  56. I’m not Katie, but the jellyfish pic is her own creation. Amazing right? She had a post about it a little while ago, made it with some watercolor pencils.

  57. I just did an office makeover (just haven’t gotten around to the “afters” yet on my blog, oops)! We don’t have nearly as much space as your room but if I had, I loved the idea of a desk that faces the middle of the room! Make sure to keep in mind where the sun is at and where your computer screen is at, the glare is brutal on a screen especially if you’re doing something like photo editing.

  59. Not him – he’s not driving an SUV…we sold our truck and got a more gas efficient car. Gotta save that gas money!
    xo – kb

  63. haha…Oh Jimmy. Oh oh Jimmy. If only it were just stained wood I could possibly dig it too…but it’s not wood…it’s painted brown trim. Not cute. Trust me on this one – and if you can’t – trust the boy…even Jeremy hates it 🙂
    xo – kb
    p.s. very cool closet conversion!

  65. Poor Jeremy! I know it hates giving up all that time with you guys. Good for him though for making that sacrifice for his family. Keeping you guys in my prayers for this one!

    On the flip side, I LOVE the mood board for the office. I am so excited that you are using the jellyfish painting since I think it is the coolest thing ever. Can’t wait to see the updates on this room!

  66. Haha I wish I was a purger! My office is currently no mans land, but unfortunately we walk through it every day. Blah. I just need to get to cleaning and it will be much better!

  67. The board you did for this room is wonderful! Love the curtains and picture especially 🙂

    But the thing that caught me the most is that Jeremy no longer works from home… I am so sorry 🙁 A two hour commute?!?! I hope that he is able to get back home again…sooner rather than later.

  68. As I was browsing Craigslist I came across the chair you wanted for only $40! I find it ironic that I can find the chair you’re looking for, but not the one I’m after. Hope you get as good a deal as I found. Happy hunting!

  69. I have a colour suggestion for you… I painted my hallway in a light teal-blue-gray called Contemplation by Behr. I love it!

  71. I’m so jealous that you have this beautiful space to call your own! It’s gonna be fantastic once you get done with it. I love the mood board but … I keep trying to read what looks like script on the curtains … and it kinda looks a little shower curtain-y … but I know you’ll make it all work! So glad you’re using the jellyfish pic in there!

  72. This looks awesome – I love how you’ve chosen pieces to spark your imagination and creativity. You should think about adding a little “zone” for Will to get his creative-think on too! (Not sure if he ever joins you in there.)

    I had a suggestion you might like to consider…I have a really similar desk from Ikea which came with their “white foil finish” and while the surface was hard and seemed fairly durable, if I ever got pen or sharpie marker on it and didn’t immediately notice it – it left a stain. So, I decided to cover the desk surace with wallpaper and then had a piece of bevelled glass cut to the surface top of my desk. Now it has an extra little element of “surprise” and the glass seals in and protects all the pretty wallpaper goodness.

    Since you plan to paint your desk, it might reduce the desk’s “wipeability” but with glass you’d be good to go! I’m even thinking about swapping out the wallpaper from under the glass and neaty collaging it with photots. A cute idea for a photog like youself.

    Anyways, it will be a fantasic space and I can’t wait to hear more about the progress!

    <3

  73. Something magical happened recently where I can see pictures now on your site! Did you do something different? I used to read YHL at work (uh, still do, multiple times a day…), come over to bowerpower and try to imagineer what I thought you were talking about, sniffle a little in sadness, and resign myself to saving reading bower power for when I got home computer. No more! So exciting! What gives?

  76. Maybe…either way, so glad that I can read it everywhere now! The bower break really brightens my day!

  79. Hi!! I love how it turned out!!! IT IS AWESOME!!! I just discovered your blog and want to be your BFF! lol. I have been reading backwards so I just got to page 50… lol that sounds stalkerish… lol I just got to wedding week and the story of Jeremy proposing.. Oh my word, I was crying at work.. lol embarassing? I was like just have something in my eye.. lol. Anywho. Just wanted to tell you how amazing your little family and blog are!!!

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