Lisa’s House: the Office makeover

Ok. When we started the project Lisa’s office was not ideal. Her desk was small. She had no storage. It was just generally less than inspiring to be in. And coming from someone who has worked out of a home office for years, let me tell you that your work life improves if you like going into your office.

This office? Yeah, she didn’t like it at all:

It needed color/style/function and it also just needed to feel more important. So the first thing was getting a big pretty desk, a working table, that really commanded the space. Speaking of the space, it was a bit tricky because it was a pass through between the entry and the kitchen so we had to keep the desk on one side of the room, which meant that her back would be to the window. She didn’t want to be up against the window, facing it, so it was tricky but we figured it out. And there was a bathroom in the room that you can’t see, so there was a 3 door challenge.

First we painted the walls and brought in the new big rustic table that would be the desk:

Click on through to see the after …

So 3 months later and a lot of planning, shopping and nails in the wall we turned it into this:

A happy, yet sophisticated office space for this writer. That gallery wall slays me. I think that 70% of those paintings/prints were hers already so we just supplemented with pieces from the flea market. I LOVE how its floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Its so engaging and perfectly balances out the window.

Finding that guest chair took months. MONTHS. But we finally found this piece at an antique store and had it upholstered in this beautiful blue velvet.

Everything is vintage except for the rug. This was back when quilted/overdyed rugs were new to the market and we were so excited to find it. I think this rug looks so perfect in here – it works with the antiques because its traditional in a way, but way more edgy and young. Like Meryl Streep. Plus the color is perfect.

And there I am, in my 60’s flight attendant garb, so excited to show you the emergency exit video. Bethany wanted some lifestyle shots in her portfolio so she asked me to step in, but I’m not sure this really nails what anybody wants in their portfolio.

But with a lot of airline options out there, thanks for choosing this blog.

What do you think about the office?

Photos by:  and of course was the project manager on this job, so thank you, Landy.