Office Reveal: Paris Gray Desk with Chicken Wire Doors

The big day has finally arrived! I'm ecstatic to show you Erica's finished office and hear what you think. I didn't take any BEFORE pictures of the office. Possibly because I knew it wasn't a true reflection of the home owner's taste or style. The room was fairly dark. The walls were painted a burnt orange color. There was traditional area rug, two very bold/fun side chairs, no window treatments, a tired golden oak desk, and a beautiful lighted glass hutch (with about 500 Precious Moments...give or take a few). We all have one of those catch'all spaces in our homes. Unfortunately for my client, this one was right off the dining/kitchen/living area.

The thing about decorating an entire room at once is it’s exhausting...mentally, physically, and financially. Whenever someone hires me, asks for my advice, or wants some decorating tips, I always try to be honest. Usually brutally honest. LOL! Erica was an absolute champ through it all. She was extremely flexible, listened to my suggestions, and was completely open-minded. I think it was a great experience for both of us. She ended up with a cozy office space that passes the 360 test and I gained a new friend in the process.

I wish, wish, wish I had a camera that would take decent indoor photos. I played with the aperture and exposure settings but to no avail. You'll just have to make do with the pics from my phone. Sorry!

As you can see from the photos, my client's desk was functional but not very pretty.

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The desk had a hutch the homeowners were storing in their attic.
My heart went pitter-patter when I saw it.
The first thought that came to my mind was...
 chicken wire!

Luckily my brother-n-law happens to be a great carpenter

and was willing to make the door frames for me.

Thanks, Dean Henry! 

I painted the desk with ASCP Paris Gray and the insets in Graphite.

Here's the final product: 

 

 

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So what'cha think?

I absolutely love the transformation!

The desk is beautiful!

The combination of sparking mercury glass,



natural wood tones,

and metal chicken wire

 against the distressed Paris Gray is just gorgeous.



It's another case of 'golden oak' gone from
DRAB to FAB!



And guess what?
Santa did come early this year
(or rather Mrs. Claus).
The spunky little blue and orange side chairs were replaced
with a gorgeous wicker chair from Pier 1 Imports.
It's the perfect size to cuddle up in with a good book.

Hey, did I ever mention the home owners have a tree business?

I thought it would be fun to bring a little piece of their livelihood into the room design
so I made a side table from an oak tree stump.

It was labor intensive project but totally worth the hours of sanding.

 

I think it turned out great!

The wood is BEAUTIFUL

and will be the perfect companion for the wicker reading chair.

Any time I'm helping someone with a room makeover,
I always do a "walk through" to see if I can find anything around the house to salvage.
You've seen the vintage nesting tables and chalkboard frame I refinished
now check out this wooden caddy we found. 

Apparently Erica's husband made it when he was young. 

IKR! What a great find!

It only took a little stain and some ASCP clear wax to create
a beautiful aged patina.

I love it!

The caddy will be perfect for holding the mail.

With all this heavy wood,

I chose to lighten up the room with white window dressings
and a pendant lamp for the reading corner.

We didn't have much luck finding a fixture in stores or online
so I decided to make one out of chicken wire.

What'cha think?

I love the look and ambiance of the exposed vintage bulb!

This office will serve a family of five children.

 I chose a metal tub chair for the desk
and these two metal stools to flank the sides of the desk.  

It'll be nice for the kids to be able to pull up a seat 

and gather around the computer in the evenings.

Just between you and I,

Santa might be bringing a chest of drawers to set under the burlap cork board
for a little extra storage.

(Shhhhh...he doesn't know it yet!)

The wall collage is the focal point of the entire room

and one of my favorite features.

I LOVE IT.



But more importantly my client loves it!
The kids are so proud of their artwork.

The collection looks awesome against the 'Agreeable Gray' wall paint.

 
Picture collages are always a 'work in progress' though.

I'm sure the family will be adding to it, tweaking it, and updating it.

Who knows...

maybe there will be a bigger set of antlers to hang next year!?!

As always, thanks for reading 13CCF. I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving!

~Wendy


*Some of our funnier conversations/bloopers over the past month:

~ If you keep your Precious Moments collection in this room it won’t matter how beautiful the desk is…that’s all anyone will ever see.  << Silence >>

~ The orange walls are staying.  << OK >>

~ Never throw a receipt away. Ever.  << I'm learning. >>

~ I called the painter.  << Yea! >>

~ *#^*&#*, the brackets were in the bottom of the box? Really? OMG, I threw it away. << *#$&%$@! >>

~ Thank GOODNESS it’s deer season! << I know, right! That's exactly what I was thinking. >>

~ I’m going to miss you.  << Me, too! >>

 

Office Makeover Part II

Welcome to Part II of a 13CCF office makeover! It's been a busy week trying to get everything crossed off my lengthy To Do list. Daylight Saving is fine, but what I really need is more HOURS in the day. LOL!

1. repaint chalkboard
2. scan, crop, and frame artwork
3. sew pillows
4. paint nesting tables
5. make light fixture
6. strip, sand, stain, and urethane footstool
7. make side table from tree stump
8. make wooden arrows
9. take pictures
10. post blog 

As you can see, the first thing I accomplished on my To Do list 

this week was to fix the chalkboard.

I repainted the masonite board with the same chalkboard paint

and then covered it with the frame's original glass front.

It looks awesome, will work with any dry erase or chalkboard marker,

 and should be a much cleaner than a typical chalkboard. 

SCORE!

 

Second on my To Do list was to finish scanning and framing all of the kids' artwork.

 We're still waiting for one frame on back order 

but other than that I think the collage wall is reading to go.

Check out these master pieces!

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I had one special sketch left to frame
and couldn't find anything I liked in the stores or online.

I went 'shopping' in my storage room and found a square checker board frame.

Within seconds I was able to transform it with a little silver Rub'n Buff.
I love how it turned out!
Don't you?

With the collage wall complete I turned my attention to the seating area. 

Last summer Erica had a family friend paint and 

reupholster a pair of captain's chairs in coordinating fabrics. 

She really loved the pop of color they added to the space and

asked to incorporate them into the design of the room...at least for now.
(Rumor has it Santa may be bringing a new tufted reading chair!?!
If St. Nick drops the ball there's always Cupid or the Easter Bunny. Right?) 

I decided to unify the chairs with some throw pillows.
I found some gray fabric and rope trim at Hobby Lobby that would do the trick.  

Keep in mind I'm NOT a seamstress

but I can sew an envelope pillow!

Granted there were few choice words involved
before I finally got the cording attached

but I think it was all worth it.

The pillows look GREAT with Erica's chairs.

I've come to realize sewing is a lot like labor.
You forget the pain and agony once you have your treasure.
LOL!

 

The next project on my To Do list involved a set of vintage nesting tables

I discovered in Erica's storage room.
They used to belong to her grandmother. 

How cool is that?

I gave them a base coat of gold spray paint, 

then added a contrasting antique gold to highlight the detailing.

 

What'cha think?

IKR!

DOUBLE SCORE!!

Love...Love...Love these tables!
I hope the family can enjoy them for years to come.

The last project I checked off my To Do list this week 

was to make a set of wooden arrows.

(Yeah, I saved the best for last!!!)

 To complete this project I had to buy a 10 foot and an 8 foot plank of wood.

 I set the miter saw to cut a 45 degree angle

 and cut a 12 inch piece of wood.

 I was too lazy to use a tape measure every time 

so I just used the previous block of wood to measure my next cut.

As you can see it took 4 feet of wood to create one arrow.

 Next I stained the boards with Dark Walnut

 and used mending plates to connect them.

Here's the final product:

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  I absolutely LOVE them.

It's amazing how something so simple can make such a big statement.

TRIPLE SCORE!!!

As always thanks for reading 13CCF. Stop back next week to see the desk makeover. You won't be disappointed. It's quite the transformation!!!

~Wendy