One of the things I'm most grateful for here at Holtwood House is a rather large, bright, front-facing home office. It's a great space with plenty of room for a large desk, project table and comfy chair. There is also a nook of sorts, once a deep-set closet in the former bedroom with the doors now removed. I really wanted to utilize this extra area thoughtfully and initially considered using it to organize all of my craft papers, cook books and the like. I imagined an all-white system of shelves, folders, bins and boxes akin to something built from The Container Store. However, a little Web inspiration derailed that plan a bit.
I've always admired homes with carefully curated shelves, displaying the spoils of a well traveled, well collected life. You can easily get a sense of the person living in the space, where they've been, what their hobbies are, what little trinkets might hold sentimental meaning to them. I have to remind myself now and again that I'm not living in the cubby-hole back house I once did and that I too can now indulge in a little display area of my own. I don't have to make frugal use of every inch of floor space any longer.
Flush with inspiration, I arrived at a new vision for the little nook in my office built around this:
The shelves and brackets looked familiar- though I knew I had not seen them in gold. A trip to IKEA for some wall
brackets and a coating or two of metallic spray paint would offer the same look. Because it's a high profile area that was small enough not to break the bank, I also decided to use a higher end wood for the shelves. A visit to my local lumber yard and I had four ready-to-install pieces of Mahogany.
I did have a couple of temporary solutions in place that I wanted to incorporate into the final design- like the white
EXPEDIT bookshelf, which would provide some structured storage and help break things up visually.
This divine image (squeal!) also served as the inspiration for magazine organization. Previously, I had been using the IKEA
Kassett cardboard files to tame my magazine obsession. But I thought this solution was the perfect way to bring my beloved collection back out of hiding. The all-white bindings still would provide the uncluttered visual I was originally after.
Here's what I started with. I had already begun down the road of organizing the glossies when I snapped this.
And here is where I am today with this project. It still needs a little styling, but I'm content with the idea that it will evolve organically, as I shelve items picked up from my adventures here and there. Some of the more colorful magazines are still kept under wraps. I had a few wooden
files lying around that I simply spray painted black to keep the color palette cohesive with what I have going on in other areas of the room.
It also still needs some lighting. The black Mouille inspired long-arm
sconce recently sold at West Elm would have been right up my alley. But sadly, I am too late to the party on that one. The direction I'm working towards today would add a single exposed Edison Bulb pendant dangling from above by a woven black cord.
I know this has been a long post, but how 'bout indulging this little daydreamer in one last before and after? Because I can't stop looking at it. It just feels so good to have this project accomplished.
Homes with carefully organized shelves do leave a great impression. You’re right that the kind of stuff (books, wineglass, trophies etc.) that are placed there reflects the kind of person who live in the house or office, for that matter. Anyway, your choices of shelves are fascinating. You could choose to include it in your style, and it would turn out just fine. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHubert Cole @ Pear Workplace Solutions