Guest Room Turned Office
Howdy! As you may have seen on my IG stories, my husband’s work announced that they have extended work from home until June 2021. I quickly panicked and did the math (nearly 10 months from when we found out!) and then a friend calmly said, why don’t you turn that upstairs guest room into an office for him? Why hadn’t I thought of that yet?! I miss my office, we both need our own space for calls, zooms, etc. so it just made sense. Plus that room has sat there, lonely, as a traditional guest room with a bed, nightstands, and a dresser but I think it’s seen maybe 10 visits in the eight years we’ve lived here. Talk about wasted space!
This room started off yellow like many rooms in our house when we moved in. I’m going to be brave and show you what it looked like in the early days. It’s ok, you can laugh, I am.
Because if you have a yellow room, you should definitely also have yellow lamps. Eventually it was painted white (shocker!) and got a pretty woven headboard and bed frame and rug but it still just kind of sat there.
So here is the plan: basically clear it out and starting fresh except for the rug and art. I love the bed so I’m moving it to our basement guest room where my parents stay when they visit. Luckily our basement has full size windows so it doesn’t feel basement-y! Then add a sofa with chaise for the kids to hang out, a comfy ottoman, and of course a desk and chair for Mr. R. The goal is to create an office slash hang out space - it will definitely be a multi-purpose spot - on a budget. As in, we have one and don’t want to go crazy on this room.
I did a bunch of measuring (the room is 12’6x14’) and figured out what would fit. We had a long “debate” about the desk - long story short, he picked out something super ugly, I vetoed it, and then the cycle would repeat. Why does he even try to pick out furniture when he lives with me!! In the end we agreed to one that we both like. I pulled together this quick design board and I’m pretty happy with it!
The vibe is light and bright and fresh with a classic blue and white palette accented by leather and wood. Works every time for me! It’s also a bit of a high/low mix - I love finding items that are good deals but don’t sacrifice on design and when paired with some higher end pieces, they blend right in! Here’s some detail on my picks for the space with links if you’re interested:
Sofa - it’s a blue gray fabric that’s actually sized perfectly for the walls it’s going on. I’ve always loved this style and I’m psyched to be using it. Plus it was on sale over labor day weekend!
Rug - as I mentioned we’re keeping our current rug but it’s old and I can’t find a photo of it so I included this one which, if I needed a new rug, is the one I’d use.
Ottoman - Mr. R originally wanted a leather sofa which was not in the budget so I gave him leather in the form of this ottoman. I love the stitching detail.
Desk - thank goodness I found this one. It’s so simple with one big drawer and a minimalist design (another ask) made from white oak.
Desk Chair - this was a total deal and I’m hoping it lives up to the great reviews it gets! I wanted a white chair so it wouldn’t take up a lot of space visually.
Desk Lamp - another major score. It’s a knock off of a MUCH more expensive version and I’m fine with that!
Sconces - the current sconces (these) are really cute but I’m kind of over the messy cord look. The new ones come with a cord cover for a more tailored look. If you don’t care about the cord showing, this one is a great knock off.
Art - we already have this piece and love it in this room but here are a couple more options too: one and two
Pillows - I’ll probably use some that I already have but it’s always fun to pattern mix! Blue pillow and mudcloth pillow