Office Design on a Dime

I'm tweaking my home office (read: extra bedroom where I watch Bravo and read blogs). Why? Why not? I Craigslisted a few pieces I had grown out of to make room for some new items. To commemerate the occasion, behold my first mood board!!

Let's walk through the plan. I already own the lamp, poster, drum light, loveseat, (a similar) rug and the parsons bookcase is on the way. I might replace my cheapo IKEA desk with their DOCKSTA table and add a bamboo chair. The loveseat's a richer, deeper green and a slightly different style but overall similar to the one pictured. 

I refuse to pay silly prices for drapes so I scouted out this linen-like Robert Allen fabric -- it was less than $7/yard on FABRIC.COM.  Plus free shipping and a 15% code, I'll have four 96" no-sew panels for about $35 total.


To do:
Make panels x 4
Reframe poster with mat
Assemble bookcase when it arrives
Look for DOCKSTA on CL?
Bamboo chair on CL?

Let's do this.

More Additions to Guest Bedroom

My embroidered shams came back this week!  I had C, J and the last initial T done even though that's not my last name!  I retained my maiden name when I married but it felt weird putting my own initials. Apparently, that's OK. Soft goods can have a maiden name, according to the embroiderer.  It harkens back to the olden days when girls prepared linens for their future, far before they knew who they'd marry.

I also moved the starburst mirror in here from the master BR.  It's hanging a little high, though. Will have to adjust.

I also added the remaining chandelier shades to the light fixture.  Yay!

Nothing's really changed on the other side of the room.  I should probably polish up the hardware on the chest.

I moved my little lady chair back in here because the cat was clawing it death in the master BR.  Bob the cactus hangs out in this room during the winter.

Lighting at Lowes

I was pleasantly surprised by the Lowes lighting section during my last spin through the store. Sure, they still have tons of McMansion style stuff, but there are some really decent options to be had at reasonable prices, too.

Cool, Moroccan-ish pendant:

$99 Chandelier.  Would be cute in a closet or bath.

Not a fan of the black/white flocked drum item below but I do like the nickel chandy with the 3 drum shades next to it.

An other neat glass pendant:

But YIKES to the 80's style square glass number for $158. WHO would pay for that when those are a dime a dozen at the thrifts?

The other home improvement mega-chain, Home Depot, has a cruddy selection of lighting, though. What gives? Martha, you gots some pull there, design some nice looking lamps for the little people.

Mid Century Chandelier Finds a Home

My kinda cool mid-century chandelier that was hanging in the dining room has found a new home. Original to the house ('64), both Jake and I liked it, just not in the dining room. I removed it a few weeks back to hang a drum pendant from Overstock.

Here it is hanging in the dining room with strange black glass discs affixed to it. Ugly dust traps those were.

Now it lives in the guest BR, which had a cheap, dim dome light. The bulb had to warm up, creating an ambiance akin to a Romanian jail cell.

Here's it's new home:

I'm going to add some simple natural linen chandelier shades from Lowes to give it a bit more personality. I bought one to test out and I think it's going to work. These are about $4 each, almost fitting into my budget of $0!

Make it work!

I'm getting king shams monogrammed right now in lime green (whee) and then I think I need to call it done in the guest BR.

Drum Chandy

Finally, FINALLY, I decided to move this light fixture from the dining room. I was trying to adapt it to take a big ole drum shade but finding the right size shade was becoming a challenge. (Ugh, ignore the popcorn ceilings.  I'd love to take them out but they have ASBESTOS so they stay until we win the lottery)

Better, no? It's this drum shade from Overstock  It's definitely not top quality - the "chrome" plating is pretty bad but no one's going to be examining it under a microscope.

I need to figure out how to take better photos.  Well, I know how, I'm just lazy.

Overstock Drum Chandeliers

I'm still struggling with my dining room light fixture. I'm vacillating between replacing the whole thing and trying to find a drum shade to slip over the whole thing.  I've purchased and returned 2 drum shades at this point and I'm ready to give up.  Boo!

Here are a few simple options from Overstock I might consider:

Source

Source

Source

All are right around $100.

Drum Shades

I'm thinking of adapting the current dining room light to accept a drum shade. I'm wondering it is as easy as I think it may be. Probably not!  I would take off the black disks and attach a drum shade to cover most of the lights. How to do this is the mystery.

Here's what I would love to end up with.  This is the Jonathan Adler Ventana chandy.

These awesome shades from Shades of Light would all be delightful. Though, I really think a 20" diameter shade would be ideal and those are harder to come by. These are all 16" diameter:

Aren't they pretty? All are under $100 which is pricey but cheaper than new light fixture.  I will think about this and decide what to do.  It may be easier to replace the whole darn thing.

Open Up and Say Ah!

Our house, built in 1965, still has some *lovely* original details. Like these louvered slats in the living room.We'll I'm assuming these are original. I seem to recall a phase in the 80s where design elements similar to these enjoyed a revival. We have two sets dividing the dining/living areas and the others are on the wall overlooking the entry way pictured below. After being gifted a reciprocating saw for Christmas (thanks, Harriett) it was time to attack these babies.

Here's the before:

And the after! Doesn't it open up the space so much? Now we have to refinish the top of the 1/2 walls with a little wood filler and paint but that's easy-peasy.

We actually dig that light fixture hanging in the entry way. It's definitely original and one of the elements we want to preserve.

Lit

Mah sconces are up in the dining room. Still need something for the chain-painted wall. Maybe a giant clock? And a few tables to go under the sconces. In other news, Jake's new Panasonic takes pretty good low-light images, n'cest pas?