keeping a masculine office welcoming

A friend of mine is moving into an office space after many years of working from home. The space is very small (150 square feet), but has a window and plenty of light. He purchased an antique bankers desk, and an ultra-modern black leather chair. Then he stopped buying, stepped back, and realized that the two styles are drastically different.  Feeling stuck, he e-mailed me and asked if I had any ideas to move the design along.

Now, as for style, I know this guy pretty well.. and his is a Ralph Lauren/Restoration Hardware/J.Crew world. I'm thinking burnished leathers and warm woods, all mixed up with a bit of tradition and luxe - and fortunately that works with his profession, which is in finance. The only thing that doesn't quite fit is the chair, and so we need to make it disappear into the design, right? Would you like to see what I am sending him back?


First,  I think the palette should remain neutral because of the nature of his business. So far we have orange-toned woods and black, so incorporating pale warm grey walls, while creating a darker wall (black or dark grey) behind the desk will allow the space to breathe while giving that black chair a home. If he would like, he could incorperate a wall of black bookshelves behind his desk, like the third pic shows - this is my personal preference.

Adding accessories that have classic appeal but feel modern are the key to linking the modern lines of his desk chair and the classic design of his desk.

How about adding a little comfort for his clients? Let's repeat the caramel tones here, with some sumptuous leather and link it all together with a hard-working sisal carpet. Architectural prints keep everyone focused on the task at hand, which involves real estate.

What do you think? Masculine yet welcoming? Professional yet comfortable?




images sources: black gallery wall vintage table open shelving
art  architectural print chevron print door print armchairs work light leather boxes desktop side table

Interior Design's Best Green Project of the Year

The Burgess Group office, designed by the architectural firm SmithGroup,

has won Interior Design Magazine's title of Best Green Project of the Year.

I would love to work in this space.

The slate wall runs throughout the office.

Apple green and burnt orange accents inspire creativity and energize.

The company placed the employee lounge in the coveted corner office location 

so that everyone gets to enjoy this view.

A cork passageway leads to the design lab.

The conference room and meeting/eating room both use glass for sound absorption

that allows the maximum amount of light passage.

An additional wall of back painted glass in the eating/meeting room can be used as a white board,

and the conferences rooms tables is constructed of back-painted glass -

both enhancing light reflection.

A thoughtful design shows how much this company cares about employee satisfaction

 and I bet their productivity shows it.

This is one article you may want to leave lying around your office :)

The Great Clean Out - The Posts Are In!

It's here!

A massive thank you going out to the talented ladies who participated in the Great Clean Out -

we thought that commiting to an organization post together would motivate us and so it did!

I received your pics, but have not yet read the posts that go along with them,

and am dying to read the stories of these makeovers.

Here is a little of what you can expect at each blog..

Drumroll please...

Barbara of Hodgepodge 

Have you ever wanted to re-arrange your entire home -

change the purpose of each room to what is really should be?

I have.. and then I go back to whatever I am doing!

Barb is boldly undertaking a huge refresher at her place - I so admire her efforts.

She is sharing a bit of "games room" re-organization with us...

always wanted a games room, it sounds so grand :)

Carissa of The Fabulous Design File

Carissa has done such a great job of incorporating storage into her library.

Library... another grand room!

The before really wasn't so bad, but I love how the after frames out a perfect niche for her piano.

And I've requested her paint choices because I LOVE them :)

This is a room I could spend some time in.

Abby of A Delightful Design

Have to say, Abby has kept me laughing through this process, 

and I know her post is going to crack me up!

Abby is in the process of selling her home, 

so she had a bit of a head start :)

because she has just recently gone through the painful de-clutter process..

but every girl has a cupboard somewhere that irks her,

and Abby conquered hers this weekend!

Kerry of First Time Fancy

Kerry is kind of my hero.

I always had a dream of buying an old house and redoing it.

Kerry and her husband are doing just that, 

so I don't think this organization post scared her one bit!

Kerry is also expecting,

and so a great big hug to you - Kerry,

for all your efforts - 

love how your laundry/craft room turned out!

Christine of Bijou and Boheme

Oh, Christine.

Somehow I knew that a closet makeover in your home would end up being 

better styled and more chic than most people's living rooms!

How happy my shoes would be to live in this bit of pretty.

Thank you for inspiring me to make my hall closet my next project!

The 10 Rooms Head Office

Just recently relocated my office/craft room in my home, and there was ZERO organization.

I was really procrastinating, but having an end date meant eventually I had to get going.

So relieved that it is done, it is so freeing to let go of all that excess "stuff"

and get organized!

Thanks again to all you wonderful "organizistas" -

it was so much fun to do this post with all of you!
Hope that everyone is inspired by all the hard work that went on,
and by how happy we are to tick a job off the to-do list.

If you are in the process of an organization project,
share the pics when you are finished and I'll post them!
I've got heaps of other closets and drawers that need "the treatment" :)

Well, ladies, I made it! There was just the slightest doubt earlier this week :)

If you've been reading the blog you know that the Great Clean out stemmed from a 

New Years resolution to get more organized.

The more I read other blogs, the more it seemed that everyone was feeling this.

The problem is we all start out with the fabulous intentions and then life gets in the way.

I thought if we made a commitment to each other it would help us to stay motivated.

Lucky for me, some really talented bloggers decided to take part in this -

thank you all so much!

I am looking forward to reading about each of your adventures in organizing.

Before Christmas I flipped my office/craft room upstairs into what was the kids playroom.

This space is substantially larger, and has a closet,

which meant bringing al the craft stuff from the storage area out into the open.

The closet filled, and overflowed,

and then the holiday madness arrived...

Okay, I am going to admit something here - I actually removed items before taking the before shot!

You know the classic where you open the closet door and all your wordly junk comes tumbling out?

Yup.

There was a fabric landslide from the top shelf the day I took this.

Something had to be done.

I would have liked to replace all this wire shelving, but the budget had other ideas,

 so a fresh coat of paint cleaned it up nicely.

I bought some really inexpensive cardboard storage boxes at ikea.

The problem was, they were quite ugly!

After buying some fabric, and breaking out the glue gun, 

(and some really foul trucker-like moments when I burned myself - kids, out of the craft room, please :)

we had twelve of these and four larger versions.

The kids need instant gratification storage for their daily craft sessions -

 these buckets from the dollar store are perfect.

So here is the after:

Still unlabeled, not entirely sure how we will cross that bridge.

 I may have to call a truce with the glue gun!

Remember when I found that amazing deal on a dining set on kijiji?

Well, D. went to pick it up, and when he brought it home it became obvious

the set was not dining room worthy.

The cabinet and chairs found a home in the craft room.

I make cards and paper crafts, so this provides heaps of fantastic, dust-free storage.

The shelving on the other side of the room holds my most-used product info and color decks for work.

There's a great spot for my sewing machine and current projects.

The piggybank and flower were gifts from the girls, who fancied themselves stylists today.

The craft books need some purging, there is a few in there that I suspect are older than me!

That's not really old, of course :)

The office is still being finished, but organizing got the decorating process going.

I found fabric for curtains and the other bits that are going in here.

Once it is done, I'll post pics.

I don't honestly know if I would have gotten to this closet right away,

I kept opening the door and closing it again!

 Having this deadline MOTIVATED me to get it done -

so it worked!

Maybe next year we can do this with exercise :)

anyone?!!

 Pop over to the main post to see all the before and afters and link to these fab ladies posts.