Tiny Office Project - Space Planning Phase

Working with relatives and friends is something I normally just don't do. I'm fine offering an opinion or some resources, but I feel it is better to keep business separate. However, when my husband asked for help with his new work office, I couldn't exactly say "no." I tried. To start with, his ideas and mine for this space were radically different. Where he saw, "big sectional," I saw "tiny loveseat." Where he saw "$5,000 hydraulic stand up/sit down" desk, I saw "$500 vintage desk."

Needless to say, the project languished. Everyday he had to go into work and use random, leftover furniture that had been placed in his office just so he something in there. Finally he said the words every designer (and wife!) loves to hear - "Do whatever you want. I just want it done."

With that in mind, he did have a few requirements. He wanted the seating area to be as large as possible and either a stand up desk or a desk with a keyboard. I was also stuck with a giant flat screen TV affixed to one wall, and his ergonomic desk chair. One wall of the office is completely windows, which added another element of difficulty to this already challenging space. At left is a photo from the doorway of this challenging space.

With these factors in mind, I had to begin space planning. To give you a sense of scale, the office measures only 10' x 12', so finding small scale pieces was really important. The biggest challenge was the desk. Luckily I found a petite glass and steel number that was not only inexpensive, the perfect size AND had a keyboard tray, but it was also not hideously ugly! (Photo below.)

Now that the I knew the style and dimensions of the desk, I could get to work planning out the rest of the space. In the floor plan below I have a 5' loveseat, two small nesting tables and a 2' wide chair. I did manage to find these pieces, and I will write about them in my next blog post! 

I will live in the horse barn, please!

This month's Elle Decor has the most amazing article on Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi's ranch in Southern California. While the decor is very much the whole antique/deconstructed/industrial style that is trending right now, I think partially due to Restoration Hardware (who knew they would become such trendsetters when they first started out selling, well, reproduction hardware!), the barn is what had me absolutely drooling.

Light, bright and very rustic chic, I could actually see myself living in this barn with my horses. Eccentric, perhaps, but how awesome would that be!? As someone who has literally slept in a horse stall, albeit not one quite this nice, there's something to be said to having the sounds of horses as a backdrop to your life. In any case, this has given me some ideas for when we buy "the farm."

Glamour Goes Green on One Kings Lane

Exciting news! Glamour Goes Green has just been accepted as a vendor on the fabulous Home Decor website One Kings Lane. My pieces will be featured in the Vintage & Market Finds section of the site. Shopping for this new outlet is very exciting, and I have a few sneak peeks of products that will go on sale soon.

Above are a pair of vintage Ming style end tables in a soft butter yellow painted finish, shown at right. They reminded me of the Jacqui Table Collection from Bungalow 5, which I have loved since I first saw them a few years ago, so I had to buy them! They would work well in both a modern or traditional interior, and are perfect on either side of a sofa or as low bedside tables. Each table features a draw, perfect for stowing away a remote or your iPad.

At left are two beautiful mid century glazed ceramic lamps. They are predominately olive green, with hints of grey and mustard yellow. They have a really nice shape and are the perfect size for use as bedside lamps. The bases are painted a very pretty antique silver.

Finally, I found a pair of very mod mid century lamps with a fun wave pattern, shown at right. I loved the simplicity of the design and versatility of the gold/ivory color combination.

 I will also be updating the products section of my website to show all the items I have in inventory.