Step into my Office, Please!

Today I am joining Susan of Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.  Thanks to our hostess, we are able to share our favorite Before and Afters.  This week I am sharing my favorite room,  the room I spend most of my time in, my home office.  I think it's a combination of attractive and functional.  It's a pretty room but not too feminine, so that Mr. Flies South is comfortable in it, too. 

According to the builders plans and the model home, this room was supposed to be the Dining Room.  It has one window and is only 12'8" by 13'.  We chose to use the Living Room for the Dining Room and make this the office. You enter through a large archway of the Entrance.  There is a smaller archway leading to the Great Room.   Sorry this is the only before picture I have and I had to cut myself out!

We copied the paint color from the model home.  It's a pretty dark brown but seeing it done in the model beforehand helped make our decision.

If you look closely, you can see the texture in the walls.  This is very common in Florida homes.  Even the ceilings and our pool deck are this texture (orange peel).

 I looked for office furniture on Cragslist non-stop but most of what I saw was dark wood and I wanted something to pop off the brown walls.  Finally, I found a 3 piece set from the "Shore Collection" designed by Christopher Lowell for Office Depot.  It's small scale, antique whtie, distressed finish with cherry accents were exactly what I was looking for.  Everything but the price!  I added it to my favorites and kept checking Craigslist every few days.  Finally, they lowered the price by $200.  Good, but still too high.  After all, this is Office Depot not Ethan Allen!  I decided it wouldn't hurt to email an offer and see what happens.  I offered $200 less than the reduced price.  The sellers were getting ready for a new baby and no one else had shown interest, so they accepted my offer! 

I've always wanted a desk with a finished front so that it faces out into the room.  We were able to place it next to a wall with an outlet to hide the cords.  The top of the desk has two holes in it to drop cords down, too.

 It came with a file cabinet with legal size drawers so I was able to organize all  our household records.

Nice bronze hardware too!

 This is my favorite piece, where I have some storage and a chance to "merchandise"( I had to use a Christopher Lowell word!). 

To help boost our A/C, we have ceiling fans in most rooms and decided to add one in here.  Please excuse this picture with the fan in motion.  It's still in the 90's here!

It's from Lowe's and we used a coupon.  It has an up light too.

Since there is only one narrow window, I didn't want to block any light.  I decided to make a drapery panel and hang it off to one side.  I found the perfect fabric at Hancock and used my bottle of glue to turn it into a drape.

The furniture has some really nice touches like bun feet, and bead board backing and decorative molding on the hutch.

The finish is distressed, so that blemish you see is supposed to be there! Of course, the fun part came next, decorate!  I had some tin panels I bought at Ross for my old house and I used them here on the back wall.  I spray painted one in brushed nickel, one in a matte gold and left one bronze to bring together all the mixed metal finishes in the room.

My sister, Elaine, of Creating Wonderful Spaces, came to visit and helped me arrange the elements on the wall above the file cabinet.  She also gave me this great little plaque!  Florida and Colorado are FAR from each other.

I found the "R" at Ross.  The picture frames are from Michael's (50% Off) but they were too white so I rubbed some stain on them.  I like that the breadboard mat matches the back of the hutch.

Of course my desk is full of practical items like a phone, desktop computer, printer and calculator but I have some favorite photos also.  I wanted to hide the cords from the monitor so I added some decorative items.

I printed out my monogram using Word on "fancy" paper and stuck it in a marble frame I've had forever (the simpler the better for me!).  After my daughter saw it, she had to make one too. 

At first the top of the hutch was empty but my sister suggested putting a few things on top and with 10' ceilings, of course, she was right!  The hurricane is from SteinMart and the plate is from Kirkland's. 

I store my favorite magazines in the bottom shelf along with decorative boxes filled with photographs.

Here are some of my favorite things in the room.

This paperweight is from Ross and with the ceiling fan blowing all the time, it's a necessity.  I always keep a calendar blotter on the top of the desk to protect the finish.  I suppose I could get one a little more attractive!

 

The hutch has lights that shine down through the glass shelves.  You can be sure you will see this artichoke planter in a future tablescape (Home Goods).

This is the view from my desk.  I can see the television in the Great Room from here and it was by accident!  We love the arches in this house.  Since this room is in the front of the house it forces me to keep it neat and clean (sort of). 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite room in the house.  I apologize for not having a "full room" picture but it's a difficult room to photograph.  I am looking forward to seeing what the other bloggers have done this week. Make sure to stop by my sister's blog Creating Wonderful Spaces and see what she transformed this week.  It's a good one.  Please leave me a comment or become a follower! 

I am linking up to the House Party at Thrifty Decor Chick, too.

And Saturday Night Special Full Rooms at Funky Junk Interiors