I just got to work on a really fun project. I’m a designer who just got to design an office for interior designers. What?! Okay, back it up a bit. So my design roots go deep. Back in the day when I was a college student, I was actually a biochem major. Seriously, I know. But then I meet my hubby and we got married after graduating college. I had so much fun decorating his bachelor pad that I went back to art school and got an interior design degree. But wait…his family actually owned a residential design-remodel company. And now my hubby and I own it as second generation designer/remodelers. So for 10 years I worked for our company Thompson Remodeling before doing this gig at Postbox Designs so I could be home with our three sweet kiddos.
So it was extra fun when my hubby asked me to makeover the shared designers space at HIS company, hiring out MY company to do it. Obviously interior designers SORTA have an idea about the spaces they like 🙂 so it was a bit intimidating to design for other designers. But after talking to them, they requested a neutral space with some fun accents. They wanted loads of light, a space to tack up their ideas/photos, and storage space for client projects.
In the past, I have designed a couple glam inspired home offices, here is one I did when I created a High-Low Home Office Mood Board Makeover, staring with the “Splurge” version:
And replicating it with just as much of a gorgeous look, but for a whoooole lot less in my “budget” version:
So for this new project, I wanted to give the designers a neutral background so they had the chance to add their own personality to their own space.
So here is the concept I came up with for this shared office space for two interior designers:
Even though I want my spaces to always be “pretty”, function ALWAYS has to come first. I found these great (and affordable) white Ikea Alex desks ($169) to give them the space to spread out. But I also wanted to take advantage of the vertical wall space they each had at their station. So I gave them an idea to “Ikea Hack” these simple white Jarpen shelves and corbels and to paint them gold to give a bit of girly bling to the space. Each shelf is only $10 and the Ekby bracket is only $5 each. Each designer can use this shelves for personal affects or extra storage space.
And finally they requested a space to tack up inspirational photos and materials. So I started off with a simple bullentin board but we are going to cover the front of it with patterned wallpaper scraps to give some excitement to a plain old corkboard. So we will tuck in our jazzed up bulletin board right under their floating shelves.
Another issue was each designer needed a space to corral all of the papers, samples, etc. for each client. So we are going to do another “Ikea Hack”, starting with the Ikea Vittsjo bookshelf for just $79 and spray paint it gold. Then I will ordering a half dozen of these Target Clear Acrylic Trays, and each tray will contain every tile, wood, paint, and cabinet sample, along with all of the paperwork needed for each client. Then the designers can share the gold bookshelf, and keep the trays stored on here, to save precious desk space. Extra desk supplies can look neat and tidy stored away in these white boxes from Ikea.
And sometimes it is the little details that make all of the difference. If you are going to design a beautiful space, you can quickly clutter it up by adding in mismatched plastic office supplies. So for less than a thirty dollars, we will update their desk supplies with these Target Nate Berkus Hammered Gold Accessories that will stand out…in a GOOD WAY.
And going back to the little details…right now they have black plastic trash cans and paper boxes to toss all of their recylicing materials into. No more. A $7 upgrade to these gray Target Tribal Trashcans will ensure their trash buckets will no longer be an eyesore!
To bring a graphic pop to the space, this Stockholm black and white stripe rug from Ikea is going to bring in a neutral look but help your eye be drawn from the boring beige carpet to something a little more designer worthy!
And my designers kept saying over and over again they could never have TOO MUCH LIGHT. (Agreed!). But the existing room they will be moving into was done in the 90s and was rocking gold track lighting, so instead we are going to update the space with these gorgeous modern chandeliers. I know they may look like we spent a pretty penny, but let’s all squeal because they come from Home Depot! This Hampton Bay Remington chandelier is a mere $189. And I think these will make the space just shine.
And as a final touch in the space, I couldn’t resist adding in a bit of office humor. I scoured Etsy for work inspired prints, and loved this “Hustle” print from SKylaDesign, and you can buy the digital copy for just $5, I will frame these in some oversized white matte frames for a clean, crisp look.
Loving this modern glammed out look? Here are some more offices to get you inspired:
So now I just need to present it to them and see what they think (fingers crossed!), be on the look-out in the future when I share pics of this shared office completed! In the meantime, we can hang out over on Facebook or Instagram where I love sharing design tips and looks into some of my projects. I also get pinning crazy over on Pinterest (and my husband still thinks I’m nuts!)
I just shared with all of my readers too that for the month of July ONLY I’m offering a hot deal for $100 ANY Postbox! So if you have been thinking of working with Postbox Designs now is the time to check it out and take the plunge, see how it all works HERE. As one client told me, “It’s like StichFix for Interior Design!” So true!
Til Next Time,
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