Office Reveal

I'm officially drowning.  Have you ever felt like you're running two steps behind life and can't get a grasp on any semblance of control?  That's where I am.  Busy seems like such a silly, overused word, but it's the only accurate description of my world since we came back from Vegas.  Jason traveled last week, the bigs are doing VBS this week, hitting the gym five days a week, trying to stay on top of payroll, proofing a book during every possible free minute.  Oh yeah... and trying to PARENT.  But I'm making time to blog today, and that might give me a little sense of power and/or control.  But maybe and/or NOT.


While Jason was in Green Bay for three days last week, I decided it would be fun to surprise him and have the office finished when he returned.  My dear friend Leslie was kind enough to be my personal shopper, so on Monday she went from store to store and picked everything out that she thought we would like and took pictures.  Y'all.  She NAILED it.  The best part of hiring a good friend as your designer?  Getting to spend three days together!  It's so hard to connect regularly with friends sometimes, so it was a blast spending that much time together, laughing and shopping, and our kids probably think they're siblings at this point.  


Monday the painter came and painted a gorgeous gray, then Leslie and I made a plan for the office and went through the pictures of things.  The idea in my brain was to go for an elegant masculine look.  I knew she understood what I was going for, and she threw in a bit of 'world traveler' for good measure.  It's PERFECTION.


The only little kink in plans was that Jason accidentally found out.  The in-laws and I got our wires crossed, and Pa-Pa didn't realize it was a secret.  However, it was a blessing that Jason and I talked about the project  before I actually spent any money because I had totally forgotten that we were getting a new roof put on THIS WEEK.  Whoops!!!  As a result, my possibly un-capped budget got a nice little cap put on it, and I'm not in trouble as a result.  Not that I would've ever been in trouble, mind you, but a decorating budget shouldn't ever come before a roof budget.  My sweet husband was kind enough to let me continue with my hair-brained, ill-timed surprise, and I am THRILLED that he is so thrilled with the results.  When he walked in, he kept saying, "Wow.  WOW.  You girls totally nailed it."  


Success!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, Leslie!  When you get your babies in school, I'll be your first client if you decide to open your own design business.  You're amazing.  


So here's the before.  Technically, this is the before from one year ago right after it was painted.  I totally forgot to take a picture of what the office looked like last week, but it's basically the same except we had our desks in there and the wood floors were finished.  I had done NOTHING, people.

Here's the after!


(The picture on the far wall on the floor will eventually be hung when we do the next round of updates... possible sitting area on that wall, or maybe a cool credenza/console for storage... also, the fan HAS TO GO.  I hate that thing).  We're also going to throw in a few pops of color (probably yellow and probably cool pillows, etc.) when we finish the project.    

She found the matching mirrors, chairs, and wall art at Mathis Brothers.  The curtains are Bed Bath & Beyond, the rug is Pottery Barn.  Desk lamp is Mathis Brothers as well.  Paint color is Ben Moore's River Reflections.

The mantel accessories are my own except for the lanterns.  Lanterns are from Gordmans and Pier 1.

Jax loves the new clock.  It's from Gordmans, and it fills the curved wall perfectly.

So that's Round 1 of the office reveal!  I think next up (after the new roof) is the downstairs powder bath.  I'll keep you posted.