Apr 21, 2020

Transformation Tuesday: Home Office

A must have with our home was a room for Ryan to call his own.  He dedicates a portion of his free time to studying medicine (love that he's an over achiever and wants to be the best he can be) and needs a space to do that. And as tacky and annoying as it is, he has 'stuff'.  It's comprised of mostly mementoes from his love of his undergrad alma mater Chapel Hill, medical schooling, golf and his time serving in the US Navy. I'm embarrassed to share that he would have taped posters and knick knacks everywhere if I didn't intervene. He huffs and puffs at my involvement in his room but I refuse for it to look like a college dorm! 

Disclaimer:  I did not get free rain to style this room but we did compromise slightly. 

Prior to making his mark we had to put some 'lipstick on this pig' and by lipstick I mean paint.


We were not fans of these built-ins however we had to do something to spruce them up until we decided on a design plan for this front room.
We had painters overhaul practically every surface in our entire home prior to moving in (best decision ever!!!) and that included a bright white over all this brown stain.

Note: I fully respect DIY but it truly isn't for me. The professionals knocked this out in no time. 

We also had crown molding added. I've shared before, moldings are everything to me in a home.  It's one of the MOST important details, in my opinion.  Unique moldings are huge appeal in our decision to purchase older homes. With all the custom moldings throughout this home it is beyond my understanding why the prior owners removed the moldings in this room when installing these built-ins.


A very brown before


While the fresh coat of paint really packed a powerful punch it was very one dimensional so I decided to roll up my sleeves and add some contrast by painting the back wall of the shelves.  Thank goodness the selves are adjustable so I could take them all out.

I wanted this room to have a very masculine style because I knew the rest of our home was going to have a lot of feminine colors and prints.  He deserves to have one space that feels like him.

I chose a dark charcoal color. I almost went with a super dark navy/ink color but I wanted it cooler and more neutral.
Painting with a dark color isn't easy so there are some edges that aren't perfect but we aren't keeping these very long and no one should be looking too closely.

Paint Colors
Built Ins & Trim: Chantilly Lace
Shelving Back Walls: Wrought Iron
Walls: Classic Gray


This room and our den house leftover mismatched furniture that serves as filler pieces to get us by until we implement a more permeant design.  While I'm often insecure about these rooms, our home is not a magazine spread but a place where memories are made and laughter shared.

In the future we will remove theses built-ins and replace the lighting.  Adding a desk will have a smaller foot print allowing this room to also serve as a second guest room with a sleeper sofa or maybe we'll go modern with a Murphy bed! In our home we believe the more the merrier!

Dress Your Home Beautifully with a Fresh Coat of Paint

XOXO Sarah-Louise

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