BrittanyMakes

I like to consider my girlfriend Annie my first official client.  Back in April, Annie asked me to help her re-design her patio.  She knew she wanted a bright and colorful outdoor space, something she could enjoy, rather than ignore, which is what she had been doing for the 2 years she’s lived in her home.  Annie had some ideas in mind, and I had the skills to execute.  We were a mighty pair back then, which is probably the exact reason she asked me to help her with the next neglected space in her home: the office.

Annie’s way of living is very inspirational – she doesn’t have one speck of clutter!  I wish I knew how she does it, Maybe she has a secret storage space I don’t know about, but her home is always spotless, in the most amazing minimalist type of way.  I can’t even begin to figure out how I’d survive without 3 dog beds laying around my home.  Seriously Annie – teach me your ways!

The image above is the office “before”.  It’s literally always that clean! And here I came with a car loaded full of Ikea goodies which I haphazardly dumped on her floor. Sorry girl.

Before we get to the execution of the office, let’s go over our design plan.  Annie’s home is the most serene shade of bluish gray, you walk in and feel the cool and calm, and we both thought her office should reflect this exact feeling so that office work would be less overbearing.  I mean, if you have to work you might as well do it in a beautiful and inspiring space, right?

After a few discussions with Annie regarding her office needs, I put together this design board, which we executed against almost to the T.

First, we built the Expedits.  Annie doesn’t have an Ikea near where she lives, so I picked up all the supplies and drove them to her.  Sadly, my Ikea was fresh out of 4×4 Expedits, so we opted for 4 of the 4×2 Expedits instead.  I can’t begin to tell you how beautiful a wall of Expedits looks in real life.  And with that Dwell Studio fabric as a backdrop? Y.U.M.

Next, we built the desk.  Well, technically the desk legs.  The desk top comes as one piece which you simply place on top of the legs.  So easy! And you know me, I can’t go on without spray painting something gold, and in this case we painted the desk legs in Montana Gold Chrome.  I’m sure you’ve spotted this Ikea hack all over Pinterest.  It’s one worth copying, that’s for sure!

I had to convince Annie that she needed a gold metallic zebra rug.  I told her about my vision at first, I think she was hesitant, so I assured her “don’t worry, if you don’t like it, I’ll take it back!”  I think she just let me do my thing, and I *think* she loved how it turned out! If she doesn’t, she sure knows how to be a good sport :) But seriously, tell me you don’t love that rug!

And guess what? It was a DIY.

NO!

Yes, I did.

A delicious DIY that might just blow your mind.  Yes, yes, many a blogger have DIY’d a metallic zebra rug, I’m no terd. But let me assure you, it’s not what you think it is. He he.

I call this post the “bones” of the office because, in Annie fashion, she has no collection of hoarded items (like someone I know *cough me cough*) to fill her shelves.  I think I’ll have to collect them for her and force them onto her like the zebra rug.  Annie is also waiting for her desired Eames chair to arrive (or appear before her eyes for a killer deal at a flea market), so we improvised with one of her dining chairs.  Speaking of flea markets, we did hit up the Rose Bowl Flea! I hate to admit, we left empty handed (which feels like a sin), and sadly no spotting of any famous interior designers.  Well, there’s always next month!

Sources: Expedit shelves from Ikea; wall treatment – Dwell Studio Bella Porte fabric; bench – vintage; grey dotted fabric – Premier Prints; glossy white desk top from Ikea; trestle legs from Ikea spray painted in Montana Gold Chrome; sheepskin flokati from Ikea