Home Office Changes

By Kate Riley January 15, 2013

Hello!  Today I thought I’d share some changes I made to my office earlier this month.  I wanted to add some dark navy to the office and some raspberry pink too (I love that combo) so here’s a peek at some new window panels and a new rug I added.   The rug and panels that I bought and made last summer got moved to other spaces.  I replaced the rug with a navy and white trellis rug that I scored for 75% off on a Cyber Monday sale in December.

centsational girl office

 

The X-leg desk I bought marked down to $175 last year from a local furniture shop, but I found out you can also buy it here.   The desk chair is from Staples, and the white color is only for sale in stores but I saw it there last week so I know it’s still available.  The new window panels are one of my patterns I designed, it’s an edgy grid geometric print in navy and raspberry pink – it will be available in a few colorways soon. 

centsational girl office desk

 

This square pillow is another pattern I’m working on right now – I love it in this color combo and the plan is to make it available in other bright combinations for summer. 

square pattern pillow

 

The addition I’m most excited about it the bookshelf library unit opposite the desk that Matt and I built last week – we fastened together some IKEA parts and added trim, hardware, and brass library lights. 

The wishbone chair is part of a pair of chairs from Overstocks – the pillow is DL Rhein in Waikiki that I bought last year at Joss & Main – no longer available though.

bookcases centsational girl

 

I was going to paint the backs a shade of blue, but I’ve done that before, so instead I chose a pink somewhere between raspberry and bubble gum because I thought it would be fun and girly and also because pink and brass are a hot combo!  I’ve collected a few brass accents over the years, I thought this would be a cool place to display some of them.  The paint color is ‘Canterbury Lane’ by Glidden.

pink back to bookcases

 

pink backed bookcases

 

pink and white bookcases

 

I love the idea of storing office supplies in pretty containers  – I think it’s important to surround yourself with what you love instead of boring or mundane organizers.

cg pencils

 

box storage

 

The brass lights are actually plugin picture lights (not hardwired sconces) which look really great when lit up at night, plus they give me extra lighting when I work.

library bookshelves centsational girl

 

We saved a ton by using IKEA pieces for this freestanding library unit – I’ll share the full story on how we put it together tomorrow – see you then!

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97 comments

  1. I absolutely love the pink you chose and the brass…. which I never thought I would ever say!! It’s perfect together!! thnks for sharing!! ~ Lori

  2. Where did you get the lights? I have a similar setup with a secretary desk between two bookshelves in a room with no ceiling fixture. I have a lamp in the corner of the room but have been looking for additional lighting solutions and this is perfect beautiful job.

    • I’ll share all the sources on the hardware and fixures in tomorrow’s post Kristy :)

  3. I love the color combinations. I am new to your blog but I love how you mixed the different patterns in the rug, pillow, and curtains. Super cute

  4. Gorgeous! Love all the girly accents. That desk is amazing and don’t even get me started on the shelving. Pinned your post to my Craft Room board. Can’t wait to overhaul the room!

  5. Love the wall unit, I cant wait till you show the process, I’ve been wanting something identical to this for my study!

  6. I’m crazy over your bookcase unit! They turned out incredible. Can hardly wait for your details as we are trying to do one in our living room. Can you tell me where you purchased the bronze library lights? Thanks!

  7. Love it! What is the wall color? I have been following your blog for about a year now and you never disappoint. Thank you for the inspiration.

    • Hi Evelyn, the wall color is part Valspar’s ‘Seafoam Storm’ (above the window panels) and the rest is gray blue grasscloth that I installed a few years ago!
      Kate

  8. I am LOVING this space Kate! I had my eye on that rug (in a round size), but they didn’t have it in stock in the navy color, so I got the brown instead – can’t go wrong at 75% off! The colors are such a great combo, and the pop of pink with the lighting is so fun and classic all at once! Well done, once again! :-). Can’t wait to see the details, as my husband and I are both looking to make office improvements this year.

  9. LOVE… that color combo, the pink and brass (very into blush and gold right now myself), that daliah on your bookcase is uber loverly!

  10. Wow! Kate, it is so gorgeous! I cannot wait for your fabric to be available…it looks amazing and I have lots of projects coming up. The whole room is stunning. Would love to see you paint the chandelier navy or raspberry!

  11. I can’t decide what I love most! I think your collection of accessories on the unit might be my favorite…favorites? lol

    xo Cindy

    PS Love the Ballard bag…I have the same one ;)

  12. Gorgeous Kate! That is one of my favorite color combinations. Your fabrics you’re designing are fabulous…really striking and fun. A wonderful office to work and be inspired! You did a beautiful job. Would you share where you found your aqua tote that is on the floor next to your desk?

  13. Love all your bookcases. You sure make them look like built-ins. Hope you are going to teach us how to build it

  14. For all interested, the chair is called “Belsante” — I was actually stalking the same one for about a month. It’s not available online at Staple’s website, but it’s normally $200 and is currently on clearance for $100 at my local Staples…

    • Thank you Liz!!! Glad to know the chair is reduced, I recall paying about $125 or so for it…. and it was on sale when I bought it.
      Very comfortable and stylish, I love it!!

  15. I love what you did with the bookcases! Can you tell me exactly which ones you purchased from IKEA as we are looking to do something very similar! Great room!

  16. I love the changes! I’m loving navy right now, but I’ve never thought to pair it with pink, at least not in home decor. (I love to wear that color combo though!) The brass accents are perfect with the navy & pink! Oh, and I can’t wait to hear the details about the new bookcases – they look much nicer than Ikea.
    Sarah

  17. The navy and pink are great, but my favorite color add in your new office look is combining the aqua accents on your shelves with them. PERFECT! (PS- I would love to see what fabric patterns you could design in those three colors!)

    • The wishbones are a more petite chair Hena but they are comfortable! Not as comfortable as an upholstered chair but the seat is tightly woven and they’d be great in a breakfast nook!
      Kate

  18. Can’t wait for the hardware post as those brass lights are exactly what I’m looking for!

  19. Lively & sophisticated ~ perfect combo, Kate! I’m always a fan of spiffed up Ikea pieces, such a great look for the price! I’m excited to see the other colorways in your fabrics, these look fabulous!

  20. What a pretty & fresh office space–& as always you do such a superb job of shelf styling! I often have your blog open on my ipad as I style/restyle shelf vignettes in my home.

  21. Wow!! I love the raspberry/navy palette an the brass really looks great with it. Great styling on the shelves. I need to reorganize our office supplies so I am brainstorming creative ways to display our pencils now!

  22. love it! the bookshelves are perfection! I always refer to your blog when showing clients how to style bookshelves- You nail it every time!

  23. The bookshelf is brilliant! Love love it! Was contemplating spray painting a bunch of my brass accents but now realize I just need to pair them with the right background color. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

  24. What a refreshing update! I especially love the turquoise accents against the raspberry background on the library walls.

  25. I cannot wait to see how you made that storage unit from the Ikea pieces. We want the look of a built-in for our TV and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting something cheap and adding trim. Beautiful outcome!

  26. I have been yearning to ask you these questions for eons now: Where do you store all your stuff that comes in and out of the house each and every day? I have a mound on my counter in my kitchen that never seems to go away unless we have a party. I designed my new kitchen WITHOUT a desk since crap used to migrate there incessantly. And when we do have a party, it all migrates to a spare bedroom that is filled with more crap. I would love to create an office in there and keep a bed of some sort for the odd guest. Also, I see that you “change out” your themes for Christmas every year. What do you do with the old stuff? Do you keep it? Do you get rid of it? Do you put out all of your stuff each year or only a portion of it? I think that there is a secret society with the answers to these questions. My goal is to get really organized this year. Your office is so lovely (and house too, for that matter) that I find it unattainable and it isn’t about money! It is about “know how” and I fear that secret society too. In my heart, I know that it is just that I don’t know how to go about it. I bet alot of your readers feel this way, or maybe I am just the weird one.

  27. I love the turquoise and raspberry in the bookcases! And I’m drooling a little over that rug. Your office looks great- I so wish mine wasn’t piled with sewing projects, craft projects, junk that I don’t know what to do with. I think I’ll just close the door and enjoy yours. :)

  28. Beautiful room! Can you kindly share your source for the plug-in picture lights? Thanks!

  29. I’ve always wondered how a fantastic room can even look more fantastic – and THIS, is a perfect exmaple!!! I love it! I love the way you used the pinks in the room, not overwhelmingly girly, but feminine enough to be beautiful. I love how you placed your brass lights on the shelves too. We used picture lights in ours but yours look better. I’m sure you are in this room a lot and enjoying everything as well! love it!

  30. This is a show stopped room! Wow!
    Always in awe of Ikea pieces gone glam. Can’t wait to hear how to do it.

    I’m not a “pink” girl but I could truly live with this room. My girls would love if I did this to their rooms though because they are very “pink” girls. Love it!

    • Autumn, the paint above the windows is Valspar’s ‘Seafoam Storm’ which is a medium gray blue – I picked it to complement the gray blue grasscloth wallpaper on the other walls.
      Kate

  31. Hey Jackie, great idea for a post, I’ll write up something soon on where I store my stuff and how I keep it all organized!
    Kate

  32. I loved your office before, but these new color combos are great! And I love how you make Ikea bookcases look custom. I was wondering how you handled the cords for the brass lamps you used since you said they were plug ins.

  33. looks beautiful.. navy is my favorite color!

    by the way how long it took to get the rug from rugusa? I ordered one two weeks ago but no updates since then.. I wonder if its just me or they took long anyway?

  34. I’m seriously LOVING the pink bookcase with the teal/blue accents all around. I’m not sure that my husband could get behind a pink bookcase but tempered with blue? maybe :)
    (or maybe I’ll just have to wait until we have enough space to have BOTH a man cave AND a she-office space, then we can do whatever we want!)

  35. This room has it all… color, interesting textures, and sophistication! Do you use Spoonflower to design your fabric? Are your designs available there?

    • Hi Janet, still in the design process right now but in a few months the fabrics will be available… stay tuned!
      Kate

  36. Beautiful! Seriously…I love the pink bookcase. I am in the process of updating my office. I just painted and got a mirrored desk! L-O-V-E! and I am drooling for the white bookcases! The problem is where do you keep files? I need drawers without spending a fortune. Any ideas??

    • Hi Kim, I have a small file cabinet behind my office door and I also use some plastic ones I found at Target – I hide those in the Besta unit behind closed doors!
      Kate

  37. Love the changes! I would also like to know more about the lights–where did you get them and how are you hiding the cords? Also, would you share which Ikea units you used?

    Thanks,
    Nancy

  38. LOVE the navy and raspberry pink! The pink walls behind your shelves are a perfect surprise for the room. This is so special to me because I recently refreshed my study space with navy and lime green. I’ve gotten a few mixed reactions, but the overwhelming reaction has been, “I lovark blacke navy and lime green!” Navy is a great color to work with and I think enhances bright pops of color so much nicer than stark black.

  39. I love your office! I was wondering about the bookcase you have to the right of your desk. Is it a bookcase with a table in front of it or is it all one unit? I was wondering where you got it, I love it!

  40. Love, love, love the new colour pallete. I’m not a typical girly girl, but I’m on a real pink kick at the moment. I’m hoping to re-do my office soon and I think I’m going to adopt a similar colour scheme, but maybe with gold instead of brass as I just can’t resist shiny things. I love how your office is chic and stylish but really personal and quite serene too.

  41. The color palette is really awesome and I love your bookshelves! Great job on your renovation…the desk and the pillow are my favorite details in you room!

  42. Wondering where you got the deer head? I have been looking for one for some time.

  43. Can I ask how large your office is & what size rug you got? I am having a difficult time figuring out what size rug to buy for my office.

    • Hi Jessica, my office is 10 feet wide by 13 feet long and the navy rug is a 5 x 8 although I’ve used a 6 x 9 in here too and that works well.
      Kate

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