At long last the final room in the
Doorways Safehouse project! Well, that's not really true actually. I have a bathroom or two and a few random hall pictures, that we haven't shown but I'll try to do those as well in the final before and after post next week. But, for today - the last actual room. When I invited designers to take on a room in the house, no one claimed the basement office. It's not heard to see why...
The office is in the lower level of the house and is used for client meetings and overflow workspace for the staff and volunteers (they have a larger staff office upstairs). The room felt dark and dingy. The closet doors were really dominating the space like a black hole and linoleum tiles had long outlived their useful life.
The staff cleaned out a lot of paper so they were able to lose a filing cabinet. The art was cute but was too small for the space (it found a new home in the laundry room where it's perfect!). I kept the funky leather/pleather chairs. I think they are sort of fun and they were in good shape.
I was aiming for a cozy, clean feeling room where people would want to work and meet in, as necessary. A larger rug was a critical ask since this room is often used for play therapy. The room also needed some art and some pillows for the chairs which could be moved to the floor if necessary. Everything had to be durable.
I started with some shopping... lots of shopping! I was looking for the most bang for the buck.
At one point this was my dining room.
I returned a lot of that stuff! I chose the paint color based on the rug that I found ($59 at Ross!). It was perfect and ended up being my jumping off point. I chose Sherwin Williams Hinting Blue (75% strength). This is the same color we used in
Elizabeth's new room this winter and I loved it. Lightening it slightly ensured that it wouldn't be too overpowering in the space.
Here's what it looked like on a very sunny day with no blinds on the windows. This was the day that I was supposed to complete my space but it was clearly not ready for me. They were still replacing windows in this part of the house, doing electrical and other work. I put off my install for another week.
And then after the installation...
My favorite thing in the room is the table lamp between the chairs. I was so close to keeping that for myself! And those painted closet doors and an additional overhead light make the entire room seem 10 times brighter. Reports are that everyone is willing to work in this space now since it's no longer the dungeon.
And a quick side-by-side before and after...
Sources:
Rug - Ross Dress for Less - $59
Pillows - Ross - $7 each
Art - HomeGoods & Marshalls - $39 and $29
Clock - Ross - $15
Printer cabinet - Target (ClosetMaid) - $32
Table lamp - Ross - $27
Desk lamp - Target - $18
Small end table - Craigslist - $5
Footstool - Ross - $10
Hooks on door - Ross - $4
Miscellaneous accessories - $10
Total: $262!
(not including tax)
What do you think? I think this is proof that paint, a new (inexpensive rug), wall art, and a few accessories can go a long way!
I'll do a final wrap up post of before and after photos next week! If you want to donate to Doorways, please click
here.
p.s. Woohoo! Today is my 29th birthday...errrrrr. Well a few anniversaries of my 29th birthday. hehehehe. I seriously love my birthday so feel free to wish me "happy birthday" if you see me today.
Need help styling your home? Email me at melissa.spendalla@gmail.com
