My Decorating Process
Is your home a work in progress? Mine is! I think you refine your personal style over time, and my home is a total reflection of that evolution. I’ve been able to infuse one-of-a-kind character by collecting and mixing unique and classic pieces, moving things around, and even waiting to find the perfect X, Y or Z. While some rooms have been tweaked and added to, one room we did very little with to begin with was our office. We simply transferred existing furniture into the space from the last place we rented before buying our house. And it worked okay, so I focused on other areas and just let that room be. But we’ve long been itching to update the space to be one we actually love and use–and I’m super guilty of sitting on our living room couch with my laptop instead of at the desk. So I thought I’d bring you along as we redesign the space and share my process with you!
First things first, we’ve moved everything out of the room. Starting with a clean slate helps visualize all the options of where furniture could go versus where we had it. Then, I measure. Measuring the room helps immensely to actually know what will fit and what won’t. And those measurements have been informing every piece of furniture we look at online or anything we view in person (I always take a small tape measure with me). As we decide on furniture, we then use painter’s tape to map out dimensions on the floor.
My next step is my favorite: Gathering ideas and inspiration. While I love Pinterest as much as the next gal, I still like to tear out pages from magazines and pull out old issues I’ve saved and then lay it all out in front of me. I’m an extremely visual person and need to see all my ideas at once in order to figure out how to bring my vision to life. I never set out to outright copy another space, but instead take all the various sparks of inspiration, add my own instincts, and mix components in a unique way to reflect my personal style.
The last step in my process is to find a starting point. It might be a single piece of furniture or a gorgeous textile or rug, but usually my rooms start with one item and build from there. In the case of our office-turned-library, we knew we wanted a wall of bookshelves, two chairs or a small couch, and a desk. We also decided on a direction–light and bright, white and airy (a contrast to the dark and moody vibe of our dining room). But it was when we were in Turkey that we made our first exciting purchase–a Turkish rug! Pieced together from vintage rugs and overdyed to a warm neutral, we’re hoping it will anchor the room. We also carefully selected a few beautiful silk and velvet textiles, in bold but complementary colors and ikat and suzani prints, at the Grand Bazaar to turn into pillows. They will really pop against an all-white backdrop! These are the initial inspirations and unique starting points for the room, and then we’ll work from there!