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You’re in for a treat today! Aren’t room transformations THE BEST?!!
If you have been reading the blog for awhile, you have already seen two rooms come together in the Gebhardt home – the formal living and the casual living. Since Sabrina is a beautiful photographer, she needed an office that would be colorful and happy and inspiring. But because this room would do double duty for guests, it needed to be accommodating and inviting, too. Of course, I was happy to help! (repeat clients are my biggest compliment!)
Sabrina deemed this room “her hot mess”, and it was full of hodge podge furniture and…stuff. (after moving two years ago, I still have a space – or two – like this, sigh)
Here are some before pics.
The room could use some love, but the dog is cute, right?
Sabrina bought the desk super cheap off of CraigsList when they got into their new-to-them 1920′s home; mainly out of desperation for a workspace amidst the chaos of moving. We pondered getting something different but ended up with a “is that the same desk?!” transformation.
Because this was essentially Sabrina’s space when guests were not in town, I was given permission to “girl it up” if I felt so inclined. Carefully listening to my clients is very important to me, so I made sure I fulfilled her requirements of “pretty”, “lots of color”, and “functional”. Of course, I needed a jumping off point, some inspiration, and I knew immediately what it was.
Designers Guild, Orangerie Rose Fabric
Ah, the ever-spectacular Designers Guild “Orangerie Rose” pattern. I have loved this watercolor-y floral fabric for years. It runs about $150 USD a yard so it was merely a dream. Until…I snatched up four yards on Ebay for around $200. I was so excited! I saved it for just the right client, and I knew when I saw the room, and pondered Sabrina’s color story for the space, that she would love it. Therefore, with this fabric in mind, I designed the room, and presented Sabrina with this design board.
We started from scratch with this room except for the french provincial side tables, a brass swing arm floor lamp, a mission style bench, and an old Ethan Allen wing chair. Sabrina did a lot of the legwork on this room herself, taking the board and running with it, but I really enjoyed working out all of the details with her and styling the room. So without further adieu,
Welcome to the Gebhardt Guest Room/Office.
I have to tell you, this is one of my favorite viewpoints of the space. You get a little sneak peak from the hallway, and I think one just feels drawn into the room.
The gorgeous campaign dresser is a Scout Design Studio find, and we painted it in Rustoleum’s Safety Red, a high gloss orangey-red hue.
It turned out pretty killer. One of Sabrina’s main storage requests was somewhere to put all of her kraft paper boxes she uses for presentation of her client’s photos. This long but narrow depth dresser fit the bill perfectly. Brass hardware like this slays me.
We styled it with books, sentimental wine corks, and some pretty water and glasses for guests to feel right at home.
Besides the fabric, my favorite feature of the room is this interchangeable art/photography wall. Using vintage frames Sabrina already owned, plus a few purchased from a local salvage store, we fashioned this interesting collection by nailing large metal binder clips into the center of each frame. It will be so easy to alter the photos and artwork as desired.
The vintage bamboo pair of chairs are one of Kristen’s Gypsy Soul Interiors finds, and we had the seats upholstered in the Orangerie fabric. They. are. stunning. The green and white flocked trellis pillow is from Etsy.
Sabrina says this is her favorite photo of the space, and I love it, too.
The vintage round ottoman was a CraigsList purchase.
Since the bed was in front of the pretty windows, I didn’t want to cover too much sunshine. Therefore, I searched for an iron bed until I found this one (from Pottery Barn) at an estate sale for $150. We sprayed it in Rustoleum’s John Deere Green. (I’m loving that little cutie’s pjs in this photo!)
This little princess likes the bed, too. How precious is her little dolly sleeping next to her?!
The bench at the end of the bed looked like this before.
Using some not-being-used-by-me-anymore World Market gray velvet curtains I had edged in white linen, we had it reupholstered and tufted. How very Maria VonTrapp, ha!
The beautiful Orangerie fabric was used for long pillows for the bed and a bolster for the bench. Yellow silk fabric was used for piping.
Are you loving the rug as much as I am?! There is nothing like an old rug to bring a wonderful sense of age and character to a space. Found on Ebay from this seller whom I have used many a time – I highly recommend him! (I can hardly look at his rugs without wanting at least twelve!)
We used one of Sabrina’s french end tables she already had on one side of the bed, and placed this grasscloth one (another Gypsy Soul Interiors find) on the other side.
The lampshades were edged in pretty trim.
Sabrina had previously purchased this curvy shaped Ethan Allen chair for a great price off of CraigsList, and we had it reupholstered in this crisscross gray fabric (“Hector” from Cutting Corners). The pillow is another Etsy find. The curtains are linen from Ikea, edged in a yellow Greek key trim.
For printer and office supply storage, this bamboo shelving unit was purchased off of CraigsList. I love to make useful items display nicely.
The desk turned out so great! We painted it in Benjamin Moore’s Wedgewood Gray reduced 50% and added the dainty brass knobs.
The corkboard was purchased at Home Goods, and Sabrina painted the frame gold, and added the chevron fabric (Premier Prints) and red trim.
Light, bright, and beautiful, just what Sabrina wanted! She sent me these thoughts about her new room, and it made me so happy!
Oh Grace. I cannot even describe how perfect my office space is. It is my new favorite room in the house. And I am so glad that it is because I spend so much time in there! Even my daughter says, “Mommy, I love your new work room”.
Before we started, this space was a complete hot mess. It was the office. The guest room. The unorganized catch-all. It was ugly, stressful and the most unproductive and unwelcoming room in our home. I spend 3-5 hours a day in my office and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. I wanted to love the space. I wanted guests to love the space. I wanted to get organized. I wanted to feel good about walking into the office and not an overwhelming sense of dread.
When we started the project, I told you that I wanted color and inspiration but that it also needed to have a calming effect so that our guests would feel comfortable too. I basically gave you free reign on a lot of things and your ideas blew me away again. This room is so perfectly me in every way. I love every single thing about the space. The color. The patterns. The texture. The organization. The coziness. The drama. All of it. And most of all I love that you were able to wrap it all up into one perfect space.
Again, thank you so much for your vision and patience and creating such a wonderful space for our family to enjoy.
It is truly my pleasure to create spaces that are loved and lived in. A big thank you to Sabrina and family!!
What is your favorite feature of this room?
If I can pull it together this weekend, I should have some of the “troubled spaces” up next week!
**many many thanks to Sabrina of Sabrina Gebhardt Photography (head over to her site and check out the GORGEOUS family and child photos on her blog) for the lovely images in this post**
