I’m still in the process of making a linguistic transition from calling one of our bedrooms Jordan’s room and referring to it, instead, as my office . My daughter lived there for 12 years, after all, and it’s where she still sleeps when she’s home for a visit–when she had her wisdom teeth removed over Christmas break, she came home so she could sleep in her own bed and I could take care of her while she recovered. I’ve liked having a place in our house that was set aside for her, even when she wasn’t here most of the time.
But Jordan is finishing up her junior year of college now. She’s living in an apartment and planning to stay in Austin, where she goes to school, for at least two more years–a full year after graduation, because she has a job she loves and also needs a little break before she dives into graduate school. And then there’s the boyfriend with whom she appears to be making plans for the long term (the boyfriend we love, by the way, so this is a good thing for everyone involved.)
All of which is to say that Jordan has gently, but in every way possible, made it clear that she doesn’t need a designated space in our house anymore. I, on the other hand, do. I need a home office.
Here’s the relevant portion of the room in question:
I promise the color of the walls isn’t nearly as hideous as it appears–it’s called Fresh Pear, and in natural light it has that lovely, creamy light green color of a pear. Jordan picked it out, and I was really pleased with her choice. But every time it’s photographed, it turns an ugly yellow-green. There’s just no way to make it look good.
This room will double as a guest space, so the other side will continue to feature a bed–the turquoise bedspread you can see in the vanity mirror is another relic of Jordan’s time in this space. I might, at some point, replace the twin bed with a futon, something that could double as a sleeping space but look less like a bed. That probably won’t happen until after our son is out of college, though, at which point his bedroom can become a designated guest space and my office can serve as overflow, when we have more than one guest at a time. For now, I’m mainly focused on decorating the room to reflect my own taste and making it more functional.
The first order of business will be to find a new home for the black glass-top vanity. I’m hoping I can find someone who wants it, but if not, I’ll donate it to Goodwill. My plan is to replace it with some kind of organizer in which I can store the yarn I have left over from various crochet projects, my photography equipment, assorted art supplies, and a bunch of other things that are currently hidden away in cabinets and tote bags around the house. Having all my stuff in one room will be a huge improvement all by itself.
Once I’ve cleared out the unnecessary furniture, I’ll get started on repainting the room. Here’s the color palette I’m using for inspiration:
The color at the bottom (“Cactus Blooms”) is more peach than it appears in this photo. That’s the color I’m planning to use for three of the walls, because it’s light and will open up the space. I’m thinking I’ll use something like the “Aruba Blue” for an accent wall–probably the one opposite the window, since it’s a darker color–and something like the raspberry shade (“Glamorous”–who names these things?) for pillows or other accents.
The thing I’m probably most excited about is this wall cling, which I ordered from Etsy using a gift card I received from Jordan for Christmas. It seems fitting that her gift to me is something that will make this room less hers and more mine, doesn’t it? I also have an abstract painting called “Dreaming of Paris” that I’ll be happy to have a place for now, as well as a collage print by Kelly Rae Roberts that I bought about a year ago.
I love bright colors and funky, abstract artwork, in case you hadn’t guessed that by now. This will not be a beige office. There will be color and inspiration in abundance.
It’s likely I won’t get started with the painting until at least Spring Break in mid-March, but as I’ve said before, planning a project is half the fun. I’m having a great time just figuring out what will go where and trying to imagine all the possibilities for a space that reflects my spirit and feels like my own.
Ready to see the transformation? Read Part 2 of this post here!
6 Comments
I secretly dream about what I want to do with my girls rooms when they are done with college. It’s a long way off but re-decorating in my head is fun! I loved reading about how you are actually doing it. Love the color!
Thanks! I’m all about bright colors. My husband isn’t so crazy about my plans, but he’s happy to let my office be my space.
The hardest part is accepting that it’s now “your” room and not your child’s room. Having been through that, I know! It took us awhile to turn son #1’s room into something else. We’re now at the point where son #2 doesn’t “need” his room … but in a way that will be an even bigger thing for us, since it will mean they’re both gone and are now adults who visit rather than live here. So his room still has his stuff in piles and his wall decorations etc. He’s a junior, so we have another year….
That’s the hardest part indeed. I keep second guessing myself and thinking things like “Jordan isn’t going to like me getting rid of that,” and then I have to remind myself that Jordan can come take anything she wants from the room–but otherwise, these are my decisions to make. It’s a tough transition, to be sure.
Thanks for the inspiration! I recently transitioned to working at home full time and am looking to spruce up my home office too. Also need it to be an ‘overflow’ guest room like you do – we’re getting a trundle bed for it so that it looks like a day bed, but can actually sleep two!
We’re debating between a trundle/day bed and a futon–but since this is one of the last changes we’ll make, we have plenty of time to figure that out. For the moment, I’m just excited to have the chance to spruce!