Dear Princess Lala,
I spent a long, horrible summer putting up drywall in my basement. All I have to show for it is this empty yellow box.
There are no windows in the space, so we put in six recessed lights (on a dimmer) and a central fixture. The ceiling is too low for anything really fun or dramatic with lighting. I definitely want to use the space for an office and a guest room is optional (we have an extra bedroom that we use for guests now). I buy a lot of furniture on Craigslist and love a bargain, but I’m willing to spend money on a few signature items – a rug, a bed, a cool print – that I can take with me. I don’t plan on living in this house for more than a couple of years, so I want to spend my money on things that I don’t have to leave behind.
I’m not afraid of color, but I can’t live with deeply saturated colors. I actually don’t care for yellow, but I wanted something warm to balance the gray of the fake slate floor. This new space is directly off of a big family room in our basement, which is
mostly cream with neutral carpet. The slate floor continues from the office to the connected bathroom.
I’ll send better measurements when I can shake the child from my leg. Which reminds me – this is NOT a kid space,
though there may be grubby little ones passing through to use the powder room during play dates.
I have hit a wall with this windowless box and need some inspiration.
Cheers & Smooches,
Your Loyal Subject
Dear Lovely,
Congratulations on all of your hard work and new skill set! No one likes drywalling, not even professional drywallers. Perhaps you have hit a wall with this room because it serves no immediate need- you have an available guest room and you are not working from home full time. I am game to explore the dual potential of this space and create an office that doesn’t feel so underground!
I’m okay with the yellow & choose to treat it as a cheery neutral backdrop. I won’t stray too far from the existing contemporary style and palette of the rest of your home. Building from the ground up, I propose a mainly grey palette punctuated with toasty maple wood to give it warmth and a bit of a vintage vibe. I like the idea of skillfully mixing in a few lilac and deep purple accents to draw a relationship to the connecting powder room but don’t over do it. I am always wary of being too ‘coordinated.’
Home Office With Daybed
I rather like the idea of a modern daybed in this room and am inspired by the simple, chic lubi daybed from CB2. While
taking precious little floor space it actually unfolds into a king size sleeper. This leaves plenty of room for a proper desk with ample work surface. Max out the storage with a mixture of closed & open options. In addition to floating shelves above the desk, choose a tall bookcase or wardrobe for the short wall nearby to house your printer and computer accoutrements. These shelves will establish a nice height line in the room that can be repeated by adding a large print and substantial floor lamp to the daybed wall. A lower open bookcase along the entry wall with a large photo grouping or fabric covered bulletin board above will fill out the space nicely and give the room a nice sense of proportion & scale.
I chose the Zebra rug in grey & cream from West Elm as inspiration to keep it bright and fun. I could as easily visualize the Chrysanthemum or Ferris rugs at WE in this room. When I am on a strict budget for a room, I will choose a solid color remnant from a carpet supplier and have it machine bound. This has the added benefit of being able to custom size, super size or silly-size a rug to suit your needs. Sizing: Position a 7′ x 9′ area rug to ground the seating area, leaving about 12″ under sofa or choose a custom size 7′ x 13′-6″ to fill entire room with an equal border of floor showing on all sides.
Lighting: It is wonderful that you installed both recessed lighting and a central light fixture, all on dimmers. It is always best in any room to have multiple sources of controllable light but especially so in a room without windows, further enhanced with ambient & task lighting/lamps. I encourage any basement renovators to install the latest and greatest in recessed fixtures/pot lights. I really hate to ask someone to change a fixture that is brand new but I really want you to change the brand new center light fixture. I appreciate how difficult it is to find a low profile fixture for a room with less than high ceilings- really, I just scrolled through 800 of them. I also realize you not wanting to bust the bank on your basement reno but it seems too builder-basic foyer. This room isn’t either (and neither are you) so here are some picks for between $59-$189 in your town.
Additional Finds & Inspirations:
I cannot help myself with mid-mod inspired furniture, I like to see it paired with well travelled, global accents like over sized baskets or Asian fretwork. Vintage industrial elements like printer’s blocks and wire baskets make a hip. happy marriage too.
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/atq/2252690557.html
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/fuo/2214666604.html
http://www.lsfabrics.com/fabric_catalog.php?cPath=1_37
St.Louis has a robust Craigslist and it may also serve to guide your inspiration for this room. I hope this becomes a room that inspires, where ideas are born & private dreams are hatched! I feel I have spent some time in it already. In fact, I believe I left my shoes by the daybed. If you could send those back to me, I would be much obliged.
As Ever,
P to the L
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