Please help me pick curtains (and other decor tips) for my office

14 years ago

Hello,

I am currently focusing on decorating our office. Below is a pic of the office as it is currently. The walls are SW Steely Gray. The desk and printer stand will be replaced with a new desk and stand in glossy white. I have an oak bookcase on one wall that will be staying that is not visible. So the room is gray/black/white. I found the curtains below that would introduce yellow as an accent color. Do you think these curtains are a better choice than what I already have (plain white panels)? Will the pattern clash with the zebra rug pattern? Can you make a another selection if you think of something else that you think would be nice? I love the curtains, and the contempory vision that I see the room becoming, I just don't what it to be too "feminine" for dh?

Office as it is now:

Curtains (not the right color, see next pic):

Color of curtains:

Elaine

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Comments (14)

deeinohio
14 years ago
Elaine:
I really like the curtains, but they look like "fun" to me, rather than sophisticated, which is the look you seem to be going for.
Dee
blondepegasus
14 years ago
I think the current white drapes are better and that you'll like them better once the rest of the white furniture is in. No offense, but I'm not loving the new drapes. I do think they would clash with the zebra rug, which by the way, is fantastic! Splashes of red as an accent color would look great in here. You could do a black textured shade as a backdrop to the white chairs, leaving the white drapes...that would be gorgeous.
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You asked: I hate it. The bottom one looks like someone took a traditional, wicker sofa and wrapped it in leather. Those very formal, old fashioned arms, and bun feet, don't go with the eclectic, casual style of the upholstery. The shape of the red sofas is much more appropriate, but it would be better in all leather. Leather is great with kids so long as they don't have sharp things in their pockets and can be trusted not to poke pencils into it. It cleans up with water and saddle soap. But it does stick to bare skin, and can get hot. It's nature's vinyl. Which is why they combine it with fabric. Bad move. Either be fabric or be leather. The weight and texture are too different and they rarely come out looking great, especially after some living happens. The red bench is cool! Less imposing than a sofa table (console), but with a lot of the same function. And it's folky and funky. My Aunt had the two sofas flanking the fireplace in her living room. It's a great conversation grouping, but not so much for TV watching. For that, especially for the kids who probably look at the screen more, you want a straight on view. You can do a big square, though. An L of couch and settee or second couch or loveseat, and a couple of small easy chairs that are easy to get around on the opposite side. You have your red chairs. I'm not sure if they're too big to allow people to walk by easily if you close up the square, but even so, you can always pull them over for company, and keep them by the piano for family time with running kids. Re Larry, have your other family members sit tested him? I totally agree about the shape. It's very tired. But that LOVE thing is important. Your family room couch should feel Ahhh to sit on. I'm sure it'll still be there though. Maybe you can find a similarly comfy couch in a more classic shape that will give you more breadth of possibilities. Comfort comes first, but it can be done with a little more style than poor Larry. ;-)
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Hi bristlingacres, I am the writer of the Decorating in Prairie style articles on the rug website. I wanted to explain what I mean by "organic architecture". It is different from what most people think of "organic". Most people describe "organic" as something that looks like plants, flowers, along the lines of "organic gardening". Also people looking at Modern designs describe organic shapes as very elongated curvy types designs. Nothing rigid. I think the shapes the "stuff" in a lava lamp are organic. For "organic architecture" that I write about, it means that the home and all the furnishings are designed for the specific site. Frank Lloyd Wright used the term all the time, so since my rugs are geared towards people who like that concept, I use the term organic in that context. Since the Prairie style houses are generally low, horizontal, rectilinear structures, the furniture designed for those homes were rectilinear. The art glass windows were mostly designs of the wild plants found near the building site of the house. The architects of the time would do geometric abstractions of those plants in the window design. If rugs were designed specifically for the home, then they would echo those geometric designs. Thus (finally got here, whew) the rug designs tend to be geometric motifs and not the curvy or plant like designs that most associate with the term organic. I agree, my designs are not for everyone, but for the people who are attracted to the whole concept and like a linear abstraction - they seem to be the ticket. By the way I think the rug you picked is a great addition to a Craftsman look and feel. Thanks for looking at my website.
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It depends on what you do in the office and how much you want to spend, but I would: Get rid of the rug entirely and leave the floor au natural, but add a desk chair mat under your chair to protect the floor. Add a few tall shelves or bookcases, depending on what you need them for (files vs equipment vs books) -- Ikea has some nice options that aren't expensive and are easy to assemble. I'd add colour to the window covering (different drape? coloured tie?) and then decide if you want art work/photos and/or a corkboard/white board. If your peripherals (like printers, etc) are small, you may want to consider something like Ikea's Kallax series, because they could fit in some of the boxes, while you use others for books or baskets. I wish I'd thought of that before I got the storage unit I did.
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looking great party of six!!! the room is looking more homey with the additions. the larger mirror looks better for sure. because you have such a large room, accessories need to be large too. as an example, the tray on the ottoman as was mentioned and even the items you have on the sofa table. you may not have one, but you could probably go with a longer one too. I would consider two large table lamps for the table and you may not need much more than that for the table, thinking too once you put your wall hangings up on that wall you won't need much on the table except the two large lamps.. do you have by chance larger pair of lamps in the house just to see? the other items I think are too small. one other idea... have you considered new down inserts for your pillows, you can get packs of 2 on Amazon for reasonable prices. get one size larger than your pillow size and they will help give them plumpness. I would also get a couple large pillows, like 24in x 24in, again bigger is better in your room. down inserts will make a big difference for not a lot of money. cant wait to see more!
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charlieinnj
14 years ago
Hmmmm.....After seeing the scale of the circles on the drapes, I don't necessarily think they'll clash with the rug. BUT, it will be bold but IMHO, definitely not feminine. I like how the nailhead trim on your chairs ties in with the drapes. Then, I can see a bright yellow bolster pillow on each of the chairs, too.

Not sure what your 'new' desk is going to look like but an option may be to put the zebra rug under your desk (to anchor it in the room) and then that pattern would be further away from the window treatment?

Another option might be to stick with the white drapes you have and then, use the fabric from the drapery panels and frame it and use it as 'art' on the wall (where your current picture is). I think it would look great framed with a nice black frame with 3 frames repeated on that wall.
mom2sethc
Original Author
14 years ago
Hello,

Thank you both so much! You have saved me some money! I agree about the splashes of red, but DH wants me to go for any color "but red"! I think that is because we did our son's bathroom in the same color scheme (same paint, b/w floor w/ red accents). However...I do agree that red looks awesome in this mix. Here is my son's bathroom (which is my favorite room in our house! LOL!) Maybe I'll have to consider red after all. He hated the drapes (but didn't say so, I could just tell!)..so if I say no to the drapes, but yes to the red...He'll think he won! LOL!
mom2sethc
Original Author
14 years ago
charlieinnj,

I am all about bold! LOL!! I was also thinking of adding yellow bolster pillows to the chairs, also this room opens to my yellow foyer. The desk will be a table style, all legs. I'm not sure if the rug will fit under the desk, it is a possibility though. I LOVE your idea of making wall hangings with the fabric! Would you mount them horizontally above the printer table, or vertically? All 3 the same size? I have a golf-themed quilt wall hanging that I made for dh, it has a big yellow ball (sun) in the background, I think it would tie in with the fabric well.

Elaine
ttodd
14 years ago
What about adding a yellow grosgrain ribbon trom to the top, sides and bottom of your current curtains and then the pop of yellow in pillos as suggested along w/ another something yellow on your desk when you get it?
mom2sethc
Original Author
14 years ago
ttodd,

I like this idea. It is easy enough to do and inexpensive. I really do like the idea of using yellow as the accent color.

Thanks!
bobtheblindguy
14 years ago
I think the curent white will look better. I think the circles will clash with the rug. I would suggest a decorative comtempory rod for the panels with matching tie backs. I agree you need some color, but use accessories like the pillows and wall decorations for that.
ttodd
14 years ago
A little fabric glue goes a long way!

Took me all of 30min. to add my pom pom fringe to my IKEA curtains. Of course I told myself that it was only temporary until I got my sewing machine up and running!
charlieinnj
14 years ago
If you're going for sleek/contemporary look, my first choice would be to have (3) square frames. Using your existing frame in your office as a reference point, I'd say a square that is around the 'height' measurement of that black frame. But, square might be hard to find, or expensive. If that's the case, I'd go for 3 frames the size of the one you have now, just turned vertical. The most important thing about using the fabric as artwork is making sure that the pattern repeats exactly across all three frames.
Without seeing the quilt, it's hard to say if it would go. I just don't associate 'quilt' with anything contemporary/sleek, at all.

{{!gwi}}
blondepegasus
14 years ago
charlieinnj...that is amazing! The 3 framed pieces look fabulous! Momtoseth, if you do this, be sure to repeat the yellow at least 2 other times within the room and be sure to repeat the circular theme around the room too. Your son's bathroom looks amazing...I love the color combo!
mom2sethc
Original Author
14 years ago
Hello!

This is awesome information, thank you all so much!!

ttodd - so you used fabric glue instead of sewing? Was it messy? Do you think it will hold over time? I was thinking of sewing it as I have never used the glue.

charlieinnj - wow! That looks great! I'd like to try this as well. Sleek/comtempory...yes this is exactly what I am going for. Yes, the quilt wall hanging may not work! LOL! I'll have to break that to dh. Ok, about the fabric repeating exactly...I wonder if one 84" or 96" curtain panel will be enough fabric to accomplish this? This is a curtain panel that I found, not fabric.

blondepegasus - yes, I will have the yellow ribbon on the curtains, the yellow in the fabric wall hangings, yellow pillows on the chair.

I'm so excited to get started on these projects!! Thanks!!

Elaine
ttodd
14 years ago
Yeah - the glue has worked great. I've even washed them w/ no problems.

It wasn't too messy - I just ran a line of glue down the edge of the curtain about a 1/4 inch in from the outside edge and ran my finger over it to spread and smooth it out. Then I lined my trim up w/ another curtain seam to make sure it was straight and firmly pressed it on and smoothed out any bumps.

I do have every intention on sewing it on perm. but so far since I was in dire need of a quick 'Dr. Up' job this has been great.
charlieinnj
14 years ago
One panel should be plenty. Glad you liked the idea!

Please help me pick curtains (and other decor tips) for my office

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