Function and Beauty for a Work-at-Home Mom’s Office
This versatile room serves as office, inventory storage, video set and even as a spot to relax and take a break
Becky Harris
September 10, 2017
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Photos by Sesha Smith of Convey Studios
Office at a Glance
What happens here: An entrepreneur and mom to three kids runs her empire, keeps her business organized and shoots tutorial videos
Location: Flower Mound, Texas
Size: 250 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Urbanology Designs
The backstory: “This office needed to be highly functional for our client, who has a very successful career with Young Living Essential Oils,” says interior designer Ginger Curtis. The space needed to not only be hardworking, store office equipment and supplies and be well organized, but also it had to be ready for its close-up, as this is where the homeowner shoots live videos and tutorials for her many followers.
Office at a Glance
What happens here: An entrepreneur and mom to three kids runs her empire, keeps her business organized and shoots tutorial videos
Location: Flower Mound, Texas
Size: 250 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Urbanology Designs
The backstory: “This office needed to be highly functional for our client, who has a very successful career with Young Living Essential Oils,” says interior designer Ginger Curtis. The space needed to not only be hardworking, store office equipment and supplies and be well organized, but also it had to be ready for its close-up, as this is where the homeowner shoots live videos and tutorials for her many followers.
Before Photo
Before
The problems: The room was very dark. “It felt like an old cigar room — not what we were going for!” Curtis says. “It had a lot of shelving but no storage that was actually functional for our client’s needs. It was also in bad shape and had been neglected. For example, the flooring was bucking and peeling in places. The windows were old and leaky and needed to be replaced.”
Must-haves:
The problems: The room was very dark. “It felt like an old cigar room — not what we were going for!” Curtis says. “It had a lot of shelving but no storage that was actually functional for our client’s needs. It was also in bad shape and had been neglected. For example, the flooring was bucking and peeling in places. The windows were old and leaky and needed to be replaced.”
Must-haves:
- Functional workspace
- Storage for office equipment and supplies
- Custom storage solution for the essential oils
- A light-filled, beautiful and inspiring space appropriate for shooting videos
After
Getting started: Curtis wanted to be able to work with what was there as much as possible. Existing architectural features they liked were the A-frame vaulted ceiling and shape of the room. “We wanted to highlight that with taller built-ins that drew your eye up further, as well as with a gorgeous focal point, the light fixture,” she says.
On a brightness scale of one to 10, the existing room was about a two. After the team replaced all the windows, used gallons of white paint and added recessed lights and the chandelier, it’s a 10.
The scope of work: This was a total remodel from floor to ceiling. Work included custom built-in cabinets and drawers, new flooring, trim, lighting, windows, hardware, paint, decor, accessories, furniture and a redesigned fireplace and mantel.
Wall paint: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; desk: Anthropologie
Getting started: Curtis wanted to be able to work with what was there as much as possible. Existing architectural features they liked were the A-frame vaulted ceiling and shape of the room. “We wanted to highlight that with taller built-ins that drew your eye up further, as well as with a gorgeous focal point, the light fixture,” she says.
On a brightness scale of one to 10, the existing room was about a two. After the team replaced all the windows, used gallons of white paint and added recessed lights and the chandelier, it’s a 10.
The scope of work: This was a total remodel from floor to ceiling. Work included custom built-in cabinets and drawers, new flooring, trim, lighting, windows, hardware, paint, decor, accessories, furniture and a redesigned fireplace and mantel.
Wall paint: Decorator’s White, Benjamin Moore; desk: Anthropologie
Strategy: Curtis and her team came up with a plan to keep everything organized but cleverly concealed. This meant hiding the printer, paper, shredder and files, which they stashed on pull-out sliders for easy access. They also created display space for her favorite objects.
The second desk allows her to have two work areas that function in different ways.
Personalization: A lot of thought went into every item in the room, in terms of function and how it reflected the client’s personality and interests. “For example, the photo of the lavender fields that is situated at her desk with a brass lamp to highlight it reminds her of the lavender fields she’s visited many times where her essential oils come from,” Curtis says.
The splurge and the save: The splurge was the customized drawer system for the essential oils. The save was the inexpensive but beautiful artwork score over the fireplace.
Soft touches: These include the cowhide and sheepskin rugs, relaxed Roman shades on the windows and a brilliant chandelier.
Fireplace: Curtis and her team designed an elegant new fireplace surround that is Carrera marble and wood.
Roman shades: The Shade Store; chandelier: Lumens; artwork over mantel: Minted; find home office furniture
The second desk allows her to have two work areas that function in different ways.
Personalization: A lot of thought went into every item in the room, in terms of function and how it reflected the client’s personality and interests. “For example, the photo of the lavender fields that is situated at her desk with a brass lamp to highlight it reminds her of the lavender fields she’s visited many times where her essential oils come from,” Curtis says.
The splurge and the save: The splurge was the customized drawer system for the essential oils. The save was the inexpensive but beautiful artwork score over the fireplace.
Soft touches: These include the cowhide and sheepskin rugs, relaxed Roman shades on the windows and a brilliant chandelier.
Fireplace: Curtis and her team designed an elegant new fireplace surround that is Carrera marble and wood.
Roman shades: The Shade Store; chandelier: Lumens; artwork over mantel: Minted; find home office furniture
Specialized storage: “One of the highlights is the drawer system we designed to house over 800 bottles of essential oil, her prized collection,” Curtis says. “Each drawer height and width is customized around the size of the oil bottles, with special inserts to hold and keep them organized.”
Display: Conversely, she wanted to display her favorite things like books, objects and products, so Curtis provided plenty of display space on open shelves for those things.
Dark detail: “Doing a darker color for the back of the shelving was a hard sell to our client at first because it felt a little bold, but it’s now one of the things she loves the most,” Curtis says. “You will also notice that we did not repeat this look on the opposite side of the room, which was intentional. We wanted each side of the room to complement the other but not be matchy-matchy.”
Dark detail: “Doing a darker color for the back of the shelving was a hard sell to our client at first because it felt a little bold, but it’s now one of the things she loves the most,” Curtis says. “You will also notice that we did not repeat this look on the opposite side of the room, which was intentional. We wanted each side of the room to complement the other but not be matchy-matchy.”
Cabinets and cabinet hardware: The cabinets are a simple Shaker style, and the hardware is a warm brass.
Flooring: The herringbone pattern was the initial inspiration for the room’s style. It is a wood tile.
Find brass drawer pulls
Flooring: The herringbone pattern was the initial inspiration for the room’s style. It is a wood tile.
Find brass drawer pulls
“With good design you don’t have to sacrifice function for beauty, or vice versa,” Curtis says. “Even the smallest items that serve a functional purpose were thought through, like the letter opener, which is a beautiful brass that looks lovely when left out.”
Even though it works hard, the room is not all about work. Curtis says her client also enjoys relaxing in here and visiting with a friend in this bay. “Now our client feels like she has a space that is all her own, designed totally around her,” she says.
More: Read more home office stories
Even though it works hard, the room is not all about work. Curtis says her client also enjoys relaxing in here and visiting with a friend in this bay. “Now our client feels like she has a space that is all her own, designed totally around her,” she says.
More: Read more home office stories
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I love everything about this! Such an inspiration thank you so much for sharing. Love it!
Becky, you should have left it at "That was a typo." I don't agree with your "much more common mistake" statement; I've never once seen that. Furthermore, in this context, it sounds defensive.
Nope, I was just pointing out that it is indeed a similar common mistake and trying to have a little lighthearted fun in response to her funny analogy, which I appreciated. That is what the context/tone of these Comments sections usually is — a place to share opinions and have fun chatting. However, if you'd like some proof it's a common mistake/actually see me defend my joke, check out what pops up here, 1,316 questions about "calcutta":
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/query/calcutta
Though to your point, now I need to look up "carrera." Oops, there are 1,953 questions about "carrera" so you're absolutely correct on that being the more common mistake! Consider me schooled:
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/design-dilemma/query/carrera