THE OFFICE-CLOSE UPS & DETAILS

This room was builder's beigey-white when we moved in, went red immediately, and now is back to a crisp white.  If you missed my post last week, the ceiling is "Wrought Iron" by Martha Stewart and the walls are "White" by Behr.

Here's where we came from:

 I have painted the formerly stained cabinets in our kitchen and the living room built-ins, but really didn't want to paint all of the shelves in this room.  So, my thought was by lightening the walls the stained wood wouldn't look so dated.  I ended up painting the back of all of the shelves the same color as the wall to lighten the interior of the shelves as well.

 

Last month I asked you all to help me pick an accent color for the room.  You all had some great suggestions, but I realized as I started putting things back in the room and on the shelves that I had just about every color to work with!  I decided to let all of that speak for itself and kept the fabrics and pillows neutral.  I did add a few pops of turquoise, and some red stands out a bit in a few of the accessories.

Let's just work our way around the room...mmmkay?  Here are the shelves to the left of the computer-by covering the lower shelves I was able to move the baskets that were previously down low for and use them for storage (and take up a shelf...there were tons to fill!).

There's no way a candle would be functional on that top shelf, so I filled these oversized lanterns with some books and my children's handmade baskets that they wove in the third grade.  You can't quite read it but that red book has one of my favorite titles ever: HOW TO BE A Preacher's Wife AND LIKE IT.  Ha.

Here's the shelves to the right of the computer:

Plain old paperbacks look a little more interesting displayed in an antique dough bowl.  This shelf looked a bit empty so I framed a few pages out of an old children's book and nailed them to the back.

  

Rather than the shelves being strictly for books (which we could have done-I stashed a lot elsewhere), I wanted to be able to store many of my often-used supplies so they would be at my fingertips.  This shelf houses glass containers full of stamps, markers, glue, scissors, and other assorted craft supplies. 

The bike memo wheel that my parents made is the center attraction of the gallery wall over the piano.  I also gave a little gold spray paint to my lamp with the striped shade like Carmel's.

Just what the doctor ordered...1 lemon drop per day after piano practice is completed! 

I picked up this old tambourine at a thrift store for $1.  I think it's perfect on the gallery wall over the piano to tie in some of the wood tones from the rest of the room. 

There are some things that will never look "pretty" (speakers everywhere, video equipment, cords, etc.), so I tried my best to work around them and move on.  A big solution was to cover the previously open lower shelves.  I've loved the look of the skirted consoles that are so popular right now, and adapted that a bit to make it work here.  I kept the fabric simple since there were so many other colors and patterns in the room.

My husband is a drummer, and on his international trips he's started picking out a small drum as a souvenir.  The brown one is from India and the red one is from East Asia.  Also displayed are gifts brought back from foreign lands from his parents.  

A metal container holds fabric remnants.  Did anyone else's parents spend way too much money for "the only music library you'll ever need" when you were a kid? :)

I used baskets that were previously for toy storage to corral children's books, break up the shelves a bit and add texture.

My grandfather's mug-beautiful and bold and crazed and old.

 A final look with my DIY Drum Shade and Hand-Painted Accent Wall Panel-

With that, I think I will declare this room officially done!  And the best part is, other than the paint, about $15 for the skirting supplies, a new photo mat, and switching a few photos from color to black and white, I didn't buy anything for this room!  Hooray for using what you have!

Linking up with:

Emily A. Clark

 

Uncommon 

Savvy Southern Style 

Show and Share at Vintage Gwen 

The Shabby Nest

At the Picket Fence 

52 Mantels