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Mai’s Design Dilemma

Posted by
October 21, 2008

When Mai wrote to us in search of a modern and chic office makeover, we were excited to put our heads together and whip up something faaaabulous, darling. Here’s her letter:

Your home and design choices are absolutely amazing and inspiring.  I love reading your blog daily.  Where I need your help is my office.  I purchased a white parsons desk, a ghost chair, a Keep Calm & Carry On art frame, and I also mounted a TV on the wall. Oh and I painted the room Benjamin Moore Silver Fox (which I’d like to keep). When it comes to a color palette I’d love to keep things light blue, black and white. I like to shop at ZGallerie, Pottery Barn, West Elm, CB2, and Crate & Barrel. Also I would like to add a little sitting area as well (and would like your help with furniture arrangement in general). I’d love for the office to be clean, modern, glamorous and chic. Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you!- Mai

So we speedily whipped up a swank & sleek mood board for Mai’s soon-to-be fabulous office:

Here’s the mood board breakdown.

1. Our glammy-mod color palette will be black, white and pale silvery blue just as Mai has requested. Thanks to the already icy blue walls, we’ll bring in lots of white and a few dramatic hits of black to add balance, interest, and style to spare. As for the furniture arrangement, we recommend centering the rectangular rug that we dug up (patience my friends) in the room and floating a loveseat on the left edge of the rug facing the right side of the space (where Mai has already placed her desk and mounted her tv). This will create a seating area with a clear view of the TV while lending more than one function to Mai’s home office. Then to further ground the seating area we’ll add a sleek and modern coffee table and an occasional chair so there’s even more seating and a few major statement pieces.

2. And speaking of our proposed furniture arrangement, here’s the majorly mod oblong coffee table that we dug up in glossy white. Placed in front of our clean lined loveseat on top of our abstractly patterned rug (again, patience peeps) this sleek and modern coffee table can display a few glossy magazines and provide ample room for drinks if the mood so strikes (and really, what’s work without play?).

3. When we found this glam black & white occasional chair (new at Target for just $169!) we couldn’t believe how perfectly the color scheme worked with Mai’s vision- and the shape of the chair directly mimics the ghost chair that Mai already snagged for a cohesive and oh-so-fabulous combination. This occasional chair will be placed on the top right hand corner of the rug, to the right of Mai’s window (not pictured) and will be angled in to face the coffee table and the loveseat for an intimate little seating area in a snap.

4. Here’s Mai’s existing Louis Ghost Chair- a modern masterpiece in amazing clear acrylic. We’ve actually coveted this piece for a while now (so named due to the traditional King Louis lines mixed with the see-through material) and we have a trick up our sleeves to make it more comfy and inviting- as well as majorly glam. So stay tuned…

5. For the window in the space (not pictured) we’d suggest flanking it with some sleek white grommetted floor length curtain panels from Ikea (hung high and wide to create the illusion of an even larger window). These super thick 100% cotton panels are definitely priced to sell ($39 for two!)- especially with those great oversized grommits that will add some sleek stainless steel to the space.

6. The cool Keep Calm print that Mai already snagged will definitely play into the black and white theme by adding some graphic whimsy to the space while encouraging her to press on even if work gets particularly stressful. We think it would look great massed with other black and white art that can be framed and hung all around the flat screen TV to create a grouping that takes the emphasis off the big black TV. When it comes to what else to frame, Mai can convert personal photos to black and white prints and frame them along with some inexpensive b&w Ikea prints for a high contest collection with eons of style.

7. Here’s the aforementioned rug that will float in the center of the space to define the seating area and add tons of interest and texture. We love that the 5×8 version (the one we recommend for Mai’s room) is $100 off- and we really think it will take the small room with the builder carpet to a whole new glam and modern level. Layers are sexy, people.

8. We also mentioned that we think a loveseat would help to create a plush and inviting seating area without overwhelming the space like a full sized sofa would. This clean lined slipcovered loveseat is just what the doctor ordered- crisp and modern yet plush and inviting (which adds glamorous “lets-recline” style to the space in a flash).

9. Ok, so we’re a little bit obsessed with this gorgeous and super swanky pillow. Not only will two of them look fab on the sleek white loveseat, but they’d look amazing in every room of our house- which is why we’re super psyched that they fit into Mai’s black and white and icy blue color scheme (we’ve been waiting to add them to the perfect mood board for a while now). And the chic chevron pattern couldn’t be fresher or more current (yet utterly timeless to boot).

10. We love the idea of a modern tripod floorlamp (on sale no less!) for the corner of the room to the left of the desk. It will add height and interest (not to mention softer lighting for less eye strain while on the computer) and the showstopping design will definitely incite a few compliments.

11. Here’s our oh-so-glam solution to make Mai’s existing ghost chair even more inviting (not to mention über comfy). Draping a $19 sheepskin over the seat and the back of the chair will up the cozy-factor in Mai’s office while adding a little sex appeal at the same time. Me-ow!

12. This super chic faux alligator magazine holder in white will add even more polish and glamour to the space whether it’s placed next to Mai’s existing parson’s desk or near the loveseat or occasional chair for easy reading.

So there it is. Mai’s chic and glam office makeover. We can’t wait to hear what you guys think!

Update: We sadly can no longer find the time to take on client commissioned mood boards (we now whip up general inspiration boards instead) but if we ever reinstate them we’ll make a big announcement!

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