The bleeping paneling is taking a wee bit longer than we expected. Le sigh. Hopefully we’ll have an update for you soon. In the meantime…
Every once in a while a shop or office inspires us so much that we decide to crash it (just like we did when it came to this fun kids consignment shop). And we weaseled our way into this office space for Towne & Reese (a jewelry company named after two Charlotte ladies’ kids) thanks to a house crashing adventure from a few years back. You have to remember this one, right? Here are a few shots to jog your memory:
And here’s a pic of the cute couple with their darling daughter Towne out front (from back when we house crashed them):
That good looking couple happen to be Christi and Barret. And Christi happens to be 50% of Towne & Reese (which makes sense of the fact that her daughter’s name is 50% of the moniker). You still with me? Anyway, since Christi’s brain runneth over with amazing style, we couldn’t leave Charlotte without stopping in to see what she did with a bland blank-slate office space. Here’s what it looked like before she got to work:
And here’s what it looks like these days. When you walk in you see a charming bright blue wall emblazoned with their sweet company logo (created by this amazing couple that we’ve also House Crashed – Charlotte is a small town, haha). Gotta love that they put a bird on it.
And see that lovely rug (scored on sale at Anthropologie)? That was the inspiration for the entire office makeover. For example Christi plucked the blue for the wall (Valspar’s Tropical Oasis) right out of the rug (she also got another accent color from the rug that she used in another area, but more on that in a minute). Oh and the leather pouf and awesome side table are from a local shop called Post & Gray.
To the right of the logo wall with the rug-that-inspired-it-all is another teal wall (still Valspar’s Tropical Oasis) covered with their jewelry.
How creative and sweet are the linen canvases that Christi picked up in a variety of shapes and sizes which she uses to pin up all of their gorgeous bling? Sidenote: I know that the word bling was supposed to be dead once our parents started using it, but I just can’t let it die.
Intermixed with the linen canvases is a giant secondhand mirror that Christi got at Post & Gray. It’s huge and such a statement piece among all the jewelry. And it’s even functional (if a buyer shows up and wants to toss on a necklace from the wall there’s a spot to check out the goods).
Christi got the linen canvases really inexpensively from Binders (there’s a location in Charlotte, but they have a website too). Never wanting to pay more than she needs to Christi signed up to be a “preferred customer” (which is completely free) to score some pretty amazing canvas deals. She says that she’s never found better canvas sales anywhere else.
Here’s a better shot of the insanely cool giant mirror. It was literally as tall as I am and I loved the cool grass-cloth-ish texture and ornate design at the top. Oh and from this POV you can see a sliver of the other color that Christi pulled from the rug for another punchy accent wall in a zone beyond the wall of canvases:
How much fun is that splash of raspberry on the wall beyond their charming old meeting/conference table? That paint color is Panama Rose by Olympic. The rugs both came from Ikea and the table was a secondhand score at a local shop called The Sleepy Poet.
As for those great metal chairs, they were from Overstock. Four are just $193, which made them just 48 beans each (she has two extras in another area). Oh and the extremely convincing greenery on the table is Ikea too. I thought it was real. That was embarrassing.
Here’s the view if you walk up to the raspberry wall of frames and turn around to face the table. On the right there’s a little shelf with some great black stools lined up (those are also from Overstock, scored for $45 a pop) and the richest darkest not-cloudy-est chalkboard paint we’ve seen. Ever.
And that chalkboard paint is carried over to the other wall across from the raspberry frame wall as well. We had to know the exact type of paint that came out so deep and rich (sometimes it looks kind of cloudy and gray) so Christi hooked us up with the info: it’s Valspar’s Chalkboard Paint from Lowe’s. Good to know.
Guess who made those scribbles? Hint: remember the name of the company. Yup, that’s Towne and Reese’s handiwork along with a few of their buddies. Gotta love a kid-friendly office complete with a small Ikea table with sweet little colored poufs from Urban Outfitters.
Is Christi not a total genius at mixing elegant stylish industrial pieces (those metal chairs and black stools) with secondhand finds (the conference table, the giant mirror), inexpensive finds (Ikea and Urban Outfitters items), bold colors (those pink and blue accent walls) and fun touches (the grid of kid and jewelry photos, the chalkboard wall, the linen canvases of jewelry, the kid station in the corner)? I was running around drooling and squealing. It was not a good look. Forgive me oh fashionable and composed jewelry designing women.
Here’s one last peek into their gorgeous space (once again Christi brought in a little bit of old thanks to this secondhand buffet from Post & Gray). But look how great it looks with the sleek industrial metal seating and the raspberry wall peeking out from around the corner.
Oh and file this under so-charming-and-boutique-y-that-I-want-to-do-it-at-home:
Yup those are just dry beans on a plate with rings happily bathing in them. Once again, I bow to Christi and her fun creative approach to decorating on a budget and making her space feel so happy and inviting. What a great place to work, eh? Snaps for Christi. And a big thank you to Jessica, the other 50% of Towne & Reese (yup, you guessed it, she’s Reese’s mom). She was just as sweet as Christi. And on top of letting me traipse around drooling and shouting unintelligible things like “Ohmygooooooooons!” and “Chalkblort paint!” they wanted to hook you guys up with a discount code for their entire line of jewelry. So feel free to drop by this online dealer of their lovely wares and enter YOUNGHOUSELOVE15 to score 15% off. Anyway, thanks for showing us a good time in an office building of all places, Christi and Jessica. Smooch those sweet jewelry-inspiring kiddos of yours for us.
So, who wants to play the what’s your favorite part game? I’m having a hard time narrowing things down, but I think the linen canvases, the black stools, and that happy raspberry wall are awesome with a capital AWE.
Psst- Check out other awesome places that we’ve crashed here.
Psssst- We crashed an nursery-turned-big-girl-room over on BabyCenter today. Come on ovah (ovah is the new over).
Sheryl says
I have so much fun reading your posts, and gathering ideas for my house and projects (your former closet turned mudroom inspired my entryway!) Thanks for the Portlandia reference! LOVE it! As someone who lives across the river from Portland (Keep Vancouver Normal!), I don’t go around putting birds on anything that sits still, and I enjoy poking fun at my friends who carry their bird appliqued purses. Thanks for the giggle!
kelsey says
this office looks great! and it is such a small world. i went to high school with barrett and then ended up working with him and matt. so fun! those are some talented women that is for sure. i love that office space and loved their house. i need to go to the sleepy poet, i keep trying to get there, but i am not sure if they would be kind to us coming in there double stroller and wild children!
Mary Anne says
Is the Sleepy Poet you are talking about the one in Charlotte NC? If so my Grandmother has a huge booth there!!! If you have ever been there its the booth whose prices are marked with playing cards!!! She has amazing stuff all of the Sleepy Poet is amazing really!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that’s the one! I love it there!
xo,
s
Serena says
Love this office space! Plus, their jewelry is cute AND affordable?! Yes please.
(Laughed out loud when I saw one of the pieces is called Soreena, I just cant ever find my name on anything. I never got to have the vanity bike plate or pencils in school either. Although the Sissy necklace would work. Both my younger brothers called me Sissy growing up because Serena is just too much when your learning to talk.)
Anyway…Maybe they’ll name one of their new pieces Sherry or Clara? I can just picture how cute/awesome/hip/beautiful those pieces would be.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw a Clara necklace or set of earrings would be super cute!
xo,
s
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
what an amazingly fun, bright, and gorgeous office!!!!!!
Jill says
I am wondering if she purchased the linen canvases primed or unprimed?? Will you ask her for me, pleeeeeeease? :) Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s hoping she drops in with that info for ya.
xo,
s
Emily says
Um….I just scrolled through this like a thousand times with my mouth wide open. How do you read my mind it’s crazy!? For the past week I’ve been trying to figure out a visually appealing way to organize my jewelry. I have a bunch of vintage glassware and a two necklace holders but the visual clutter is getting to me and I don’t like digging through bowls to find the right piece. Anyways then botta bing botta boom you post this and I’m like “why didn’t I think of that!” Im totally going to try out the canvases. So did she just put linen over regular painting canvases or did they come like that? Thanks again!
Layla says
Haha, I just ordered those same Overstock chairs last week and got them today. They’re awesome! Glad to see them in such a stylish and colorful space! And even weirder: I was totally gonna get the matching black bar stools as well! =D
Christi says
Hey Guys! Here are answers to a few more questions…
– Mirror above Fireplace: That is one of my favorite mirrors, too. We got it at Crate and Barrel a few years ago. They don’t have it anymore, but they have a couple that look pretty similar.
– Sleepy Poet: It is the Sleepy Poet in Charlotte! I’ll have to look for your grandmother’s booth next time!
– Canvases: The canvases are primed. Here’s a link to the style that we purchased. If you sign up to become a preferred customer (which is completely free and has no purchases requirements) you get crazy deals on the canvases. http://www.bindersart.com/store/category/4/6371/Stretched/AA-Linen/
– Hanging Jewelry on Canvases: I’ve read responses for a lot of people who are going to try displaying their jewelry on linen canvases, and I think that’s great! It really does show the jewelry off and is a clean way to organize everything. I just wanted to give you a heads up that the necklaces are a little trickier to hang. We use our canvases for display, so we aren’t taking the jewelry on and off regularly. If you’re going to be taking your necklaces off on a consistent basis and they’re heavy, you’ll want to put the pins somewhere close to the sides of the canvas near the wood framing. You’ll be able to lodge the pins between the wood framing and canvas for extra support. It’s a little hard to explain, so I hope that makes sense. The earrings are super easy to hang and can definitely be removed daily if necessary.
I hope this helps!
Kacie says
I LOVE that MUDROOM labeled door! That’s such a great idea!
Kacie
http://www.acollectionofpassions.blogspot.com/
hautechocolate says
this is an amazing space – thanks for sharing :-)
Sheila Zeller says
I love all of this!I’m totally hearting the layered area rugs. Edgy and fun.
Emily says
I don’t know if you know what Looksy is but its like a Ruelala but with all accessories and fashion items…Well Towne & Reese are featured on there today!!! They just have a few accessories at discounted prices but as soon as I saw it I thought of their fabulous office that you shared with us!!!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! I love it!
xo,
s
Natalie says
I love, love, love the conference room! So much so that I copied it for my own dining room- the overstock chairs are amazing!
Since its a dining room and not a conference room though, I do need to cozy it up a bit- What would you recommend for curtains??
Thanks so much!!
YoungHouseLove says
Ikea has some great affordable options. Something breezy like the Vivan panels could work!
xo,
s
Kym says
Can you tell me if you covered the canvases with a linen that you bought or did they come covered.
Thanks! It turned out amazing…so fun!
YoungHouseLove says
I believe they come covered from that source. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kassandra says
Love these inspirational photos, I hope you don’t mind I used one on my blog… with credit of course!
YoungHouseLove says
Of course!
xo
s
Sarah says
Im a little late coming in on this post, but i had a question about the wall color. It looks like there are 2 different shades of blue, but i can only find one paint color mentioned (valspar’s ‘Tropical Oasis’). Is that correct? Both blue walls are ‘Tropical Oasis’?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, I think the light/angles makes them look different but it’s the same color.
xo
s
Ivy says
I love the linen canvas jewllery organizer idea. Do you know what they use to hang the necklaces?
YoungHouseLove says
I think just some pins :)
xo
s