A brief office tour | How About Orange

January 20, 2014

A brief office tour


I don't think I've shown pictures of my office yet, so here's a quick look. It's on the second floor above the parlor, so it's much brighter than the downstairs rooms. Thank goodness— if I had to work in the gloom of the living room or dining room, I'd probably design nothing but gray logos in my state of depression.

The floor is a lighter finish than downstairs and the whole space is sunnier. The fireplace behind our desks was removed at some point, which makes it much easier to put tables there (though the chimney juts out, which is a bit challenging).

It's filled with the same stuff we had in our Chicago place. Spray painted file cabinet, the boxes we made to put our monitors on, the Steelcase chairs I reupholstered, and various orange stuff I either painted, purchased, or was given.


Here's a new addition: Vara orange doors for the IKEA Besta cabinet we've owned for years. I bought the doors yesterday and put them on, and they hide all the ugly clutter that used to be visible under the window. Fantastic!


I've got a bunch of job files I need to access easily, so I figure if they have to show, they should be my favorite color. (Boxes of 100 colored file folders are available at Amazon.)

You'll notice there's a tiny room adjoining the office, accessed by double pocket doors on the office side and another door heading out into the hallway to the right of the couch. (The office also connects to our bedroom with double pocket doors, so I can roll out of bed in my PJs and plop down at my computer after a very short commute.)


Alex has dubbed this room the "Designer Lounge," which sounds very glamorous. It's like I'm Don Draper, and perhaps I need to have a glass of whiskey and lie down for a moment to mull over a particularly snarly creative problem. Like what to put on the walls, for example.


I'm sure what caught your eye and made you gasp with delight, however, were the two 70's table lamps. Are they not awesome? A recent find.


If it's round and lights up, I automatically love it, and here are not one but TWELVE total orbs of glowing beauty. Don't let the high ceilings fool you. Each lamp is over three feet tall, so they are not petite. There is no overhead light socket in this room, so whatever lamps we add have to work hard at dispelling the gloom. Twelve bulbs will do it!

28 comments:

Unknown said...

Those lamps are amazing! Seriously, the best. I'm more than a little jealous.

Grandma G said...

"A very short commute" - indeed! :)

Great job on the lamp find! Yes, they should certainly light things up!

Soooo nice... all of it!

Mum

Geneviève said...

Your office is amazing, I love the luminosity and the clear wood! And a designer lounge... It should be mandatory to put a similar room in every house! It could be the stitcher room, the painter room, the crafter room...

annie dee said...

Love the office and the designer's lounge and wow - those lamps! They are stupendous!!

Unknown said...

It made me smile when you described the space with the sofa as a 'tiny room' - in London someone would stick a bed in it and call it a double bedroom! Your house must be lovely and spacious - I'm exceedingly jealous!

Kamilla Vinther said...

That looks like a very nice office for some orangy work. Well done :)

Betz White said...

I love your house! You are a lucky lucky girl. I'm glad you are having so much fun with it.

Jessica Jones said...

I do feel so lucky. And so thrilled that real estate prices here are what they are. This whole big house cost less than our condo in Chicago.

Jess B-E, you're right--the smaller room is only tiny compared to the other rooms!

Amy in PA said...

Even though first room in this link is more traditional, I immediately thought of these colors (and thought you painted the small room this shade) when I saw this post. Love what you're doing to your home.

http://www.bhg.com/blogs/centsational-style/2013/05/16/decorating-with-a-tan-sofa/

JenHoney said...

I've been following for a while, but I think this is my first comment. Just had to express my extreme envy. I'm a room-renter, and I have to lay a drop cloth and a huge board down on top of my bed if I want a work table. Sigh...some day I too, will have SPACE!

mehungie said...

I love your space, especially that rug!!!

Vivren said...

THOSE LAMPS. WHAAAAAAT. Very jealous of your jackpot find!

Jeanne said...

I'm lusting after, errrr, loving your lamps. And rug. And lighting. And floors. Oh, heck, everything about your office and home. It's all looking so efficient—and delightful.

Jessica Jones said...

Aw, thanks! What you don't see is that at night when the sun isn't shining, the main office room is really dim and depressing. I have to figure out some lights pronto! The glow of my monitor in a dark room makes me feel like a hacker or a terrorist. And I can't lug my desktop into the Lounge.

Amy, thanks for the link with couches and decorating ideas!

obat tradisional said...

nice blog, i see my inspiration in my home, i try it at my home :D

Kanako said...

Oh your office is so Orange! Lives up to your blog title ;)

Periwinkle Paisley said...

The thing I love most about this room is that there's NO cluttery junk in it. My office looks like a ransacked yardsale. How do you keep it so tidy? Part of me hopes ypu'll say there's a big mountain of stuff off camera....

Jessica Jones said...

I did not show you the closet that's to the right of the couch--open that wood door and it's full of stuff! There's also a short file cabinet and bookcase with printers on it to the right of my desk. And another bookcase full of books.

Unknown said...

"I'm sure what caught your eye and made you gasp with delight, however, were the two 70's table lamps."

Actually I was taken by the view out the window. So beautiful!

It'd be hard to not be inspired in these lovely rooms. Thank you for the inspirations!

Alexandra Swistak said...

House hunting is hard work!

I have lots of home office design ideas, but I can't see myself writing my next novel in any of properties we've seen so far.

Our house hunt continues.

HawaiianLibrarian said...

This is a happy happy space. Even though I'm in a 3B/2b house I haven't carved out a space as happy as your office/lounge. Just lovely and bright, w/ a view!

HawaiianLibrarian said...

This is a happy happy space. Even though I'm in a 3B/2b house I haven't carved out a space as happy as your office/lounge. Just lovely and bright, w/ a view!

Anonymous said...

I love your office - it's so orange!!! I especially like the lamps!

Jenna said...

I love your office. It makes me want to take some more time and work on mine. Maybe in February!

Alicia Parsons @ Atypical Type A said...

I laughed out loud at your Don Draper comment. I'm about to move into a new house with a dream 2-room studio and am thinking of a similar setup with a sofa in one room.

Adore that lamp too!

Unknown said...

Love how your use "orange" in the little things you use to decorate your office. Stands out very subtlely. Nice

Marianne said...

What a gorgeous office, i'm quite jealous :) Where did you get that beautiful orange rug?

Jessica Jones said...

$10 clearance at Target many years ago.