7.26.2014

MY NEW OFFICE REVEAL! EEEEEEEK!

OOOOOOH my goodness. It's finally done. I did it I did it! I finished my office and I am completely obsessed with it. I am not even kidding, I sat in there for like hours yesterday for no apparent reason. I didn't even have any "officey" things to do, but I just love being in that space. It makes me feel creative and happy. Are you ready to see it? I mean reeeeaaaallllyyyy ready?! Ok, here's the big reveal (resisting the urge to scream "move that bus!")

The view from the door:


My favorite part of the entire room is the chalkboard wall. I am soooo happy with how it turned out. Here's a little play by play of how it was created. I bought three 30 oz containers of Rust-Oleum Flat Black Chalkboard Paint. I ended up only using 2 for the entire wall, but am glad I have the extra for other details around the room. I poured the paint in a paint tray and then just rolled it on like regular paint. It is thicker than regular paint so be sure to stir it reeeeeeally well before pouring it into the tray. The paint can get a bit splashy when rolling (I ended up with little black dots all over me) so I suggest using a paint roller that is thicker and more dense instead of the cheapy kind. I painted one coat completely and let it dry for only about 30 minutes. The container says to wait 24 hours between coats, but I am super impatient and was like nooooo thanks, so I waited 30 minutes. It was dry to the touch at that point so I figured it would be fine anyway. I painted another complete coat and let it dry for another 30 minutes. At that point it was looking pretty solid but I decided to give it one more coat, making it 3 total (in a span of like 2 hours). After painting, I let it dry completely for a few days.

After it was completely dry, I was ready to write. When you first paint a chalkboard wall you have to do something called "priming". If you skip this step, then basically everything you write on your board will be permanent.  To prime, you just lay a piece of chalk on it's side and cover the entire wall with chalk. Rub it in pretty good and then erase it with a rag or eraser. I used a car wash mitt that looks like this:
It worked really well surprisingly. I also used a swiffer sweeper pad to collect all the extra dustiness.
Finally, I was ready to write and OMG I was so excited. I mapped everything out first. I found some of my favorite quotes and inspirational thoughts to keep my space creative. I made a powerpoint document with each of the quotes on a black background and played around with what I would want them all to look like. For example:


I'm actually pretty sad because I ran out of room and couldn't fit that one up there so I figured I would share it here. Once I had my little mock ups of what I wanted to do, I just chose spots for things and free-hand wrote each quote. I was careful to be sure the quotes didn't run into one another. I was quite surprised with how well it went, considering it was all free-hand. I was sure it would be horrible hahaha

Here's how it looks from a few different angles:

 
The view from my desk:

Some of my favorite parts of the wall:


Let's talk about the rest of the room! I worked long and hard to find the perfect pieces for every nook and cranny. Found some pretty fab bargains along the way too!

This chair is from Ikea and is called "Muren". This chair has a very funny story. So I was at Ikea with my family. My dad and my sister were pretty sick of shopping since we had been there all day, but me and my mom were still trucking along. They took a little resty on some chairs while we hit up the clearance "as-is" section. I was in the market for an awesome chair but had no luck so far. As we're walking through the clearance, I see these two women looking at this chair. They were sitting in it, looking it over, reclining it (yes, it reclines! score!). They asked 3 employees questions about it. I was staring at that beauty from across the room and just knew it had to be mine. I whisper to my mom and we pretty much hawk them for like 20 minutes. We pretended to be looking at this beautiful cabinet (cough, piece of junk, cough) next to the char and contemplating whether we should get it. Heh heh. So finally the women said, "Well I'm not sure if we can get it today, we didn't bring the right vehicle. Let's walk around and think about it and come back in a bit." AAAAH! The second they walked away we picked that guy up and put it on a cart. Rolled it away right and it was mine. Mwa ha ha! Maybe I should feel bad about that, but I don't. I'm sorry, but they left it there and it was free for the picking. So we picked, and it was amazing. It was 50% off just because it had been a floor model and was in perfect condition. I just Febreezed the **** out of that guy when we got home. Yes please :) 


So I knew I had to have a pop of color to break up the black, gray, and white. I thought teal would be perfect! I looked allll over for pillows and finally found the perfect ones at Tuesday Morning. That little place is adorable and full of unique things at great prices. I also snagged the little basket in the picture below. The white table is one of my favorite things. It was from HomeGoods. It is actually an umbrella holder, but I loved the look of it so I flipped it upside down and am using it as as table. Cool right?! My kindle case just happened to be teal so it matches perfectly :)


These cute letters are actually stamps that I bought from Hobby Lobby. I love the look of them. The sand timer and candle holder are both from HomeGoods and the tiny clock is from Pier 1.


I am OBSESSED with my printer stand. It is from Ikea and is called "Alex". It was super reasonably priced and easy to assemble. The quality is fantastic. I have all of my colored paper sorted in each drawer. Drawer 1: regular white paper, Drawer 2: white cardstock, Drawer 3: colored cardstock, Drawer 4 & 5: assorted colored paper, Drawer 6: printer cartridges and assorted printer things.


Of course there had to be a special spot for the babies:


This adorable galvanized mail holder is from Target. It makes me so happy :) I also painted the light switch plate with chalkboard paint. I'm planning to write something on there at some point.


CHECK OUT this addddddorable trash can. Is it not the cutest little thing?? It is from HomeGoods also. I love how oscar-the-grounchy it is.


Cute little industrial fan and "bee boxes" are from HomeGoods!


My sweet little chair :) Adorbs. Snagged this guy at ikea also. It is the Skruvsta!


My sparkly lamp is the perfect girly touch to balance the industrial pieces throughout the room. Found it at Tuesday Morning!


MY HEADQUARTERS:
This is where the magic happens people.


Isn't that the cutest?


And my final touch is the smell. Literally my FAVORITE smell in the entire world is the Mahogany Teakwood candle from Bath and Body Works. Oh my word, it smells amazing. This candle will make the entire room smell good.


VOILA! I did it! This is my new happy place. I want to live in this room. It makes me feel inspired, creative, and relaxed so mission accomplished!

I want to see your happy place too! Where is your favorite place to be?!

Love you all!
XO Khrys

11 comments:

  1. Love, Love, Love your new office! The chalkboard wall is to die for. Your writing looks fantastic...duh! Mine would not look nearly as cute, lol. The IKEA chair story is a crack up. Just love that place.

    ~Laura
    Luv My Kinders

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    1. Thanks girl!!! It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be :) The best thing about it was that I could erase what I didn't like and try again! Hugs to you!!

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  2. I think I would have felt guilty for half a second, and only if I had run in to those ladies later on. (No eye contact, for sure.) Ha! Where did you get that little keyboard thingy?? Does it do anything?? vhair61215@gmail.com

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  3. Hello friend :) Seriously, I should have felt a littttttle guilty haha My mom actually spotted them while we were in the checkout lane. They may more may not have given her the death stare... jeepers. The little keyboard thing was from Target actually in the office supply section. It's totally adorable and actually functional. Each button is labeled with what it does. The only one that isn't labeled is the "Enter" button, which is magnetic for paperclips to stick to. They all come out and do things! There is a keyboard brush, a mini hole punch, and a mini stapler. :)

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  4. Wow! Your office turned out amazing! You can tell that you really took the right time to find the perfect pieces! The chalkboard wall is a great idea. I also really need that printer stand! Duh, why didn't I think of that before, having a printer stand that stores all of my random paper below, genius!

    Mrs. B's Beehive

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  5. Lovin your office! I could only dream to have my office look anything like yours! You did fantastic!

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  6. Your office looks amazing! I wish we had a room in our house that could be devoted just as an office for me. So jealous! I love the chalkboard wall and all the quotes you picked. :)

    You definitely have a knack for decorating!
    Hugs,
    Amanda
    Mrs. Pauley’s Kindergarten

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  7. The new office looks great, Khrys! The chalkboard wall is my favorite part of the new office as well. Are the chairs new? They look really good with the blue printed pillowcases. I'm really fond of your style. The colors don't seem to clash, even though the room is filled with it. You have the potential to be a great interior designer. All the best to you! :)

    Scott Olpin @ The Olpin Group

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  8. Hi! Love your office. I bought the metal target mail holder. Can you tell me how you installed it please?

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    1. Hi there :) Thank you so much! I just hammered two small nails into the wall and hung it in the little holes on the back of the mail holder. I'm not much of a professional lol but it worked for me!

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  9. Your workspace is so cute! It's nice when all the elements of a room seem to fit with one another. I loved the story on how you got the chair. The effort you brought out to do this deserves a pat on the back. I'm sure you enjoy working here as much as you enjoyed doing it. Take care!

    Doyle Townsend @ Urban Fitout

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