I am obsessed with “Before and After” photos of interior decor!

One of my favorite websites is Remodelista🙂
Some of their features are for hotels so if I ever decide to travel and book a room, I know where I’ll look first!

When I decided to dive back into full-time real estate earlier this year, I knew I wanted an office again, but with a different design.

So today I have my New Office Reveal for you!

Here is the “Before” photo.. a typical, traditional and serious looking dark brown office..

And to be honest.. we all know an office doesn’t reflect the kind/amount of work being done in it, does it?

But I wanted a place that had more light since we live in a city with so many winter months..

I was prepared to paint.. but knowing that I’ve never ever painted a wall before, my boss { George } let me choose a light gray shade and sent someone in to do it for me:D Phew! I’ll indicate here the color I chose once I get back to the office.

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And here is the “After”!

My first purchase was an Ikea Trestle table.. I am in love with the simplicity of it. I am still deciding whether to paint the legs gold.
What do you think?

My second purchases were the puppy bed and water bowl.. I will be bringing Bella to the office with me on days when I am not out with clients:D

I wanted these very expensive Eames Chairs but found a very similar look for much, much less at my newest favorite store Structube. I found my white leather desk chair there as well, also for much less. ( I think it’s leather? )

The only catch.. is that you have to assemble everything.
{ Think Ikea only prettier furniture that copies expensive design. }

This bookshelf was also from Structube.. ask my son how heavy it was to pick up and how much fun it was to assemble.
I begged.. I pleaded with them to assemble and deliver, but they would not.. could not..

After a few distraught phone calls and a second trip into the store, they patiently showed me how to put it together.. the correct way!
They were so polite and pleasant, which I greatly appreciated because I don’t think I was in a very generous mood that afternoon. Think Ikea assembly x 2!

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But it was so worth the frustration.. I’m in love with the design and the extra space for my books, Ikea magazine and storage boxes.. even water for my clients and puppy when she comes to work with me:D

That is no “Sugar Bowl”, Bella knows it’s filled with treats! I picked that up at Homesense

The vase came home from the lake with me, the stack on the right of it are the free Restoration Hardware Catalogues.. the interior design books have their covers taken off and were brought from home. I love the actual covers of books on display, rather than the glossy paper jackets.

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I think my favorite part of the office is the silver photo frame from home (originally Pottery Barn). I stumbled across a website with inspirational sayings, I had them printed on photo paper and now I have a stack of them, enabling me to change it up whenever I need a boost! They are copyrighted but as long as they are for personal use it’s fine. The photographer used a vintage style filter, I think they are so pretty!!

This quote says:

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”
~ Sara Blakely

I saw this wall clock on West Elm and knew it would cost a lot with both the exchange rate and shipping.
Then I stumbled across almost the exact same one at Crate and Barrel, it was a brand new stock item and I was thrilled to not only pay less but to take it home that day!
I love the white numbers and silver rim, I like modern and minimal styling but also want the space to look warm and feminine.

Back to my desk, the painting is by a local artist, beautiful Samantha Da Silva, it’s one that you may remember seeing in an earlier post in my spare bedroom.. well it’s in my office now.
It always reminds me of the lake.. because that’s where we first hung it. It brings back such special memories of summers gone by!

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I think it looks pretty here on the soft gray walls. The little white filing cabinet was bought online with CB2.  That was one item I didn’t have to carry! It was tough to find one that fit between the wall, the painting and wasn’t too deep that I couldn’t get around my desk.

This is my favorite candle scent Thyme, an inexpensive pen holder and stapler from Chapters/Indigo.

The Kate Spade Day Timer was from Chapters/Indigo as well.

My little “seascape” mug is from a trip to Starbucks one morning.

I still want a Ficus Plant, but I know my brown thumb better than anyone.. so I picked up a flat of Hens & Chicks from Golden Acres garden center.

I found this pretty white bowl at Chintz, it’s either cement or clay/pottery. I love the natural texture.. I know it’s hard to see in the photos. I was initially going to line it with the bubble wrap it came in, but it took up too much space. I’m hoping with the minimal amount of water required that it won’t ever crack!

It’s always a good idea NOT to transplant plants in your laundry room.. once I cleaned that mess up I moved outside.

I gently lifted each larger plant and it’s surrounding little family of plants out then tucked it under the lip of the bowl. I continued around the edge and then put the 5th one in the center. Then I used the brush to gently remove the dirt caught in the plants and around the rim. Blowing on it worked as well because the soil was not damp.  Moving plants always works best when the soil is not saturated with water! It makes for easier clean-up!

And here it is! I love how a new container can really enhance a plant.

I love the little trailing bits..

Best of all the plant is more raised in the center than it was in the original container.

I love the bit of green and something living it adds to my office space. If I can keep this one alive for a few months, I’ll allow myself to try a Ficus:D

Have a wonderful weekend!

I’ll be back in a few days with some fall/thanksgiving decor ideas:)