Published: December 10, 2010, By Abbe Fenimore

The Office…That’s What She Said

When designing a home office for a guy, there are many things to consider.  The most important thing to consider is how will the office fit in with the rest of the house.  My clients went with a modern and eclectic look throughout their home so his office needed to play off of that.  The perfect compromise between a husband and wife…she has the house and he has his “man room”!

I am a big fan of graphic patterns and so is my client.  We started looking at graphic wallpaper options to use on the back accent wall but ended up going with that look in another room.

You can see the finish board HERE.

We selected Benjamin Moore’s Affinity  in Weimeraner for the back accent wall. It was the perfect color.  Your eye is still drawn to the back wall but we are not drawing attention to the long narrow shape of the room.  In this case, simple was better.

Since my client is a University of Texas grad, he wanted to bring in pieces that were familiar to him with out designing the entire room in the burnt orange and white color scheme!  The Arabesque Rug from Global Views was the perfect compromise for this office. It brought in the graphic pattern and pops of orange and white!

Piecing the rest of the office together was easy. Now that we had the rug as a jumping off point, we needed to keep the rest of the space open and simple. This white lacquer Studly console was the perfect fit for the back wall and provides a place for my client to keep his printer, files and office knick knacks.

We knew we wanted shelving on the walls but our favorite wall shelves from Design Within Reach were too large and a bit pricy. We found these Tesso Bookcase wall shelves from CB2. The chrome finish works with the rest of the office accents and the glass shelves help to keep the narrow room from feeling crowded.

For the desk in the office, my client found the  Strut Work Table from Crate &  Barrel but the glass top offered was going to take over the space. So we purchased the base and had a custom piece of glass cut to fit the area and now we can keep that fabulous rug front and center!

The University of Texas fountain painting was commissioned by my client. He was able to get the look and size he wanted for the back wall. The white leather Lider Desk Chair from Zgallerie  in white ties in with the console and white in the rug and keeps the space feeling modern and masculine.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these roman shades. We selected a heavily textured cotton in a neutral color for the shades, the color blends with the existing wall color and pops against the dark espresso trim.  The orange and ivory greek key trim was purchased from a local fabric store and looks amazing! The pattern is modern and masculine and the color works perfectly with the Arabesque Rug.

Accent Wall Paint: Benjamin Moore Affinity  in Weimeraner |  Rug: Arabesque Rug from Global Views  | Desk Lamp: Crate & Barrel Hoopla no longer avail but see this color  |  Desk: Crate & Barrel Strut Work Table |  Shelves: CB2 Tesso Bookcase |  Desk Chair: Lider Desk Chair from Zgallerie