#homeoffice Archives - Northern California Style

Today I am joining a talented group of women sharing ideas for a ‘Spring Refresh’ for the home.

My refresh came from using peel and stick wallpaper in our guest room/office that really gave it a happy feel.

The room was the bedroom of my oldest who moved out more than a year ago. It looked pretty sad without my son, who took his furniture too. My husband Max took it over as his work from home space when Jackson moved out. Max had ordered one of those desks that rise to work standing as well as sitting and got the ugliest chair on the planet from Office Depot! He refuses to change or upgrade the chair, so his part is what it is.

A before photo..

I had scattered some rugs we had in there to stop the echo..

I wanted this sometime guest space look cozy with a daybed, I even wrote a post about daybeds if you’re looking for options. I just couldn’t commit to anything. The space was tight. I needed a daybed that wouldn’t make the room feel crowded.

When younger son Griffin came home from college at the holidays, he decided to change up his room and ordered and received a new bed and mattress in 3 days. He inspired me!

Why was it so hard for me to pull the trigger on getting a daybed for this space or making any decision? I forced myself online and found a daybed with a small footprint and mattress. Both arrived in two days! Then I bought a rug for the room which always seems chillier than the rest of the house. The same day I ordered a peel and stick wallpaper..

Who was I?? LOL.

It all shipped super fast, surprisingly. The bed went together in ten minutes and then there was the matter of the wallpaper…

The peel and stick wallpaper requires you get a couple tools and Max bought them at the local Ace. After watching a few Youtube videos, he liked this one from Young House Love, he was ready.

Max had some moments of frustration with the second piece, see pic three :D, but after getting the hang of twisting the paper a bit and matching it, he finished in about 2 hours. I think the engineer in him found it a challenge, but not one he wants to do again soon. I was thrilled with the more luxe vibe of the room. The nice thing about peel and stick is you can lift and replace it as many times as you want on the wall until you get it right.

We used Madali Wallpaper by Nikki Chu found on Wayfair. We followed the instructions and ordered four rolls which gave us enough to do the whole wall and have a bit of excess in case of mistakes.

Her papers are fun. I also love this one and this, below and all the peel and stick wallpapers at Wayfair here. If you’re going to try it yourself, this is the way to go.

For the daybed, I used a grey quilted coverlet (this is similar) and I just tucked it around the whole mattress. At the ends I found two long pillows (similar here on sale now) that approximated bolsters and fit the twin perfectly. I added a few other pillows we have in blues and soft grey.

A little round glass table that used to be outside, was squeezed into the corner and I topped it with a lamp from my local store (Harvest Home in the Bay Area) I had my eye on for a while. I wanted anyone who was staying here to have a light to read by, and a place to plug in a phone, have a glass of water and so on. The rug is also from local shop Home by Ling Interiors. The rug is very low profile, so it works with a desk chair on it.

I also have a Mattituck Armchair chair in here from Serena & Lily (on sale now.)

I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out and shocked we got this all completed by March!

I would recommend the Corrigan Studio daybeds from Wayfair. They are currently out of mine, but they have this and this option too.

We were going to do a gallery wall of bird pictures, but we both kind of liked the simpler look of this beach print with the wallpaper. It felt calm and picked up the colors in the room.

Let me get real here though..this is Max’s desk section. I have zero say or control over the chair, cords, etc. The window covering was chosen by Jackson and is a flat Roman shade in Tobin Navy linen from Smith & Noble.

A few similar items if you like this room..

Click on the photos to go to the item.

So I am wondering how many of you have tried peel and stick wallpaper? How did it go? I am now thinking of doing this in my younger son’s room with a dark paper, and also my closet with a floral. It’s an easy way to make a big impact and bring a chic vibe to your home.

Please go to the links below to visit my talented cohorts and see what their idea of Spring Refresh is!

Most Lovely Things
Cindy Hattersley Design

Classic Casual Home
Dimple and Tangles
5th and State

I’ll be back on Saturday with Weekend Meanderings!

Kim

You might also like my post this week on all things floral, Flower Power.

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Hello and happy weekend. It’s our weekend round-up time with Juliet and Elizabeth and I’m sharing a few things that popped on my radar this week..

My little office space is finally done and thought I’d share. After a wait, my desk chair arrived and the whole thing came together pretty easily once I made the decision to make this small space my own. I had originally wanted this space, which was our former kitchen, to be a small conversation or game spot for my kids, but that really didn’t happen. Since it’s been sitting here kind of unused, except for when I popped in here and read, it really became the perfect spot for a small study. My friend April suggested it, and once it was in my brain, it took off from there.

It kind of began with the rattan bookshelf from Serena & Lily which fit in a small niche here, and then this rug, ordered last year, seemed perfect and whimsical. After Christmas, I finally went for it and bought a desk and a chair. All my personal favorite furniture pieces are in here -a cool piece of art, a couple of swivel chairs, a white lamp I love, and a rattan chair with a cozy throw so my co-worker, Ms Cat, can snuggle nearby. I have a little succulent plant in a white pot, a vase that holds my pencils and pens, and a tray for odds and ends. My shelf has some of my Domino magazine collection, rope baskets to hold cords, etc, and some of my favorite design books. I also have a pouf to rest my feet up on if I want!

My glass desk I chose to keep the area light and as it’s in front of my French doors. I wanted this one from Williams Sonoma, but after seeing the reviews and photos of this one from Living Spaces, I chose it for the slightly smaller size and quite a price difference. They also have a nearly identical one on Wayfair in two sizes. I was very happy with the heavy glass and sturdy frame. My desk chair was also pretty affordable and on sale now and I liked the sherpa look in here with my mix. It’s adjustable height and for me is perfect for support and sitting working many hours.

These are some of the pieces that I used in my office and I tried to add similar choices in other price points..

Clockwise from top left: Love this white lamp , white rope baskets (on sale), Serena & Lily denim rug (similar to mine), and this denim rug, another flatweave denim option, my Balboa bookshelf, this cane bookshelf, and this Pacific Bookcase, Studio McGee boucle pillow, and swivel chair (similar), Anthro vase/pencil cup.

It seems like this week flew by… and our kayak trip to Sausalito last weekend turned out to be a lot of fun. We just kind of meandered along the harbor and went down the house boat ‘streets’ which was great house gawking. Only a sea lion came near and most boats were out in the boat lane. Afterwards we had lunch at a darling spot called Le Garage right at the harbor and it was French bistro food with very a fun vibe, views of the boats, great music and people watching.

After lunch, we drove through Sausalito and it was bustling on a sunny February day. We vowed to go back soon and check out all the little spots with views of the city. If you haven’t been to Sausalito in a while, this is a lovely time of year to go. You can combine it with a kayak or a stroll across the Golden Gate and make a day of it. More photos are on my Instagram.

A story of a local Eichler remodel made its way into Elle Decor this week and this home is a beauty. Built in 1971 for a Stanford professor who was a friend of Eichler, it’s been updated by a new family with four young girls using the spaces in new ways, fresh colors and a mix of patterns and textures. It is so uplifting!

I think this sort of happy, eclectic interior is something we will be seeing a lot more of. People are in their homes much more now and we want light, bright and joyful, don’t you think? I’m sure the kids growing up here are loving it. The mom also sounds very cool and someone who just got a more unisex shoe- the ballet flat, added to the Emoji spectrum, so it’s not just a stiletto for women. I applaud that. The whole story and photos here. The interior was done by the talented Jessica Davis. You can follow her also on Instagram here.

As for fashion, I’ve been obsessing now on puffy bags-quilted ones particularly. I found this quilted tote at Bloomingdales and loved the shape and lightness. I didn’t know it was a dupe of a very expensive Khaite bag! Here I am wearing it -(used my son’s room.)

It also comes in a cream and a smaller cross-body version and other colors. I don’t know how to describe why it’s so appealing, but it has something of a generic chicness to it that I dig and I am tempted to get another.

This is the Khaite bag, nearly identical except it’s leather and this is vegan ‘leather.’

It’s also $2,300 vs $98.

I also noticed Frances Valentine has a version of a quilted ‘puffer’ bag too, and it’s quite cute.

I think these lightweight and easy bags will get even more popular as they feel like nothing to carry and a kind of label-less which I think people want more and more as the designer bag market is so over saturated.

Do you watch Vogue’s Beauty Videos? I love them and was excited to see Brooke Shields, who is also 56, on this week. She’s very real and it’s nice seeing people without their makeup. I can feel better about all my spots and blotches and I like her tips ..

I worked for 6 years in cosmetics at Nordstrom back when I was going to school and I still am a bit obsessed with skincare and makeup. I’m wondering if you all would be interested in some of my favorite skincare and makeup things if I do a post? I eventually left that job to do an advertising position, but continued to freelance and do makeup for weddings and a few events for a while. It was a fun time in my 20’s and I met so many cool people and learned loads about skincare and makeup… Perhaps more stories for another day!

Now please go see what great ideas my friends Elizabeth and Juliet have for you this week..