My California Room/Office- Before & After

This is a story of an unformed and anonymous space, that I dreamed could be a cool room… It was once my old kitchen and was left behind in the remodel and reconfiguration of the house. Initially, we imagined it as a space that could have sliding glass door, so it could be a private office or a den. However, as the renovation came closer to completion, we began to realize what was drawn on paper was really not as large as it seemed, and the glass door idea was not going to be worth doing for such a narrow space.

This is the evolution of the room, from media room to an office… (updated 2026.)

Before- the room right after the remodel. We were trying to see how my semi-circular couch could fit in here. It didn’t work. I so loved this couch!

I decided the best thing to do would be to leave it open, forget the glass walls and have it serve as a space for my two sons to watch shows or do gaming. It could also be a spot to play family games or read or work on a laptop, when we want a cozier space. (We finished this just in time for the pandemic to hit and both 20 something boys were at home with us.)

You see part of the space is the walkway in from the garage and so there wasn’t much left to call an official ‘room.’ The skylight we added here made a dark spot of the home feel light and the space taller!

For perspective, the original area was a 1980’s kitchen remodeled with greenhouse windows and a slanted roof. I loved the light in this space, but the single pane widows were deteriorating and California kitchens aren’t really the climate for a full ceiling of skylights. It was great in the winter, but for many months we were cooking like bugs under a magnifying glass, literally.

To better use the space, the kitchen was moved to the center of the house and this area became the extra den/media space. The ceilings were raised to meet the rest of the roofline and the entry/ walkway from the laundry was relocated – marked above, and the X is the skylight. The rest of the area became the leftover room in the top photo. In hindsight, I could have built an awesome pantry, but we already had a mudroom with cabinets.

To expand this tight space, we swapped out the window- post remodeling, for French doors. Now we open up this room when we want to use the pool area for entertaining and also acts as a kind of adjunct lounge for when we hang or entertain around the pool. The view out to the pool visibly enlarges the space, versus the small window.

Once the French doors were installed it became clear to me this room was going to have to have a water theme. It made sense to create a ‘California Room.’ If you Google California Room, it says it is an indoor-outdoor living space- a relative of the sunroom, but with open air. That is exactly what I was hoping for so I call it our California Room, plus it sounds cool.

I had two Serena & Lily chairs I had been saving just for this room. I built the space around these and the rug. The Mattitick chairs (they updated it here) seem like the perfect chairs for a California home. My throw (updated look) from Serena & Lily here on sale.

This is how the space looked with my chairs and the new denim rug.

I was fortunate to find a nearly matching ottoman to the chairs at a local Homegoods. A total lucky find. I also added my vintage tennis racquets.

This part of the wall has a recessed space where I planned a bookshelf.

I also bought two upholstered chairs that swivel, found at my local home store. (Cute version of it here.)

Our acrylic table fit in here perfectly to hold my turntable under the television. The basket below holds the guy’s gaming things and we just stacked our vinyl albums under the table…

I had an old marble table that I used between the chairs.

Our vintage glass console in the walkway is a good catchall for keys and sunglasses as we mostly leave and enter through the garage.

How I updated it as an office.

This rattan bookshelf was on the top on list. I bought it, and updated this space as my office after my kids moved out. I added a Ralph Lauren inspired glass and chrome desk (similar here and a bit larger one here.)

The chair was a pandemic find that broke and I later upgraded to the amazing Setu desk chair (on sale now.) Max has one in his office too.

Originally I tried to think like a designer and created an inspiration board for this space..I began with the chairs and my rug… Two versions below, with the original vision, and below that a new one with the updated pieces that are available now.

Items from above:

The rug was my jumping off point for the color scheme with its ocean hues. It’s fun, beachy, a little Boho and would be the perfect flooring for a room that people might enter with wet feet. That is no longer available, but this is similar and super cute for such a space and this Ryder rug is recycled denim and wool which is another great option in these tones.

I love to mix in some navy as a little punctuation in this space with the carpet. This is a great pillow with darling details in a navy (and other blue hues.)

We will need a table in here for games and to hold drinks and The Market Coffee Table is the perfect table for a California Room as I can move it outdoors when I want to expand the room to the pool deck. I like that it’s lightweight and small in size so it doesn’t overwhelm the room. More than anything though, it brings me back to happy Hawaiian vibes just looking at it.

I envisioned a chunky white lamp for the entry table here and this Amora lamp fits the bill with a coastal feel, but is still a classic to have for a long time. Good lamps are a smart investment. Don’t we always keep them for decades?? I know I do.

I love a big basket in varying sizes to hold throws for chilly nights when we open the French doors and for getting cozy while watching shows. I adore the shape of these La Jolla baskets and also this at The Container Store, and this at West Elm nice and I love these at Wayfair.

On the stripe theme, I love frosted glass vases that remind me of beach glass. They would be cute with cuttings from the yard and could double as hurricane vases table for alfresco evenings. (These above are similar to the ones in graphic- no longer available.)

My Serena & Lily throws are some of my favorite houses items. This baby blue nubby throw is so luxe and I also like this heavy cotton throw in some pretty tones.

I had the walls prepped in this room for wallpaper and this wallpaper is a vibe this coastal theme room.

Serena & Lily has cute beach towels and I am thinking of getting a few of these for just outside the French Doors in a basket.

Thanks for following along and all your kind words about the house updates. You all have made me feel so good about it. It’s a lot of decisions and still I am working away. I hope to do a video walk through of the house very soon. The master bath video is on my Instagram. Please follow there for more regular updates and videos if you are interested in the house remodel.

Thanks to Serena & Lily for help with this design project and the beautiful Chairs for this room (link to the new updated version). I am honored to be a design partner with them. Some links on this post may generate a commission. Thank you for supporting the blog!

Kim

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