Office Debut.....

I decided to go ahead and reveal

my office.  I still need to tweak it

hear and there but the 

foundation is set!

 Remember it's a small room...

10.5 x  10.5... and I'm sharing

it with a bedroom dresser. My goal
was to have it feel like a den/office-
and with my very traditional furniture 
the tone was set.

 I got totally frivolous and ordered a set

of books from One Kings Lane.  These

are Swedish books by Victor Hugo  

and because I am Swedish (from my father's side) 

I became intrigued and  decided to purchase them.  
I found the lion bookends at T.J. Maxx

a while back and as it turns out they 
resemble some lions that are outside of 
the Drottingholm Castle in Stockholm

Sweden!  I stumbled across that

information on the internet!

Dan installed some lights on the front 

side of my desk. 

So I have my Swedish books guarded

by my Lions! I am pleased!  I brought

in a couple of frames and the two birds

I got on clearance from The Thomas 

Jefferson-Monticello on line store.

I had two other lamps that I thought I 
were going to be used in this room, but 
once everything came together they

just weren't working.  I felt that their sleek 
white lamp body was just too modern, 

(see progress thru previous posts)
 here  ,  here , and here
I plan to use them in another room.

I found this lamp at Pier 1 (clearance) and I 

borrowed this stand from the 

living room to give it some height.

 The curtains I ended up with had

just a bit of shimmer in them

and their taupe/brown tone worked

 out perfectly. 

The hardware on the

lamp ended up looking like it

was made to match! The blue in

the lamp picks up on some blue found in

 the big picture by my desk. 

 The sheers have a bit of a shimmer 

to them too and offer a little modern 

twist that I was looking for!

 Behind my desk is the picture I 

selected from Pier 1 Imports. It

also has a bit of shimmer on it-

It's also hard to photograph!

 There is red in it but almost always looks 

orange when I take a picture of it.

 The little three circle mirror is

a new find from T.J. Maxx

 Below the picture is my printer

and the basket my cats have

adopted.   

(I will spend more time hiding the electric cords too)

 The shelf is a carry over from

the old bedroom set up.  I ended

up putting it back in almost the

same spot as it was before!

 This Chinese horse is 

representative of art from

the Tang Dynasty.  It's also from One King's Lane. 

 I am not sure if it's staying there, but if it 

is- I need to complete the look a little

bit better. 

To address the dresser in the room

(yes I said that!)

I definitely didn't want to set it up to feel like it was a bedroom dresser so this is what I ended up with.

I had many ideas- including woven baskets lined up to help with storage items- my printer was almost up there - and there were some other ideas.

 The other day- for the fun of it- I set some pictures and a mirror that used to be part of the bedroom.  I layered them against the wall and I kind of liked it.

Then I started to mess around with

objects that I had, and this is the result!

If I showed you all the versions you

would laugh!

 On the left is a world globe purchased

in Philadelphia while seeing the

Liberty Bell and the historical offerings

in the area.  I found it marked down but

I decided it was still too pricey, and the store clerk asked what 

I'd be willing to pay, so I made an offer and he took it! 

 The mercury glass piece is a Globe filled

candle from Pottery Barn (Christmas)

and the magnifying glass was added

to bounce off the theme of globes

and maps....

I brought in the bird cage from

the living room because of it's arched

door that resembled the theme I

had started with the blue door and

the Italian garden.

The wood piece is the other shelf

that I turned upside down and 

arranged some clear glass candle

 votives on it.  

Standing by the closet near the desk

gives another perspective.  There is

about 3 ft. between the desk and the

dresser at the curve.

 I had Ann from On Sutton Place 

create this linen runner to protect

the top surface of the dresser. It

came out perfect!  Check out her 

Etsy shop Sutton Place Designs

Sitting at my desk.

I do have a view out the window

which isn't bad.  In the summer I will 

see some of my garden out front

and plenty of grass and trees!

So that's my new office and I

hope you liked it!

As always Thank-you for visiting!  

Love to hear your comments!

Living Room Wrapped UP

Well I guess I'm done for now with my tweaking around the living room.

Recently I showed you my new bowl I had purchased for the coffee table

and I felt it was too big.  Our room is set up to view tv, listen to the stereo and use the computer...sort of an an inclusive package!  Anyway, I didn't want something on the coffee table that was tall or intrusive to viewing without having to move it. Our TV is set low to be at a natural viewing height when sitting so I have to be careful what I put on the coffee table.

I have this bird cage I got from Ethan Allen many years ago but I seriously overpaid for it and I'm so stubborn I keep trying to find a way to use it!  I managed to get a floral ring inside there and set a topiary ball in the middle.  This is a new look for me and this bird cage. It's had pot-pourri in it, and a faux orchid on a stick with rocks around it too!  Funny thing is- it's never had a bird in it!  Of course not a real bird!

 My elephant seemed to go well with the bird cage and my new deco ball from T.J. Maxx.  The bowl is also new and I felt it was a good pickup to the look I was displaying on the table.

It's actually a glass bowl that is painted from underneath.  I was looking for a bowl but I never imagined this!

 The green in the bowl works well with the sofa and it makes me happy to see the bird cage in use and my elephant!  I love elephants!

 This elephant lamp is on my desk along with this clock that looks like an antique but is a reproduction find from T.J. Maxx.  This is my  view when I'm on the computer (which is probably too often!) 

I edited out 3 other picture frames. I looked at my table and thought "I'm turning into my mother" it was too busy!  (sorry Mom!)

A couple of views of the room.  I hope to be able to get new curtains in the near future. 

As you can see we have a very large screen tv and speakers.  I can tell you the earth does feel like it's moving sometimes when we play a movie!  Behind the tv is a sub-woofer and it can make you feel the seat! I have the room fashioned to view the tv but it also works well for socializing.

 Just to the right of the room behind the sofa is a built in drawer unit with a wood top.  I currently have some books there with my new Lion bookends.

Another T.J. Maxx find!

 I guess I'm building my wild kingdom!

 They are holding a shield

The kids gave us a framed portrait from the wedding and I've been working on this corner to create a family area.  It's subject to change a bit, but you get the idea!

I have one more area to the right that I'm not happy with yet, but I hope to settle on something soon!  You know how it is- you just have to keep playing around until you feel it's right!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Liz 

I'm joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life
for Tabletop Tuesday