Sunday, March 29, 2015

Office Bedroom Before and After

 
Truth be told, we have been pretty lazy since we moved back into the house. A few lingering punch list items, trying to figure out which piece of furniture do we need most, not quite sure where to put various pieces of art, gearing up for the yard/landscaping to be done, house guests, etc. You get the picture. This morning when I managed to tidy up the bedroom we use as an office it seemed like we should strike while it looked presentable, so I had John take some photos.

All the doors in the house are new, custom, solid, paneled doors made from composite wood material which doesn't crack or warp. They are lovely solid doors. Unlike all the old doors they are level and shut and latch nicely. Door hardware is unlacuquered brass (that we aged ourselves) from Baldwin.  Knobs are 1.75" rather than the more usual 2".

The desk is a 1958 rosewood Nana Ditzel desk. We picked it up for a song a few years ago when it was in an auction but not labeled as a Ditzel. This kept Ditzel fans from bidding it up. The chair is inspired by the Ant chair. Black leather document box is by Smythson. The wood paneling on the fireplace wall was put in sometime in the 1970s.

We kept the fireplace pretty much as it was. Just a coat of paint on the brick surround and hearth. Antique Bertoia chair next to a reproduction Nelson bench.

This is what the window looked like when we bought the house. The two side units were awful vinyl windows, the middle was an odd fixed,four-light outer window with a single piece of plexiglass with los of moisture and gunk in between.

When we had the original windows restored in 2011 we had these beautiful windows made. Slight improvement. The odd group of shelves were kind of handy and fun (and to be truthful I kind of miss them) but I understand why John wanted to get rid of them.

The view today.


This window was perhaps the worst thing about the house when we bought it. I also miss this rolltop desk which was one that John bought with his paper route money when he was a kid.

Here is the window we swapped in as part of the 2011 window project. It was restored and moved from another part of the house

We had the window seat made to make the two closets look a little less out of place. Still need to have a cushion made for it.
The lamp is a restored Anglepoise version of the 1934 design (the year our house was built).

Lucy enjoying the rug.

8 comments:

  1. Great photos, and a quantum leap in the wonderfulness of the room. But what happened to John's rolltop? Surely you just moved it to another spot in the house???

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's rolltop was sold to a loving family who were looking forward to restoring it and using it for their son. I love our new desk and am happy with the drawers in it, but I do miss all the cubby holes in the old one.

      Delete
  2. after months and months -leading to years -of mental involvement, no wonder you're now taking your time. The decorating is the fun part and I think you'll find that you'll end up doing things different than had you done it all at once. Love the photos of Lucy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The decorating is also going to be delayed somewhat by the need to have the yard done now.

      Delete
  3. I love the window seat, storage option. Lucy approves too, I see!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes the storage is a huge bonus, but I still haven't gotten around to organizing it so it is being greatly underutilized.

      Delete
  4. Lovely! (And, yes, where's the rolltop now?)
    I'm trying to imagine a world where I know what brand my document box is. One can dream.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Smythson = posh here in England. I dream of owning a window seat... And a window seat with storage? Too much wonderfulness.

    ReplyDelete