Georgian office has become uninspiring dumping ground
I've run out of energy with renovating our listed building in Bath and the room I was initially most excited about (finally getting to have my own office) has now been left totally unfinished and my kids and husband keep dumping stuff in here.
I had this vision for it to be a beautiful gustavian office/hobby room - with the lovely desk I bought and a sofa bed and coffee table to sit on to more creative work looking out over the garden. Instead the shelves the builders put in a cupboard look horrid - way too modern and I think the bikes might always have to live in here as we have no garage or access to the garden, so if we put them in the vault in the basement they never see the light of day. It's just two small kids bikes.
So don't know if I should hold out for my vision (and banish the bikes) or create a large storage bookcase/desk where the desk is now to store the bikes, computer and some prettiness and put a door on the existing cupboard to keep the existing shelves and storage. Or rip out the shelves, put a door on the cupboard and use it for vertical bike storage and still have pretty loveliness in the rest of the room. Bit like this sort of vibe but the house isn't as ornate. Instead, all the mouldings and fireplaces are very simple in design as it's 1810 when the Georgians started wearing simple empire line dresses, not the big wigs etc.
Also really disliking the yellow now - the rest of the house has tuned out to be filled with much more calming blues. Here's a picture of the back wall in the living room, which you walk past to get to my office. Overall it's quite an elegant simply designed house - except for this room. Arrrggg!
Should I paint my office the same colour (pale blue and white woodwork) as the room next door, or try to give it it's own personality...? Should I keep my desk or go for something built in which can also accommodate the bikes? I will be keeping the door frame and door into the room stripped pitch pine to match the rest of the house. Plus keeping the floorboards exposed as we have a dog and easier to mop, but happy to have a rug. Any ideas/inspiration hugely appreciated...
Comments (22)
PROPracticality Brown
7 years ago
Kathryn Jellis
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Help needed for home office!
Comments (10)How about painting the radiator and the wall it is on blackboard paint, having a gallery including your piece of graffiti art (I like it) on the wall on which the door is on. You can have a couch there or a daybed, whatever you want. Keep all the walls white except the one with blackboard, leave your curtains as black white and grey and paint your floor glossy white. Put a modern light as your main light. By having all these items in black whites and grey it means that it can change to another room at a later date easily. Have the wall shelves as you had them in your design, go for a white desk and have an orange chair. Have an extra large rug that has some black or grey. For the bookcase I suggest some closed in cupboards for items you don't want to see and some open shelves for items that can look pretty. I have collected a couple of pictures in an ideabook that are what my idea is based on. feel free to follow this link and look at them: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/50913056/thumbs/graffiti Love to see what you end up doing! :)...See MorePOLL: Bungalow - love or loathe?
Comments (85)Yes that was one of the issues with our place. Narrow corridors, poorly lit. But by rearranging the access to key spaces, blocking some doors and creating a new double width doorway to the principle room, what was a narrow hallway is now integrated and useful. By converting the large loft, we now have a stairwell lit by two velux windows which also throw light into the heart of the building. Lastly the old underhouse garage is now a studio, glazed with full height blue-grey aluminium windows and a door. Our originally depressing, generic ittle bungalow on a sloping site has become a four bed live-work space on three levels that is beginning to feel more like our home...See MoreHelp! House layout dilemma
Comments (11)Hi Jophilip I've been pondering this all evening and this morning! I think to maximise the space and light you have to move the services (utility, wc) to the left hand side of the house. I would change the current downstairs bathroom to a cloakroom for all your storage needs. I would block off the wall in the sitting room to make this a more formal space to escape to in the evening. I think you would need to get rid of the wall on the right hand side and incorporate that narrow space into the kitchen. Then you can get the light into the middle of the house with velux windows. I'm just not sure with moving all that plumbing and the wall it would come within budget. Hopefully a pro will give some input, apologies for the crude drawing!...See MoreNew ground floor plan, please criticize my indecisiveness..
Comments (23)I have had time to digest what you all said. Yes, that's a hallway. ... I caved! haha ... but at least it's not a pointless one at 1.8m we currently bear. We like our open central living area, and dining at the back of it, and will do so while ever there is no "upstairs". I have drawn in where a bedroom used to be in the living room. I've slimmed the bathrooms right back, to one with a bath, one with a shower, distributed the sizes to not interfere with the laundry door being opened up if the second bathroom was removed, and lined up the "supporting" walls between the bathroom and "our room". The hallway will offer the privacy for the end room that opens onto the garden, and at the same time it can be seen as the master with en-suite... not that we will use it for that. The location of the bathroom is and has always been awkward to get to, requiring a long walk... but at least there will be TWO... but I may very well continue to place the door off the living room and not the hall due to wishing to make the access easier for guests and the 3 bedrooms it serves. All this does bear resemblance to the original layout, but should stick with what works and not fight this awkward house too much. The additional bonus is it is the minimum building cost and effort entailed. I believe it scratches some itches in regards to better bedroom sizes, segregating the placement of bathrooms a little more, and the future flexibility of moving the living area towards the garden end of the house....See More
PROThe Lighting Company
7 years agoKathryn Jellis
7 years agominnie101
7 years agoHi. I agree with Jen. It also doesn't look like the bikes would fit where the shelves are? Another option with Jen's idea is to put the desk opposite the window and have some form of upholstered bench under the window. If the desk does go under the window I'd probably just add a chair rather than a sofa otherwise I think it's going to get crowded. If you didn't want a cupboard you could hang bikes on the wall on top of your desk so they're not in plain view.. I think I'd put a door on the shelves. A colour you may like which should go with your hall and living room is little Greene pearl colour which is actually a Georgian colour as shown in the first pic
Kathryn Jellis thanked minnie101Kathryn Jellis
7 years agoHi Everyone
I've finally managed to banish the clutter and have been playing with desk/seating options. Option A has the desk facing into the room leaving space for two chairs and a glass coffee table opposite the widow. It gives the room an nice open feel but makes you feel a bit like an office receptionist! Option B has the desk in front of the widow - it won't push right up as it as the radiator is in the way. It does feel nice to have a view but it feels too cramped to put seats behind the desk, so the only space is in the corner. You could even fit a sofa in that corner, but it's not as inviting as having the seating opposite the window. Overall I think Option A suits the room best, but Option B might be a bit nicer for me to work by the window. Let me know what you'd do?
Option A: office reception layout!
Option B: desk infront of window
I also played about with the desk in front of the fireplace etc but room felt really unbalanced so think the options above are the best two choices...
Once I've decided on location, next thing is to decide whether to put a door over the cupboard or pretty it up to have a mini library or little stacks of books and ornaments... I'm also going to try stripping the fireplace to get it back to the original bath stone.
Kathryn Jellis
7 years agoHi - I did try the desk on that wall (opposite window) but it's only 60cm deep on that side of the fireplace so the desk and chair would cover the fireplace and makes the room look a bit cramped. Was thinking I might be able to leave the chairs opposite the window and fit a slim bookcase in the dark corner to place the desk in front of it, like these shots... although I might have to get a smaller desk to fit it all in! I've got the desk positioned there now and it's nice, you can see all round the room and still see out the window (although view at the back isn't anything to write home about as you just see the back of another tall georgian building. I'm trying to climb white roses up it from our courtyard garden which will be pretty in the spring/summer)
Also great idea about putting a mirror opposite the widow, I was going to put one over the fireplace but it would definitely make the room bigger/brighter opposite window. Just means I can't centre it on that wall which is a shame, the lack of symmetry in this room is driving me mad! I love things to look balanced!!!
PROKalabas Interiors
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoHi Karis,
Beautiful space for an office. The wooden floor looks great and the images that you are using as a source of inspiration are on point.
Would it not be wonderful to have the whole space only for office? Add a sofa for a luxurious feeling, place the desk where the natural light can be used as this is a much healthier and cost effective method.
Do you have any outdoor space to spare?
For a more economical option there is also outdoor tent storage options:
If you would like additional help with your office design, colour scheme, layout do contact me. We can work something out.
Good luck with your design journey.
Kathryn Jellis
7 years agoKittihawke
7 years agoKathryn Jellis
7 years ago
PROAround The House Furniture
7 years ago
PROJAMEITE Hand-painted Silk Wallpaper Co., LTD
7 years agoKathryn Jellis thanked JAMEITE Hand-painted Silk Wallpaper Co., LTDKathryn Jellis
5 years agoHi Everyone - here’s the after photos... after all that angsting I gave up making it an office and turned it into a playroom! All their toys and shoes fit! Bikes are on the wall and they even have their piano, toy kitchen and dressing up clothes which has tidied up the rest of the house no end. It’s a lovely space now that we all really enjoy and pale green walls make it look much brighter than the yellow. I guess the moral is if a room wants to do its own thing (kids storage) let it! My office is now in a room that was going to be a shower room and shower over the bath instead.
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