Welcome back to week four of the One Room Challenge Linking Event! Somehow I have managed to hang in there and I am still a--wait for it:

I will say, you all have made the process a lot easier with all of your kind comments and words of encouragement. I am so lucky to have such wonderful readers and fellow bloggers to share this series with! Thank you so much!

At this point in the process, participants' rooms are really starting to transform and visions are becoming visible! Be sure to check them all out over at Calling It Home, where the lovely Linda has been hosting us all month.

I, too, am starting to see all of the hard work pay-off! Let's take a quick look back:

In week one I discussed how I was going to transform an awkward sitting room off of our master bedroom into my office.

In week two I talked about the progress so far, which included some painting and a pilgrimage of the chintz.

And finally, last week I revealed my Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis wallpaper and my furniture so far!:

I was so flattered by the response to this photo, which I might add is a seriously "grammed" snapshot of about three square feet of the space, but in an effort to be better at accepting compliments, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Aaand hopefully I can continue to crank out some more style... :-/

On that note:

Last week I left you with my plans to upholster a valance which I am using to disguise a somewhat dated arch window in my office. 

Here is the valance pre-upholstery:

Originally--as suggested in my design board--I wanted to mirror the Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis on my accent wall by using the leftover wallpaper to cover my valance, but there was not enough excess paper to do so, so off I went to find a fabric.

You may recall my history of picking out fabric--I am the definition of indecisive. My first fabric purchase this time around was the tartan pattern in the middle of the following photo, but I returned it after determining it was too subtle for the other patterns in the space:

I got some great advice following my prompt for help in last week's post. A couple of you suggested I use a solid fabric for the valance, but the catch was that my curtains are solid, and I was set on a pattern to balance the room a bit. And I am a bit of a stubborn ass.

Then I remembered seeing some Imperial Trellis fabrics at another local fabric store during the last fabric fiasco, so I returned to do some recon. After comparing swatches, I determined that the shades of green didn't match my wallpaper, or--more importantly--my curtains. Argh!

After entirely too much time spent dedicated to finding a fabric for the valance, I decided to go with the striped pattern on the bottom of the above photo, as I had been thinking about it since I had visited the first fabric store, and the colors complimented the existing ones perfectly. 

I also bought some batting, and the upholstering began!:

(side note: I am seriously considering doing our dining room for the next One Room Challenge Linking Event, HA!)

Then I took a tension rod for my curtains and mounted it inside the valance before mounting the valance itself:

Here is the arch window before the valance:

And here it is after (I need a new camera! Or photo shop!):

And then there was light:

I am seriously psyched about the lighting in my office space!

The following task floor lamp sells for $1,679.90 from Visual Comfort Lighting:

But I bought it for $75. BOOM! And at that price, I bought two! The other one is roaming around the house trying to find a good home, but this one will be proudly placed next to my desk. I love a good task lamp in an office, and given that this one sits on the floor, it will clear up that much more clutter from my desk!!!

And since my last post, my sputnik chandelier has been set up!

I purchased the following flush mount version of the fixture from Lucent Lightshop on Etsy:

So, it's not really a chandelier, but it's as close as I could get considering my lower ceilings...

 (They're not that low--he's on a ladder!)

I told him I knew how to screw in a lightbulb, but anyway... Ta-da!

 

And it even works--get out the sunglasses!:

Lucent Lightshop suggested using a dimmer switch, but as you may remember from my last post, my wonderful wallpaper lady had already wrapped my switch plate! So I will have a very bright office, which I am hoping might help with my productivity? ;)

I love my little Sputnik!

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the week (trust me--there have been some not-so-pleasant ones, too!) was the arrival of my Josephine Desk, which I had advance ordered from World Market, who reported it would take weeks to stock and ship...but luckily it didn't!:

(Aaand I have been singing the Super Cat song in my had ever since...)

Yet another pleasant surprise about two minutes later was when my friend and fellow Linking Event blogger Mari Robeson revealed that she had received her Josephine desk at the same. exact. time all the way across the country in California! Such a fun coincidence!:

Unlike the amazing Mari, I have not yet had time to assemble my desk, so a stock image will have to do for now:

However, I did somehow manage to find time to spray paint the legs of the desk gooold!:

Since the last post, the little brass bamboo accent table got a fresh coat of gold, too, and I officially became a member of the Gold Spray Paint Addicts Anonymous along with Mari Robeson and Jennifer over at The Chic Pad. Who else needs help? Remember, admitting you have a problem is the first step. I think.

The brass before:

During:

And after!:

The desk and table are not the only victims of my gold spray paint addiction this week--my driveway was a victim too, as were my clothes, and my hands, and.... The rest of stuff that is supposed to be gold will be revealed next week.

One piece that didn't need any spray paint was the shelf I bought (!) from a local vendors' market, because it is already gold! Here is the shelf in it's natural habitat (the poor sales associate who had to clear it off for me!):

And here it is in my office! 

I admit it is looking a little sparse, but don't be fooled; pretty soon you won't even be able to see its mirrored shelves and gold glory under all of the crap that will be covering it... 

And last, but certainly not least for this week's office update, is the arrival of my Dash & Albert area rug!:

Even though I got such a positive response to the combination of the chintz against the Imperial Trellis wallpaper, I have made the executive decision to move the chairs to the other side of the room in front of the window, which is where I thought they would ultimately be placed in week one. This decision came from more of a logistical place than a aesthetic place, although in regards to the latter I am a bit concerned that one side of the room will be really pattern heavy if the chairs and the wallpaper are placed side-by-side, while the other side of the room will be left looking flat. But who knows how the room will end up by week six--I certainly don't! ;-)

So here is an updated sneak peak of how it's currently coming together:

So as you can see, all of the big pieces are coming together or complete--whew! And next week will be all about accessories when I discuss the details! 

In the meantime, be sure to check out the 21 talented bloggers participating in One Room Challenge, and of course my 70+ fellow One Room Challenge Linking Event participants!

Today I have to turn it around and start with you.

Thank you so much for all of your kind and helpful comments on my first two posts for Calling it Home's One Room Challenge Linking Event. Each and every one means the world and I am genuinely beyond flattered that my talented followers and fellow bloggers seem to like what I am attempting to do! Talk about motivation to keep moving forward!

And speaking of moving forward, here's hoping this third post can live up to the first two!:

In week one I discussed how I was going to transform an awkward sitting room off of our master bedroom into my office.

In week two I talked about the progress so far, which included some painting and a pilgrimage of the chintz.

This week, I am SO excited to show you my new Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis wallpaper!

I have been dreaming of putting this paper in my home for a long time now, so I decided to treat myself to a whole wall of it in my office!:

I purchased my Imperial Trellis through one of my favorite local home decor stores, Domain Interiors & Decor. Domain carries all of my favorite lines, like Quadrille, Thibaut, Scalamandré, and of course Schumacher! Owner Bobbi Jo Engelby also helped me find the lovely lady who did a wonderful job hanging my wallpaper--she even wrapped the switch plates with paper, aligning them perfectly with the rest of the pattern! Talk about talent!

And in other office news--per my design board--I have added a little brass bamboo accent table in between my two chintz chairs! I found the base on Etsy for $45...

...but it was topless (hee, hee) so I found a little, local glass company...

...and within thirty minutes my pretty little bamboo table base became a table once again! Oh, happy day!

After a fresh coat of Rustoleum, this little table should be as good as new! 

Since my last post, I also decided to mount curtains between the master bedroom and the office to help separate the space. Currently, the sheer curtains are hanging from these rods...:

...which I screwed directly into the frame of the entryway to the office, but there is a large gap in between the frame and the rod and the rod is u. g. l. y. (aaand it ain't got no alibi)..:

...so I may just mount the rods above the frame of the entryway instead of in it.

For what it is worth, here is a before and after of the entryway (I will show the entire entryway when the left side of the office floor is not covered in piles of crap...):

 

So this is what the (right side) of the office looks like now!

It's still got a long way to go, but it's coming along! 

The other little piece of progress this week was the completion of the custom valence that will disguise and dress the large arch window on the left side of the office:

I found some pretty patterns in the scrap bin at a local fabric store that I thought would be pretty to use for upholstering the valance:

I bought the tartan pattern in the middle, but once I got it home, I became concerned that it was not bold enough to provide balance in the room considering the corresponding patterns of the Imperial Trellis and the chintz, so I may keep hunting. Originally (as my design board suggests), I planned to upholster the valence in Imperial Trellis fabric, but then I made this impulse purchase which--like many of my impulse purchases--was likely a mistake... Thoughts?

Next week I will report my progress on the valence, as well as discuss sources of light in the office other than the window!

In the meantime, be sure to head over to Calling it Home to check out the other talented bloggers participating in One Room Challenge and One Room Challenge Linking Event!

Well that week went by fast! I suppose time flies when you are participating in Calling it Home's One Room Challenge Linking Event while simultaneously participating in your own personal one room challenge...in every. other. room of your house. But who am I kidding--a whole house to decorate? It's a good problem to have! As a matter of fact, it's not a problem at all--it's my dream come true! But for now I am focusing on my office, so on to the main event:

Last week I tried to convince you that I was going to turn this...well--part of this:

Into this:

Ta-da!

And while I still have a looong way to go, I have made some progress since my last post! Or at least my painters have...:

Buh-bye ugly brown paint!

I decided to go with with a subtle cream as a canvas of sorts since the rest of the room will be anything but subtle. And when picking the paint color, I also had to consider the Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis which I plan to hang on an accent wall--after all, the sole purpose of this paint is to compliment the Imperial Trellis ;) Poor paint...

Nothing too exciting yet, but an improvement nonetheless...

Moving right along, back in January I posted about my mother's Lee Jofa "Althea" sofa and chairs. Then in last week's post, I reiterated how much I love these pieces--not only for their festive floral pattern, but because they remind me of my childhood home, all of the fond memories that took place in it, and--of course--my mother. And it doesn't hurt that chintz is making a comeback (although for some of us, it never went out. Yeah--you know who you are).

When my father turned what was once our primary residence into a beach home a few years ago, the chintz and other formal furnishings became relegated to a closed-off section of the house (hence no photos of the chintz in its original habitat). Sad. 

I couldn't bare to see this beautiful set buried under boxes, basically serving as a shelf for other antiques, etc.--nobody puts chintz in the corner! So with permission from my father (but really from my four older sisters), I rescued it, which became quite a feat considering the rescue required moving it off of the boat-access-island on which we only drive golf carts. Luckily I know people, and after a few phone calls, a pick-up truck showed-up at our door, no questions asked ;) 

But the pick-up was just the beginning of the pilgrimage of the chintz:

Down the dirt road (as you can see, the pick-up was a lot faster than the golf-cart we were in)...

...and to the dock!

And waiting for the ferry: 

 

And still waiting for the ferry:

Getting loaded to go to its new home!

 

Nothing to see here:

  

And finally, back in civilization!

After a thorough cleaning, the chintz is happy in its new home and gets lots of love (since it still makes-up most of the furniture we have so far...).

Next-up I have been busy buying new furniture for my office (and the rest of our home), too!

First and foremost, I finally ordered my desk!

Josephine Desk

I am in love with this desk for two reasons: 

1) It is stylish

2) It is cheap

The only problem? It is backordered! After months of being unavailable, I was only just able to place an advance order online and I am very anxious that it won't arrive in time for my big reveal. I ordered it at the beginning of the week, it will not be stocked for another two weeks, and then it takes two-to-three weeks to "process" before shipping, so it will definitely be tight! :-/ No pressure, right?! I mean--who needs a desk in an office anyway?! Pffft.

On a happier note, my brand new desk chair has already arrived!

Staples

Yes--you read right--I found the chair (for under $100!) from Staples online! Très chic--I know, but desperate time calls for desperate measures! ;)

The chair and it's fabulous new fuzzy chair cover all the way from Poland are temporarily serving a term in our master bedroom until they are reassigned in a few weeks:

So the office is coming along slowly but surely, like the rest of the house. And as soon as my office is set-up, I will be able to blog about the rest of the house! Comfortably. From a chair. And hopefully a desk...

In the meantime, be sure to check out the other 83(!) talented linking participants and their beautiful plans, and then come back next week to see the chintz chairs in all of their glory and the Kelly Wearstler Imperial Trellis wallpaper! I will also discuss other furniture for the office and how I plan to create some separation between the master bedroom and the new office, which was originally intended to be a sitting room off of the master.

Until then...