One Room Challenge Linking Event: week one!

Ahhh, yes--it is April. And as the snow slowly turns into spring (it was 85 degrees here today), our anticipation finally turns into reality...

The One Room Challenge Linking Event has arrived!!!

If you are not yet familiar with this coveted event created by the lovely Linda over at Calling It Home, get comfortable because you gonna be here for a while! Twice a year, twenty of the best interior design bloggers are brought together by this virtual event, in which they share a series of six weekly progress reports as they redecorate a room from start to finish.

I have followed; I have oooo-ed; I have aaaaaaah-ed. Perhaps I have drooled a bit...and now I have decided to link up and do it myself, so here we go!

If you are new to shell & chinoiserie, welcome! You got here at just the right time! (And if you have been one of my patient followers, my apologies for sounding like a broken record--please feel free to skip ahead...). My husband and I bought a house back in February which we moved into two weeks ago--it would be an understatement to say I have been beyond busy fixing it up ever since.

They say that moving is one of the most challenging events with which we are faced, and they are right! Between my bachelorette pad back in Boston, and all of the other dorms rooms and rentals that came before and after that, I am an old pro when it comes to moving...but it doesn't get easier with experience! Most recently, my husband and I lived in my family's beach house on a boat-access island while we got settled back here in Charleston, South Carolina. That was interesting!

But now we are back in the burbs and I find myself faced with a whole new house to furnish and decorate, so I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed these past few weeks. But I am beyond relieved to finally feel settled in a house--a house which I am determined to turn into our home, so I am choosing carefully when it comes to decorating. 

One of the most challenging aspects of the move has been finding the time to blog, and I'm afraid my little shell & chinoiserie has suffered from some neglect. Luckily The One Room Challenge Linking Event was just the kick in the yoga pants I have needed to get me back on the blog...but now I am blogging from my bed because it is the only comfortable space in our home that has been fully set-up so far! Clearly all my hard work is paying-off...? ;-)

I am in desperate need of an office--a pretty little place where I can sit (which is not to be underestimated) and blog. And get inspired...and maybe organized. After all, I have so much material to blog about these days! So I am going to start my decorating by finishing my office, which is exactly the space I have decided to share for The One Room Challenge Linking Event.

What will hopefully transform into my office over the next six weeks is currently an awkward sitting room space off of our master bedroom (beware--what you are about to see may be disturbing):

My apologies.

Luckily we have already done some work to the master, but that poor little space to the back left of the photo needs a big hug makeover.

I think it is obvious from this one photo that there's not much more to show you of the current space, so I won't! But hopefully the above image gives you a sense of the size (10.5' x 6.5') and the layout. And the sadness. And desperation...

But don't worry--I got big plans for this little space!

On a happier note, there is one large, arch window which has a pretty view of the trees in our front yard and then the street beyond. I look forward to stalking the neighbors day dreaming out of that window, especially as the leaves on the trees in front of it change, which might have been a major selling point for this Yankee transplant living in South Carolina! ;-)

I will say, however, that I am not fond of the arch shape of the window; I think if the style isn't applied well (which it wasn't on this house), it appears dated, so I plan to treat it with a valence which should disguise its shape. 

The following are images of my office inspiration:

Jamie Meares / Furbish

Guehne-Made

via Style Me Pretty

Desk of The Every Girl's Alaina Kaczmarski

Clearly I am going for something feminine and fun that incorporates a mix of bright colors, patterns, and textures.

I also planned the style of the space around the Lee Jofa "Althea" arm chairs that I inherited from my mother, which hold great sentimental value to me, as they remind me of the home I grew up in in Westchester, New York, and more importantly of my beautiful mother who passed away ten years ago. I like to think I inherited her style, too :-)

Next-up are some inspiration boards illustrating how I hope to style the space.

You will see I am considering two different layouts--one with the desk in front of the wall, and one with the desk in front of the window:

Desk in front of wall:

Window side of room:

The room:

Or a second potential scenario:

Desk in front of window:

Wall side of room:

The room:

My jury is still out on the area rug, and my one major hesitation about the second scenario is that the room will be unbalanced with the Lee Jofa "Althea" arm chairs against the Imperial Trellis wallpaper, which is why I will likely arrange the room according to the first layout...but I suppose we'll have to wait and see!

On that note, be sure to check back next Thursday, April 10th to see my progress!

Thanks for following along and, as always,