One Room Challenge II Week 3

If this is your first time visiting my site, welcome! For the next 4 weeks I’m participating in the One Room Challenge & I highly recommend you get caught up to speed, see my hideous before photos, & learn more about the ORC challenge by checking out last week’s post here & my first post here.

So this past week has not been super productive for my ORC but it always rocks my world what a transformation painting makes! The burgundy is gone & glorious Benjamin Moore revere pewter is on the walls and it’s a huge sigh of ahhh – there is hope for this room!

After painting, we brought the pieces down from my now studio (woo hoo) to the new office. I love the layout – I can see out of the windows & it all feels open and airy. To the right of the chairs will go be my Society Social bar cart & new Slim Aarons poolside glamour print. We painted around the barrister that was there & I’m liking how it looks so I think it’s staying. Don’t mind my mess otherwise! & I photographed this at night hence the blah lighting. That gorgeous plant is from Ikea! If you want an awesome tropical plant, I definitely recommend checking out Ikea (perfect too because it's not scary killing a $15 plant – ha!)

 
 

If you follow me on instagram you read the teaser, “how is the design changing?”

In the past week I’ve tweaked the original design a bit. Here is the original storyboard (this is how I mock up designs for my E-Design clients):

 
 

Here is the updated design:

 
 

Pretty similar but bringing the furniture into the space, with the chairs, desk & coffee table, the design was quite leggy (which I had feared).Also, it made me think a shag rug would not provide the lightness I was after. 

As part of the ORC, a few generous companies sign on to sponsor us. It’s sponsorships like these that I am fortunate enough to participate in these types of challenges. It takes considerable amount of time to blog in a thoughtful way, which takes away from design time & all aspects associated with my brushstroke lamp business, so I’m so thankful that with the help of these companies I can bring you my design!

I had not used my Wayfair sponsorship & I so I hunted for the perfect beachy ottoman to swap out my coffee table. It was between these two:

 
 
 

The only on the left is slightly shorter which I preferred but I kept coming back to the texture of the one on the right so I went with my gut! I love it & cannot wait to get it in the space!

Second – my rug problem. We have the blanket on the left (which I LOVE) & I was scheming and laid it down where the rug would go – it looked perfect. I’m a HUGE fan of Dash & Albert rugs & I recalled they had a rug very similar to my blanket. Wouldn’t you know that Wayfair sells Dash & Albert rugs?! Double woo hoo & my blanket turned into the rug on the right. 

 
 

My new rug pad is eagerly awaiting its rug as you can see. The rug pad was sponsored by Rug Pad USA & I’ve never had a better rug pad. The site is very helpful in walking you through what to consider while making your purchase & their customer service is exceptional to boot. I know rug pads aren’t sexy but they are necessary!

Needless to say, I’m a happy OCRer at the moment. This week is a full one in terms of my workload, but I’m hoping we can get the Ikea shelves up this weekend. A little nervous that I’m putting off attempting to reupholster the chairs until the last minute, that’s my top to do for next week.

I will be creating a source guide for all of the items in my design I’m waiting until everything is in to post it. Thanks so much for cheering me on & hope to see you next Wednesday! If you want to see what I'm up to in the interim you can follow my@janabekdesignoninstagram&twitter& onFacebook.

The group is up to some gorgeous scheming so be sure to check out their sites at links below! 

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

One Room Challenge II Week Two

If this is your first time visiting my site, welcome! For the next 5 weeks I’m participating in the One Room Challenge & I highly recommend you get caught up to speed, see my hideous before photos, & learn more about the ORC challenge by checking out last week’s post here

Wow has it been a week already?!

This past week has been about getting super organized, ordering all pieces for the space (rug, mirrors, art, etc), picking up the paint (Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter) & mocking up my design on a storyboard. I’m pretty excited for my dreamy office space! You can see it’s definitely coastal inspired – a lot of blue & white, natural wood, & all easy on the eyes.  

Here is my storyboard (this is what I do for my E-Design clients too). I find it’s always helpful for me to see everything together; to make sure the materials, textures, & colors all play well together. I know this Slim Aarons print is pretty popular; well I’ve loved it forever so I’m so excited to use it in this design!

 
 

The rattan chairs you see in the photo are these bad boys:

 
 

I scored them on Craigslist and have been waiting to recover them. I decided to go with white linen because I’ve searched for a pair forever & I want them to be versatile when I want to mix things up. I was going to have them professionally reupholstered but I’m going to try to tackle the reupholstery. I DIY'd my headboard so I’m pretending the chair cushions are like baby headboards, right?! 

Also on my (husband’s) to-do list is installing Ikea cabinets behind my desk like Jen from MadebyGirl did in her dining room:

 
 

Then the bamboo mirrors will go above it like in my storyboard design. This was my inspiration for the mirrors (via Better Homes & Gardens)

 
 

So to recap, here’s what’s on my to-do list:

Paint room (that’s happening this weekend!) & bring furniture downstairs

Install Ikea Cabinets

Hang Mirrors & Art

Reupholster Chairs (serenity now!)

Paint Brushstroke Lamps for Office

I will be creating a source guide for all of the items in my design & will post that soon.Thanks so much for cheering me on & hope to see you next Wednesday! If you want to see what I'm up to in the interim you can follow my @janabekdesign on instagram & twitter & on Facebook.

The group is up to some gorgeous scheming so be sure to check out their sites at links below!

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

One Room Challenge || Week One

Hi All! I’m so excited (and honestly a bit nervous) to be a part of the One Room Challenge! Over the next six weeks, twenty Interior Design bloggers will completely transform a room from start to finish, blogging progress updates every Wednesday. The One Room Challenge (ORC) was started a few years ago by Linda of Calling it Home; I’ve always been so amazed and inspired by the spaces the designers have dreamed up! This is my first time participating & I’m delighted & humbled to be included in this roundup of crazy talented designers!

 
 

A little about me…

If you are new to Jana Bek Design, welcome & thank you so much for stopping in! I’m an interior designer in Ann Arbor, MI. Most of my designs are implemented through my E-Design Services, although I also do live interior designs as well. More recently I have launched my line of Hand Painted Brushstroke lamps (woo-hoo!) the first category of what I’m planning to be a full line of Home Décor products. I love color & pattern but built on neutral foundations so I have flexibility to mix things up as my taste change. I love layering vintage & modern pieces and as of late I’m entirely in love with light, airy, coastal aesthetics. Find me @janabekdesign on Twitter & Instagram to see additional photos of my style.

 
 

The room…

I have a lovely office (see below). It’s great but here’s why it’s not everything I need:

 
 
 

This room is upstairs & gets the absolute best morning light, which I need for painting my Brushstroke Lamps. So whenever I want to paint, I have to completely “paint proof” the room, proving quite inefficient.

I’ve also found I prefer doing interior design work on our main level. I like moving around when I work and it feels isolated being in the upstairs office for long periods of time. The space is perfect for painting – I turn on music and work for a few hours in a calm beautifully sunlit space, but for the many hours required for design, I get cagey.

This space is going to become a studio space for painting & wiring my lamps. I’m not designing this space for ORC – it will be lots of lovely Ikea I’m sure.

When I was gripping to my husband about the shortcomings of my existing office (cue the violins, I know) he generously offered up his office for my designing and business related work. Separated through large French Doors, the space is perfectly located off the kitchen & TV room (I’m obsessed with the Food Network & Bravo which often play in the background while I work).

Obviously this was a sweet gesture but let it be known that he’s always hated it & never uses it. Before he met me, he hired a designer who convinced him to paint it the saddest shade of burgundy. No wonder he never liked it, it is depressing!

Here are some photos of its sorry state. (It was even worse – overstuffed with a huge wood desk & barristers abound) but I failed to take photos because as soon as hubs offered it up I leapt at the chance before he could change his mind.

 
Photos+of+Space.jpg

Helpful to know as you travel with me on this adventure...

Whether designing for myself or my clients, I pride myself in being practical. Is there something that can be refurbished? What do we have that may still work in the space? Etc.  So I’m definitely carrying pieces from my previous office into the new space (desk, chair, & coffee table).

Also, we plan on downsizing at some point in the not-so-distant future. I moved here from NY almost two years ago and lived in a petite 600sqft studio (tour it here) and love the efficiency of a more compact space: you have what you need & not much more. Our current house is 6500sqft, and while beautiful, it can be a bit overwhelming!

So for these reasons, I’m taking the mindset that anything I do to this space will be:

Relatively inexpensive

OR

If more costly, it will be something a) I absolutely love & b) will be versatile enough to use in smaller space

Vibe for the space…

I’m a huge fan of color & pattern but lately I’m loving everything lighter with a coastal lean - a little less tailored and more relaxed. I think designing this beachy abode for my NY client got me jazzed about everything being easy on the eyes, you can see more photos of that design here & here.

 
 

I want the space to feel like a big sigh of relaxation with pops of glamour. Here are some photos that are inspiring my design; you can view more on my Pinterest board here.

I MEAN this Palm Beach Bungalow by Anna Burke is the perfect balance of coastal & modern, cannot stop dreaming about it!

 
 

Claiborne Swanson Franks NY apartment is seriously swoonworthy

 
 

And I love the lived-in easy elegance of India Hicks Bahamas home

 
 

 I’ll be sharing more in depth plans next week so be sure to stop back! Also you can keep up with any scheming in the interim on instagram & twitter @janabekdesign.

Thanks so much for stopping! Be sure to check out what rooms these talented ladies are transforming via links below!

Abby M. Interiors

Because It’s Awesome

Bijou & Boheme

Chinoiserie Chic

The Decorista

Design Chic

The Design Daredevil

Design Darling

Design Indulgence

Design Manifest

House of Turquoise

Jana Bek Design

Jill Sorensen

Maddie G. Designs

Mimosa Lane

A Piece of Toast

The Pink Pagoda

Stone Textile

Waiting on Martha

The Zhush

Trademarked by Calling it Home

Hope to see you all here next week!