Follow Along as One of Our Editors Transforms Her At-Home Office!

Hi loves! In case you missed our Instagram announcement last week, we are participating in the One Room Challenge this spring! I am beyond excited to join in as the featured designer to transform a space in my own home. You may or may not know that most of us here at SMP work from home—so naturally, I chose to give my office a makeover. I'll be walking you through the entire process over the next six weeks, sprinkling in design tips along the way, sharing all of my sources, behind the scenes and the final reveal on May 9th. But first, I'm going to share my inspiration for the room today. Let's get started!

(Image Source: Studio McGee)

My office will be located on our third floor in our finished attic space. As much as it makes me cringe, it's always fun to see the ugly before shot—take a peek here! I'm SO ready to say goodbye to mustard yellow walls, thick maroon carpeting and an outdated ceiling fan. I knew from the start that this room was a gem for the office I'd been dreaming of, but three years and one baby later and I still haven't gotten around to finishing it. Sound familiar? I think we all have that space (or three) in our home that we find an excuse to put off! Fast forward to today and I have zero excuses to put it off any longer and thankfully, the One Room Challenge is lighting a very hot fire under my booty. So, after years of dreaming of what I wanted to do with this space, you could say I was a little all over the place. In order to hone down my vision, here's what I did:

When brainstorming the design inspiration for a room, start by focusing on two things:

1. The purpose of the room

The purpose of a room is usually pretty straightforward (i.e. a kitchen is for cooking, a bedroom is for sleeping, etc.). But each room may have secondary or tertiary purposes that you need to consider as well. For instance, if you have a never-ending pile of mail and bills that live on your kitchen countertop, it might make sense to incorporate a small builtin desk into your kitchen; a dedicated space where you can stay organized.

2. The feeling you want the room to evoke; the style

Once you establish the room's purpose, it's time to layer on the vibe you're going for. It's much easier to approach the style aspect when you've already determined what you want out of your room.

The Purpose + Vision for My Office

I knew that I wanted this space to function in a few ways. First and foremost, it will be my office. But I also want this room to function for guest visits and incorporate a small play area for our son since we don't have a dedicated play room. With those three purposes (office, guest room and play room) as a jumping off point, I decided that a light, airy and calming vibe would suit the room best. Think modern coastal. I've carried this style throughout most of our home, too, so it only made sense to do the same in this space.

(Image Source: Sapphire Diaries)

To achieve that calming vibe, I'm going to be incorporating lots of neutrals, loads of texture and layering in subtle black accents with soothing shades of blue in the decor. I've been eyeing the Colette Desk (shown above and below) from Ave Home for quite some time now and after seeing it featured in my dear friend Jacquelyn's office and Sapphire Diaries' office, I knew it would add the perfect amount of charm to my space.

(Image Source: Lark & Linen)

When working with neutrals, to keep your room from feeling bland, incorporate pieces with lots of texture and pattern. I'll be giving my space a fresh coat of white paint from Farrow & Ball, so layering in loads of texture will be key in giving the room some personality.

(Image Source: Studio McGee)

Gone are the days of ugly metal filing cabinets and IN are beautifully styled shelves. I fell in love with this setup above from Studio McGee's office space, utilizing IKEA shelving (if you can believe it)! In the coming weeks, I'll share the hack that makes these beauties look like they're not from IKEA at all, along with some shelf styling tips, too.

(Image Source: Villa Palmier)

I'm thankful to say that I love my job. Like really love it. So much so, that my work allows me to take off my mama hat and escape for a bit—doing something that inspires me on the daily. With that in mind, I want my office to feel like an escape! Villa Palmier in St. Barts is on my travel wish list and I'm using this scene as inspiration. Isn't it dreamy? It inspired me to include one of Gray Malin's stunning prints in the space—I can't wait to show you which one I chose! That said, I will also be dedicating a small area of the room for our one year old son as I mentioned above. I'm a firm believer that every room in a home should work for the whole family and that means making sure our little guy feels welcomed in this space as well.

(Image Source: Monika Hibbs)

Another beautiful example of a neutral room with just the right amount of texture, pattern and color is Monika Hibbs' gorgeous dining room. I just love those cane back chairs and I'm considering including them in the seating area I have planned. That's it for now. Next week I'll be diving into the layout and design selections a bit more, so stay tuned!

Follow along with all of the other talented designers participating!

Apartment 34 | Beginning in the Middle | Coco & Jack | The English Room | The Gold Hive Gray Malin | Jenna Sue Design | Jojotastic | Kelly Rogers Int. | Linda Holt | Marcus Design Michelle Gage | Natasha Habermann | The Painted House | Rambling Renovators Sacramento Street | Shannon Claire | Sketch 42 | Stephanie Kraus Media Partner House Beautiful | TM by One Room Challenge