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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Page 180

Setting the Mood for a Coastal Cottage Office

by Lindsay Ballard on August 16, 2011 913 Comments

Do you use moodboards when designing a room? When I first began decorating, I just flew by the seat of my pants. Now that I’m a bit more seasoned (ha!) and have learned a few tricks to keep me on track, I create moodboards for each room. It’s a good way to get a general feel of how you want the finished room to look.

You can always use a poster board and magazine clippings to create a mood board, but an even better “high tech” way to do so is to use the free moodboard creator at Olioboard. You can “clip” any photo from the internet to include on your moodboard or you can use the preloaded photos from favorites, like Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn, to create your look.

This week, I’ve teamed up with Olioboard and five other bloggers to bring you a series of Coastal Cottage inspired rooms. Yesterday, Lynda at Focal Point shared her gorgeous Coastal Cottage studio/library. Today, I bring you a Coastal Cottage themed home office space.

As you know, Coastal Cottage isn’t my typical style, so it was fun to create a room with such pretty elements.  It also helps that I’m sitting on a balcony watching the waves roll onto a white sandy beach as we speak.  Honestly!

My Coastal Cottage themed office was inspired by this beautiful, blue shuttered desk.  Paired with a white Chippendale arm chair with yellow striped cushion, I think it really makes the room.  White peonies in a square glass vase add a contemporary touch.

Instead of the traditional white cottage furniture, I added a dark brown bookcase to the moodboard.  I’d likely have one to flank each side of the blue desk.  A white faux coral bowl, distressed white clock and brown rattan office supply caddies are fun elements and textures to add to the bookcases.  The antiqued white shelf really brings home the cottage style.

You’ll notice that I have selected gold toned elements for the room, such as the bookends and starburst mirror.  I think the gold tones warm up the room, that might seem too cool with so much white and blue.

I fell in love with this chandelier as soon as I came across it.  It is antique white wrought iron with dark turned wooden pendants.  It has such a beachy feel, don’t you think?  A set of seashell prints in the blue and brown tones of the room would look nice hung in a row over the desk.

I couldn’t resist a simple jute rug to rest under the desk, as well as the blue coral, stack of old books, driftwood-esque candle holder and blue vessel to grace the bookshelves.  Add the gold three-legged lamp to the corner of the desk, and the home owner is ready to get to work in serene style.

Tomorrow, head over to Rhoda’s place to see how she designed a Coastal Cottage style living room.  I can’t wait to see it!

Do you use moodboards?  Have you tried out Olioboard yet?

Shining a Light on a New Obsession

by Lindsay Ballard on August 15, 2011 69 Comments

I have a fascination with interesting light fixtures.  Perhaps it’s because most of the ones in my home are just standard builder’s grade uglies, but when I see a neat looking fixture, I begin obsessing over it.

Case in point: When Rhoda and I were “shopping” for accessories for the Shaw/HGTV Design Challenge, we decided that we needed a really fun chandelier to hang over the dining table.  The in-house designer who was helping us said, “What about a cardboard chandelier?”  The look on my face must have been really strange, because she said, “No, really.  It’s super cool.”

Um, yeah it is!  Once I had my hands on this chandy, I tried to figure out a way to fit it into my suitcase.  I talked pretty much non-stop about it for a day and a half (and I’m sure everyone else who was within earshot was ready to shove it down my throat).

Made of plywood and layers upon layers of corrugated cardboard, this chandelier was like nothing I’d ever seen.  I made the determination that I HAD to have this chandelier to hang in my own home.  It is just too amazing to forget.

When I got home, I tracked down the designer.  The genius behind this and many other modern, eco-friendly accessories is Joe Manus of Shiner International.  Everything they use in their products were at one time destined for the landfill.  An interesting light fixture AND its good for the environment?  Yes, please!

Other than the Cardboard Clover Hanging Light (which retails for under $200), Shiner offers an array of products ranging from lighting to furniture.  Here are some runner-ups to my one true love:

Revolver Chandelier

Mood Rocking Bed

Friend Chair and Ottoman

Drop Desk Lamp

I absolutely love stumbling upon fun products like this, and I just had to pass these along.  Shiner sells their products direct or you can contact them to find a retailer.  One day (hopefully soon), that chandelier will hang over MY dining table instead of in the fake room we designed in North Carolina.

Could you see any of the Shiner products fitting into your home or style?

P.S. Have you entered the Shaw Floors/HGTV Home Area Rug giveaway?  Tomorrow is the last day to enter, so be sure to throw your name in the hat!

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.


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