Week 7 of the Spring 2020 ORC is complete and next week we will REVEAL the final room updates! To be honest, I am so excited for this to be complete for the simple reason of finally being able to use and enjoy the updated office/studio space.
This week was busy - we took last weekend off for a long weekend trip to the lake - then realized we had a lot to accomplish if we wanted to be finished by the end of June. LAST WEEK we started and finished the one wall of wallpaper and completed the built-in trim. This week we needed to finish the wallpaper and I am happy to say it’s finished but not without angst and some creative patchwork. Let me just put this out there in the world…I will never DIY wallpaper again. After this project, I can confidently say hiring a professional wallpaper installer will always be a priority when it comes to project budgeting.
Here’s a little reveal spoiler…there will only be two pieces of furniture in my office. One of those pieces is a square-ish size work table. Years ago I acquired a dining room table that had once belonged to my Great Grandmother. We used the table in our previous house because we had a formal dining room and it filled the space perfectly. Hubs could tell that the legs on the table were not original so before we moved, we donated the table legs and just moved the table top for a future project. ENTER FUTURE (turned current) PROJECT.
To turn the antique table top into a refreshed work table, I found a set of unfinished knotty pine table legs from a small company in GA, who manufactures wood components. I decided to paint the legs a matte white shade/finish because matching the stain and years of wear to the tabletop, would have proven futile. And from a design perspective, I wanted the tabletop to shine and the legs to pull together the other white contrasting elements (ceiling, wallpaper shapes) so they could play a role opposite ALL the pink.
Knotty pine unfinished table legs
Table legs gonna get painted
As luck would have it Kelly from Stylish Patina saw one of my Instagram posts where I talked about using a different brand of furniture paint to update some pieces for our master bedroom and bath and she offered to send me some Jolie paint and wax samples, a brand she stocks in her amazing shop in Falls Church, VA. I used Jolie Palace White and Clear Wax to finish the table legs and couldn’t be happier with the matte finish and bright white color.
Hubs built custom brackets to attach the legs to the table top, added back 2 table leaves, then reinforced the whole thang to make it the perfect size for the space.
Now for the excitement…the rolling ladder has been installed and I’m smitten. We purchased the parts and hardware for the ladder from Custom Service Hardware. After having some issues ordering online, I called them and their customer service was just so good. All the pieces arrived within days of ordering, nothing was damaged, and the order was filled correctly! I mention this because there have been several instances in the last few weeks where this hasn’t been the case. The ladder pieces are made of beautiful unfinished red oak so we decided to finish them, simply, with a medium walnut dry oil. After the pieces dried, Hubs assembled the ladder.
The rail install was quite the project and I’m thankful my partner was up for the challenge. He started by adding a support piece across the already installed built-in unit. The rail brackets needed somewhere stable to be mounted and he was able to seamlessly blend the support piece with the rest of the unit and painted it after it was in place.
The ladder rail and rolling wheels and components are the most perfect matte black finish. Often hardware is labeled black and when it arrives, it’s actually a dark bronze so I feel confident we ordered from a suburb company, who I will continue to recommend and use for future clients and home projects.
Those wheels tho…
Between the rolling ladder and the antique work table top, the office now has the warm wood elements it needed to make the space feel (almost) complete. Next week (week 8) is the final week and all the styled room reveals. I’m certain you don’t want to miss what the featured designers and other guest participants have created!
Click on the ORC Logo to check out the progress of the other participants!
