what I do

what I do

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Harbour house reno: part one

I have been working on a house renovation for the last couple of months and it is almost finished. This was a big week. The carpet was installed, the painting finished, the cabinets completed and the new furniture on site. As any project there are a few adjustments to be made but it was ready enough to start bringing in a few pieces today. I started with the new desk area.


One of the things the client asked for was an updated kitchen. They wanted a new refrigerator and the one they wanted required the cabinets to be readjusted (the new refrigerator was larger), a new sink (she had her heart set on a farmhouse sink) and she wanted new countertops. She also wanted the dated wallpaper to be removed and the existing ceiling lighting updated. And she needed a desk area; nothing big but a place where she could use her laptop. There was not a lot of room and the only place we could use was where she currently kept her microwave.

Desk area before

I thought about doing something built-in and even considered cutting into the wall behind the desk to borrow space from the closet on the other side of the wall. I also thought about doing something like this:


I liked the idea of a desk on casters that they could use for a serving cart or bar area when entertaining. After all my research, I ultimately ended up with a simple secretary / desk from Pottery Barn. I couldn't  resist it; it fit perfectly in the space and had everything the client needed. 

New desk area


To make the desk area personal I brought in elements that fit their lifestyle and personality. I brought in some nautical desktop items, and a bit a whimsey (the ceramic 'plastic' cup as a pencil holder) and custom photography photoshopped to match the color scheme of the new kitchen / dining area. My sister, the photographer showed me some photos she had taken of the beach and we came up with three that were just what I wanted. We adjusted the color (she did while I watched) and then I framed them in simple frames to match the desk.



I added a bulletin board and put a few quotes on it for her for fun.


I love the way the desk area turned out but putting the desk in that space left the microwave without a place to go. So I took some wasted space by the back kitchen door and had a cabinet built to give it a permanent home.

Back door area before


Back door area / new home for the microwave


Wait till you see what we did to the ceilings!

5 comments:

Amy Chalmers said...

Huge improvement Sherri!

traci zeller designs said...

It's so pretty, and I'm crazy for the bulletin board!

Unknown said...

The desk area looks beautiful! Great job.

barb cabot said...

Love it can't wait to see more.

Jessie said...

This looks great! I really love the bulletin board!

Jessie
www.mixandchic.com