We finally painted the area below the chair rail in the office a shade darker than the stenciled wall above so the room feels more balanced. The stencil above had made the top feel a bit heavy while the lower half was plain, so we moved one square down on the Benjamin Moore swatch (the wall color is Moonshine) and chose Gray Horse. We had it color-matched to an Olympic No-VOC satin paint and spent about $10 for a quart. That simple change helped ground the space.
Doesn’t it feel more anchored now? Hence the title.
We also swapped the matching metallic gold gourd lamps that used to be here for two different lamps from HomeGoods: one tripod desk lamp in an oil-rubbed-bronze (ORB) finish with a white shade, and a glass-based lamp also in ORB with a white shade. They don’t match exactly, but they work together and break up the symmetry a little. With a mirrored desk, a centered window, and two matching chairs, the room was extremely symmetrical, so a touch of imperfection felt right.
I can already hear my mom saying the mismatched lamps might look odd without art on the walls. I promise that once we hang artwork, the lamps will blend into the overall composition and feel like one of many layered elements. Or, she’ll still think they’re odd and still love me anyway.
We moved the dark leather chair in from the bedroom because it complements the desk’s dark wood top. It had been serving as a clothes-holder in the bedroom, but it’s actually getting used here. A bright green lumbar pillow we already owned ties the chair to the newly painted green desk chairs we finished a few weeks ago.
For some reason I’m especially fond of the file cabinet now thanks to the colorful accessories. Gray walls, a white desk and cabinet, and a brown chair and desktop all created a craving for color, so we added green chairs and a few punchy accents.
I casually stacked a few books, set down some bowls, and placed a ceramic pear on top. I actually said out loud, “Someone should build a room around these colors.”
Then I noticed how the accessories already echoed the room:
- The yellow tones in the bowl and the bottom book appear in the chair upholstery and the wall stencil.
- The green bowl matches the color of the desk chairs.
- The dark gray book on top is just a shade or two darker than the paint we added under the chair rail.
- The turquoise in the globe and the middle book shows up in the desk chairs’ fabric.
- The glossy white ceramic pear relates to the white trim, desk, and file cabinet.
So, unintentionally, we did base the room around those colors. It was a happy accident—trial and error can be a perfectly fine design approach. If you’re looking for a palette, try white, green, yellow, gray, turquoise, and a little chocolate brown for warmth. (Someday I might switch the globe base to ORB to bring in that deep brown tone.)
Like every other room in our house, the office isn’t “done.” We’ll likely keep tweaking it for a while, similar to how we refined rooms in our previous home. But it already feels more finished than it did a few months ago.
Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far:
- Built the wall-to-wall desk to maximize workspace.
- Brought in an Ikea file cabinet for practical storage.
- Added a toy basket for Clara so the room can function as a family space.
- Painted the walls a soft gray (Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine).
- Updated the chandelier with indigo paint and a large drum shade to modernize the light fixture.
- Stenciled the walls to add pattern and interest.
- Painted and reupholstered the desk chairs for fresh color.
- Painted the bottom half of the room a darker gray (Benjamin Moore’s Gray Horse) to ground the space.
- Placed a chair in the corner for storytime—Clara insists on reading in nearly every room.
Still left to do:
- Hang artwork to personalize the walls.
- Add window treatments for softness and light control.
- Find a properly sized rug—the current one is too wide but not long enough.
- Add a floor lamp and side table to the chair corner for height and function.
- Tweak and refine details as the room evolves.
What have you been working on lately? Any fellow weekend painters or DIYers tackling indoor or outdoor projects? We’ve got the gardening itch and want to get outside before it gets too cold.
P.S. Want to see our favorite neutral wall color that we use in many rooms? Check out the linked post for more details.