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Work at home? It's more like "working" at home.
In order to bring movement to the room, Davis chose Exceptional Flooring Concepts' patterned carpets. The chandelier is from Circa Lighting, the round table and desk are from Old Biscayne Designs, and the chair is from CB2.
Gail Davis has an ambitious concept in decoration: "Let your soul be invested in it." When designing a home office for a New Jersey client, the interior designer kept this creed in mind, adding personal style and the best. Favorite furniture makes single room projects possible.
The client has professionally decorated the office, but is not satisfied with the result. Space is not practical. The fragments are breaking. She was dissatisfied with the aesthetics, but could not completely determine the cause.
"It feels like a very masculine room," Davis said of the wood-paneled office, which needs a bit of brightness and color to get rid of the stuffy area. She kept some of the clients' existing artworks and accessories, but changed the fabrics, layout and lighting to make the space feel completely new.
Davis immediately began some surgical updates. She tore off a built-in bookcase that felt busy and dark, and then beat the carpenter to imitate the existing woodwork on the new bare wall left. Next, she pulled up the beige carpet and replaced it with a rich blue carpet to level the floor of the room. "I know I want some kind of texture and visual movement on the floor," Davis said of its spot design.
In order to highlight the ceiling height of the office, Davis chose long curtains that sweep across the floor. Since the house occupies several acres, she chose a subtle pattern and decoration to attract outside eyes. "It's like applying mascara on the eyelashes," Davis explained.
The layout of the office also needs to be remodeled. Davis clients run their own businesses and need a space suitable for face-to-face meetings. Before the redesign, she had meetings in the living room or kitchen-these spaces have more seating options. For Davis, the solution is obvious: introduce an intermediate table. Davis purchased a log from Old Biscayne Designs and paired it with four CB2 chairs to secure the temporary meeting area. This space consists of a table and a sofa, and now provides many options for various types of gatherings.
One of Davis' favorite additions is the white console she has kept for the right project. Retro pieces are used for storage, but they feel more beautiful than office cabinets. "I want to give customers space so they can put things away, not just ordinary things," Davis explained.
In order to make the space feel cohesive, Davis usually adds a ceiling fixture in the center of the room and complements it with floor lamps and table lamps to create warmth. Initially, the room was illuminated only by recessed lighting, which was not bright enough for a large paneled office. When lighting became the only source of light in the space, Davis said, “It feels more like a Broadway show than the space where you live.” Now one of the decorations in the room is a sparkling chandelier from Circa Lighting .
The story has a happy ending: the client is very satisfied with her office, and she hired Davis to update the rest of the house. And they are confident that, unlike the previous office design attempt, another renovation will not be carried out in the near future. "I'm done," the designer said. "I hope they will endure it all their lives."