We finally painted the area below the chair rail in our office a shade darker than the stenciled wall above so the room feels more balanced. The stencil above the chair rail made the top feel heavy, so we slid one square down on the Benjamin Moore swatch from our wall color (Moonshine) and chose Gray Horse. We had it color-matched to Olympic No-VOC paint in satin. Total cost: $10 for a quart of paint.
Doesn’t it look more grounded now? Hence the title.
We swapped the matching metallic-gold gourd lamps we used to have for two different lamps from HomeGoods: a tripod desk lamp in oil-rubbed bronze with a white shade and a glass-based orb lamp in the same finish with a white shade. They don’t match exactly, but they complement the space and break up the symmetry a bit. The room had a lot of mirror-image elements (mirror-image desks, a centered window, two matching chairs), so a little imperfection felt right.
The mismatched lamps might bother some without art on the walls, but once we hang artwork they’ll blend into the layered look and won’t draw as much attention. Or you might still dislike them — hi, Mom — but you’ll still love me as your daughter.
We also moved the dark leather chair from the bedroom into the office. Its deep tone plays nicely with the desk’s dark wood top, and it actually gets used here instead of holding clothes. A bright green lumbar pillow we already owned ties in with the new green desk chairs we painted a few weeks ago.
I’m particularly taken with the file cabinet thanks to the colorful accessories. The combination of gray walls, a white desk and cabinet, and the brown chair and desktop made me crave color, so the green chairs and a few punchy accents were a natural choice.
I casually stacked some books with bowls and a ceramic pear and said out loud, “someone should base a room on these colors.” Then I realized we’d more or less already done that. The color relationships were obvious:
- The yellow tones in the bowl and bottom book appear in the chairs’ upholstery and the stencil on the wall.
- The green bowl mirrors the hue of the desk chairs.
- The dark gray book on top is just a shade or two darker than the gray we added under the chair rail.
- The turquoise in the globe and the middle book is also found in the desk chair fabric.
- The glossy white of the ceramic pear connects to the white trim, desk, and file cabinet.
So it turns out the room was unintentionally based on those colors. Happy accidents are the best kind — trial and error works for us. My current color formula: white + green + yellow + gray + turquoise, with some chocolate brown for warmth (I might oil-rub the globe base someday when I’m feeling particularly fussy).
Like most rooms in our house, the office isn’t “done” yet — it will evolve over time — but it’s feeling much more finished than a few months ago.
Here’s how it looked a few months back:
What we’ve done so far:
- Built the wall-to-wall desk.
- Added an Ikea file cabinet for storage.
- Included a toy basket for Clara — function first.
- Painted the walls a soft gray (Benjamin Moore Moonshine).
- Painted the chandelier indigo and added a large drum shade.
- Stenciled the walls for pattern and interest.
- Painted and reupholstered the desk chairs in bright colors.
- Painted the lower half of the room a darker gray (Benjamin Moore Gray Horse).
- Added a cozy corner chair because Clara demands storytime in nearly every room.
What’s still on the list:
- Hang artwork on the walls.
- Add window treatments.
- Choose a properly sized rug (the current one is too wide and not long enough).
- Add a floor lamp and a side table to the reading corner for height and function.
- Continue tweaking details — this room will keep evolving.
What have you been working on lately? Any fellow weekend painters out there? It was a beautiful weekend for outdoor projects too — anyone seeding, weeding, or transplanting? We’re itching to tackle the yard before it gets too cold.
P.S. Want to see our favorite neutral wall color that we’ve used in several rooms? It’s one of our go-to neutrals and shows up a lot in our home.