I’m all a-jitter today because the last 6 weeks of creativity, stress, and nerves have finally come to fruition! I’m so excited to share my Spring 2018 One Room Challenge with you — Home Glow Design’s Ultimate She-Shed!
A quick introduction if you’re new to Home Glow Design and Home Glow’s Saturday Blog —
I’m a New Hampshire designer & writer. I started my business in late 2016 because I knew what I saw in the design magazines didn’t come from a big box store catalog … and I wanted to let homeowners know that the totally unique and character-filled interiors they wanted weren’t stylistically out of their reach, either! I love gorgeous colors and patterns, and I’m a sucker for architecturally/historically-inspired fresh classic design.
The ORC is a twice-a-year event where 20 invited designer/bloggers and a host of guest participants complete a room in 6 weeks, with a weekly blog post to update on progress. This is my second time as a guest blogger.
The She-Shed was plagued by a number of out-of-stock, damaged deliveries, and tight, tight, timelines, in the first few weeks. However, amazingly, everything came through (or we found alternatives!). But it wouldn’t be the ORC without a lot of stress! You can check out previous weeks below. Some golden nuggets of info are included in previous posts.
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- WEEK 1 — A TALE OF 2 SCHEMES
- WEEK 2 — THE PLAN AND THE PROBLEMS!!!
- WEEK 3 — HOW TO MIX & MATCH LIGHTING IN THE SAME ROOM
- WEEK 4 — WALL-TO-WALL SEAGRASS CARPET 101
- Week 5 — Office Space Planning with IKEA
My She-Shed began its life as a 19th century blacksmith shop attached to our 1790 New Hampshire farmhouse and has had many renditions and purposes since. Most recently, it spent 20+ years as a storage area.
My task was to turn it into an interior design studio for Home Glow Design, adding a feminine flair while staying true to its masculine history and concurrently providing a backdrop for creativity and space to meet clients. I call my design scheme “Cowgirls Wear Sundresses on Sundays.”
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(I spent some time as a wrangler on a ranch in Colorado during another lifetime, pre-marriage and children.)
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That lovely blush colored fabric with grays, camels, and bronzes together with the below amazing chandelier formed my design launchpad.
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A few “before” pics, to remind you of the space.
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Yep, we still had a fair amount of snow when the ORC began in April.
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Are you ready for LOTS of pics?
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All “after” photos by Sabrina Cole Quinn Photography, unless otherwise noted.
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We took off the nasty broken screen and gave the door a fresh coat of Dunn-Edwards Iron Creek. As for the rest of the exterior paint job … well, we left it rustic. It was not in the budget, and heck, I live in a small village in New Hampshire, not in Greenwich, CT. It will get a new coat of paint when the rest of the house paint pops in a year or two.
The darkened brass light fixture is by Northeast Lantern, a New Hampshire company that makes solid brass lighting with a lifetime guarantee. I also featured them in this post about 7 Lessons Learned in Outdoor Lighting. Their stuff is worth every penny.
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In addition to the Fenwater chandelier, supporting-role lighting played a huge part in the overall harmony of the room. I chose Hudson Valley’s Woodstock Flush Mount in polished nickel (the holophane glass is perfect for this slightly industrial/masculine space), and 2 large Garden City Sconces.
Two Kallax shelf units laid horizontally hold my fabric books and product catalogs. Tjena magazine files hold wallpaper samples. Both from IKEA.
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I combined a custom desk chair with my cherished vintage Stickley quarter-sawn oak, craftsman-style desk for a masculine/feminine dichotomy. I used a Pindler outdoor fabric, Bayside in Eggshell, for the inside seat, back, and arms, and a textural Highland Court asymmetric woven, Colea in Latte, for the outside back and arms.
The fabulous cowhide rug is from one of my trade wholesale sources.
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For my cork wall (how-to detailed in Week 3), I used this CORK ROLL FROM AMAZON and THIS ADHESIVE. It is awesome for pinning up all my inspiration and almost completely disappears because we coated it in 3 coats of White Dove OC-17 by Benjamin Moore.
Speaking of paint, we used White Dove for all the walls and trim, the latter painted in the ADVANCE formulation. It’s the closest thing to an oil finish on the market! (For more details on the best way to cover up knotty pine, see week 2.) The ceiling is painted Quicksand CSP-200, one of Benjamin Moore’s Color Stories full-spectrum paints.
In the above pic, you get a a glimpse of the chandelier, which was actually rather difficult to photograph, because we couldn’t pull back far enough for a full shot without aiming up. The “tiny house” nature of the space does come with some inconveniences! A better shot of that “chandy” coming up.
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A detail shot of the feminine Roman shades we did. I ADORE the blush with the camel color combination — keeps the fabric from becoming too saccharine or millennial, IMO. (I am Gen X and proud of it!) The fabric is Pindler’s Treeblossom in Blush trimmed with Romo’s Linara in Safari. You can read more about my obsession with this style of window treatment here.
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Most projects in these post-Great-Recession days have some element of high/low to them — spend more here, spend less there — etc. While I don’t normally specify IKEA furniture for clients because I tend to decorate looking toward the long haul, in this office space they were just the ticket! I chose my Skarsta Sit/Stand Desk for working with plans and samples, as well as having one-on-one client meetings, and my Alex unit on casters for storing all my tile samples.
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Brainstorming new schemes.
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I have 2 Hemnes bookcases flanking the front door, with small water hyacinth baskets from The Container Store for organizing all my loose fabric samples.
As you can see, I moved the ladder to the other side of the room from where it was originally. I wanted the space to feel more open as you came in the door, looking to the work table with sconces and inspiration board. Moving the ladder also enabled me to create a cozy little area for my Stickley desk.
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It fits perfectly here — both in terms of size and style.
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The vintage-industrial style Luton Stools are from Dovetail. I can buy direct, but you can also find them here. They are super heavy. The knit basket was a Home Goods find.
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I forgot to have Sabrina shoot this angle, but I really wanted to show off the steel railing that local craftsman Chris Martin of Absolute Welding & Fabrication made to replace that nasty one in the old space (read about it in week 5). It came out just the way I envisioned it and at less than 1/10th the cost of having something custom made in actual bronze.
And, of course, there’s my fabulous chandelier again!!!!
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I debated for quite some time as to the flooring in this space. Originally, the building would have had a dirt floor. Fifty+ years ago, it was put on a concrete slab and first linoleum and then basement-type carpet had been installed. I couldn’t be restorationist in my vision (Dirt? No, thank you.), but I wanted something classic and historically-inspired, if not accurate.
Wall-to-wall seagrass carpet (see week 4 if you have any Qs as to pros and cons) seemed the perfect fit — a time-tested classic, ultra-durable, natural, economical, and perfect for layering with accents rugs. I chose this pattern from Fibreworks, one of my vendors for carpeting.
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Kuggi stackable bins from IKEA combined with Reusable Dry-Erase Labels from the Container Store keep my client projects and samples organized.
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Wall hook in soft iron from Target.
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There you have it — Home Glow Design’s new office space, the Ultimate She-Shed!
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I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my sponsors:
Also, a huge thank you to my tradespeople who helped make my vision a reality:
- Brian J. Barrett Construction (GC, restored windows, paint)
- Lenn Johnson Electric
- AMP Plumbing & Heating (heat)
- Absolute Welding & Fabrication (railing)
- Designer’s Workroom (window treatments)
Thank you, Linda, for creating the ORC so that we all can get our homes decorated before we die! And kudos to House Beautiful, Media Sponsor of ORC!
And thank you — all of you! — for joining along in this journey! I hope you will check out all the other bloggers and their transformations, as well. Lastly, if you like what you have seen/read, please come back on Saturday for Home Glow’s regular “Saturday Blog” post.
Phew! I’m going to sleep! I’ll be having sweet dreams about going to work tomorrow. 😉
-Amy
37 thoughts on “ORC Week 6: The Ultimate She-Shed Reveal!”
Amy,
What a fantastic transformation–you are so talented! I love everything you did here, and am so envious that you have a dedicated work space for your design business. Congratulations and enjoy it!!!
Thank you, Diana!! I started blogging almost 2 years ago with client work following. Started with my desk and a bookshelf at one end of the kitchen, but it had become so crowded, with my having to sweep all my stuff off the kitchen table 3 times a days for meals! We don’t have an extra bedroom, basement, or office space in the house. It was necessary for family harmony and my stress level. I agree am very fortunate that we had this little outbuilding and that I don’t have to pay rent somewhere else. 🙂
Oh my goodness! The shed looks amazing! It’s much bigger than I thought…what a great use of space.
Thanks so much, Jordana! Yes, it’s amazing what a good layout can do. I’m off to check out your space!
wowzerrrrrrss, that was a LOT of work! Really well done! Such a great place to get things done!! Congratulations!
Thanks, Natasha. That means a lot, coming from you! And congrats on being a featured designer this round. Your space came out beautifully!
FABULOUS!!! I just love it!! It really turned out great and I’m certain you will be thrilled to pieces in your new space. Congratulations!!
I am! It’s so peaceful in there. (I’m so used to working with kids and my sitter running around while I’m on the phone, etc. 🙂 I feel like I’m skipping school or something. haha
Congrats–looks great!
Thank you, Jenn!
I can’t tell you how happy I am for you! Virginia Woolf and a room of your own and all that! Now, I hope that you will have a little mailbox for that cute door because I always have things I want to drop off for you.
I feel a little guilty — after all the chaos of having kids around while I work, it’s like I’m playing hooky or something. 🙂 I’ll get on the mailbox!
I’ve been following along and it turned out so fantastic! Beautiful space. Well done – give yourself a big pat on the back! This was quite the project!
Julie, thank you so much for following along on this process. I know the in-between weeks can get a little dull, so that means a lot. I’m so pleased that a regular reader like you likes the space!
This room was the room I was most looking forward to see, and you guys did not disappoint! It looks so great!!
Thank you so much, Andi! Glad we came through!
I want a She-Shed! Beautiful…thanks for the inspiration!
Incredible. Just love every bit of it. Two thumbs up!
Thanks so much, Jeri!
Just beautiful. Great job Amy!!
Gah! I’m dying! What an absolutely fantastic space, Amy. I’m in love with every detail, and totally jealous that you get to work here every day! Well done!!!
Thank you, Cate! I feel very fortunate to have this space — and a little selfish, if truth be told, because the HH doesn’t have an equivalent for himself. But it won’t stop me from enjoying it too much!
I am soooo obsessed (and honestly super jealous LOL) of this space!! It looks so comfortable and happy – a perfect place to be inspired. And that ceiling detail mixed with that chandelier – just stunning!
Thank you, Lindsey! Yes, if we ever have to move, that chandelier is coming with us. (Though I don’t know how I’d pack it. We had to hang every one of those glass rods by hand.) It’s too tall for any room in this house, so I’m glad I had a space with a high enough ceiling to accommodate it!
Wow. What an amazing transformation. You knocked it out of the park – well done! xx
Thanks Kate!
This is such a wonderful space! Great job!
Wow, really enjoyed this post! Well done!! I am super jealous of the space too, if I’m being honest 🙂
Thank you! Yes, I can at last spread out. It was getting crazy, working in the kitchen. I’d run out of room to organize my samples, and they were all in a growing heap in various corners.
Wow! What a fantastic space!! Such a beautiful place to create and work! Love it.
Thank you, Shavonda!
Amy, this is the PERFECT she-shed. I mean, what more could a design girl ask for?? I’m so jealous! I may have to steal this idea and turn our shed into an office rather than the barn we had in mind. 😉 Thanks for the inspiration!
Haha. Well, we have started chickens in the this space (before I transformed it, of course), but now they have to go in the barn. So there is definitely a use for a barn over a she-shed now and then! I feel very lucky. Thank you!
Amy, this is such an amazing little space to call your own! I love that you painted the interior white and added the seagrass wall to wall. Such a great background for dreaming up your next design!
Thank you so much, Lisa! I love the seagrass. So durable and beautiful at the same time.
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