As we head into a new year we are all creating resolutions for things to improve in our lives. For me I will be entering the last year in my twenties. I have met a lot of my "goals" in life; I am married, I have two children and I own my home. The last "item" on the list will be to have a career. After that I can die because I will have completed life... JK! My life is definitely not as I imagined it to be by this age but I am quite happy with where it is. I have a beautiful family and a comfortable life but I have spent the last two years being 100% mom. My early twenties were spent in transition and overcoming a lot of things in my past to figure out who I was and how I made myself happy. This last year of my twenties I want to get back to that exploration. And so begins my journey as a designer. I have always wanted to be a designer but have always made excuses for why I am not. That changes now; I am a designer who is currently building my resume and business. I will be looking to expand my portfolio this year with some pro-Bono work but first I will share my first job for a client.
Last Christmas I decided to finally create an office space for my husband. Although this space is in my house I treated my husband as the client and used his input for the design. This was not just an office for him it was also a "man cave." I hate to use that term but it is quite accurate. His space is not only for doing work but also for making music or hanging out with his friends.
The room that became his is a bonus space in our house off of the garage so it is basically a big rectangle with a window at one end and a door at the other. Space planning is important in a multi-use room. I created a defined work space by placing the desk against the wall jutting out into the room with a buffet behind it in front of the window.
Along the adjacent wall I placed a small sofa that faces out to the open space of the room.
A portion of the room has become storage unfortunately but the plan is to have another chair opposite the couch to round out the hang out area.
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My husband is a beer drinker so the splurge for the room was a kegerator for the corner. This propelled the space into true "man cave" status.
The aesthetic of the room is "Mad Men"esque with mid-century looking furniture pieces in natural wood tones, masculine lines and subtle metallic accents. I created a gallery wall centered around a cardboard rhinoceros head. I bought gold and silver frames from the thrift store and filled them with pictures of our family.
His guitars hang on the wall as both art and for easy access to use. A bold patterned rug rounds out the room adding some much needed interest and acoustics.
As with most projects in my house it is a work in progress but it is the most finished room in the house. My husband was thrilled with it and it has worked out beautifully for all of it's uses.
