The Study

This is my study/sitting room. After going back and forth for a little while on what I wanted to do, I decided to make this a rainy-day room.  The climate here is sunny and warm for such a large portion of the year that it made sense to make the house airy and light. Every room, with the exception of my son's, is a lighter palette and more spacious in design. However, I found that on rainy days, cold days, and dark afternoons in January I wanted something a little more homey and crowded in a darker palette.

I designed this room after an English study. The walls are Vine Green from Benjamin Moore - my favorite paint - and all the furniture is a mix of things I've picked up here and there. I bought the chairs a few years ago at a hotel liquidation sale for $60 each. They were upholstered in a HIDEOUS orange and teal floral fabric - very early 90's. But I loved the shape and they were in excellent condition - who sits in the chair in their hotel room? I bought the fabric, a white denim, on clearance for $10 a yard and had them reupholstered locally for $350 for the pair. My total cost for the chairs was $550 - for both. I've seen chairs identical to these at Havertys and Ethan Allen for between $900 and $1400 each.

The zebra rug was a liquidation find for $20. I got the piano at half-price day at Goodwill for only $75!!! The ottoman was another Goodwill find for $12, and the bookshelf was a gift from my in-laws - $200 at the unfinished furniture store plus an $8 quart of stain. My husband picked up the Hepburn posters at the grocery store for $2 each and I got cheap $10 frames for them a the the hobby store. The pics above the piano are mementos from the trip we just took to NYC. I think there's a total of $16 in pics there.

The brass floor lamp is another half-price day find, only $3.50, and the table lamp was $6 at Goodwill and I topped it with a $15 Target shade. The side table is one of my favorite finds - $3 at Goodwill! It would be fun painted a bright color like pink, orange, yellow or lime or emerald green. Since my room was already pretty bright, I left it natural. I topped it with a $5 piece of glass that I had lying around.

Here's the dresser I scored last week. I haven't hung anything behind it yet; not sure if I will. It's kind of nice to have one small blank wall, but I may change my mind about that later.

 Now I have a sophisticated space to be a grown-up in. There are no baskets full of toys, no train tracks in the corner. I feel smarter just sitting in here. ;-)