Decorating Dilemma: Mary Ellen’s Craft Room

Decorating Dilemmas is a weekly column in which our stylists answer your design questions, so you can tackle your home decorating project with complete confidence.

Dear How to Decorate,

We are lucky to have a new house being built. The layout in the back of the house is completely open floor plan including the kitchen, breakfast room, family room and then a dining room. There is a room off the foyer that I don’t know what to do with. I’m thinking an office/craft storage area? Here are some photos from the display house. The room is 11’6″ deep and 12’3″ wide. When standing in the foyer looking into the room, there are 2 single windows on the left and the rest is drywall. I like the blues and spa inspired palattes. The rest of the house will be dark chocolate/hickory wood floors with cream furniture or black. This room will have beige carpet. There will be no crown molding or can lights like you see in the photos. Just a single builder grade fixture in the middle of the ceiling. It’s totally OPEN!! I do have one black desk with optional hutch that I can put in here, but I’m not hard set on it.

Thank you in advance!!!

Mary Ellen

Dear Mary Ellen,

Congratulations on your new home! We have some great ideas for your office/craft room.

First, we would love to see you paint in a beautiful soft Taupe color like Benjamin Moore “Nimbus” (#1465) to add a little depth and richness to the room. Be sure to test for compatibility with your rug.

We would love for you to add some great architectural interest into your room with a beautiful Grand Palais Mirror on the far wall. Below the mirror, a Lyon Mirrored Sideboard in Black will add scale and storage, as well as a great focal point, to the room. On the sideboard, we have placed a pair of our new Suzanne Kasler Chapelle Urn Table Lamps in Cream. We liked our Sea Fan Framed Art on either side of the mirror to play up the blues in your room. We suggest a Carlton Chair with Brass Nailheads in Tybee Blue here for reading and relaxing. The Olivia Mirrored Side Table in Antique Brass is a great companion for your chair.

To make your craft/office space as functional as possible, we suggest the Tuscan Return Office Group in cream. It will maximize your storage and provide great work space for office work or crafts. For comfy seating, the Gramercy Desk Chair in Cobalt Microfiber is perfect and the bonus, and the fabric is easy to keep clean.

Try our Fabric Message Board in Darby Blue between the cabinets to add some fun plus it is a great place to gather ideas. Our Caroline Garden Seat in Vine, tucked in the corner of the room, will be great for additional seating or display.

Don’t forget to add some great accessories. Our Original Home Office Desk Organizers and Wood Wall Pockets are ideal to keep all of your craft tools organized. The Kubu Baskets will look great on top and inside of the cabinets and bring in fantastic texture to the room. Another idea is hanging our Typesetter Plaques for a creative touch.

Always remember to include much needed lighting. The Jordan Adjustable Table Lamp is great task lighting for the desk, and if your ceiling height allows, hang the Leeds 3-Light Pendant Light in Brass.

Happy  Decorating!

The Design Solutions Team

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