It’s the second week of the One Room Challenge and I’m sharing my Design Plan + Budget with you all today for the Office Overhaul. I’ve been very proactive this time around and have placed orders for a lot of items in the design plan. I’ve learned the hard way from the last two One Room Challenges that I have participated in. Things get lost or don’t show up, so the earlier you get your orders placed the better. I’m trying to keep the stress minimal. I will not stay up late the night before a shoot panicking because I’m not prepared. You know, like not having enough wallpaper or DIYing plant hangers that didn’t get here on time (insert eye-roll here).
So let’s move on to my inspiration, design plan, and picks for the Office Overhaul.
Inspiration
As always, I’m forever drawing inspiration from Palm Springs. I basically designed this whole room around my love for The Parker Hotel. I’ve actually never stayed there, unfortunately, it’s a little out of my price range. One day I will though and it will be glorious! Whenever Ethan and I visit Palm Springs we always plan to have breakfast in The Parker at Norma’s for one of our morning meals. The food there is absolutely amazing (try the oatmeal brûlée) and I love to sit on the back patio. The hotel, designed by my favorite interior designer Jonathan Adler, is someone I’ve admired since design school. When I’m there it is so inspiring because you’re sitting in the perfect fantasy of what a Palm Springs house should be.
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Design Plan
I decided to color block the walls instead of going with wallpaper. The upper part of the walls will remain white and the bottom half will be bright yellow. I picked a sunshiny yellow that reminded me of the yellow umbrellas on the back patio at Norma’s. For the carpet, I chose an orange one reminiscent of the orange rug on the floor at The Parker. The rug in the hallway of The Parker is actually the same rug in the movie The Shining, which totally freaks me out! I’d have nightmares so I didn’t choose that one, instead, I chose something with a little pink in it to complement the desk.
The desk was such a good find and I can’t wait to show you! I sold my original desk (before photos here) and actually found the desk of my dreams on the Facebook Marketplace. Crazy! It’s a vintage Hollywood Regency style desk with faux bamboo trim. I’ve linked to a similar desk above.
We drove all the way to Jackson Heights which is deep in Queens, NYC, and carried it down a four-story walk up. We almost died trying to get it into our house. Luckily a kind neighbor helped us carry it in. Anyways, it needs a little love and I’m giving it a makeover. I’m painting it a bright pink similar to the one pictured above. Did you really think I was going to design a room without any pink in it? To be fair, it is a different shade of pink than my usual pastel.
The larger IKEA bookshelf I already owned from my studio. I’m buying the smaller version to put beside it to increase shelving space. Since the new desk is much smaller, it opened up a lot of floor space for an additional piece of furniture. I’m going to swap out my current chair for a ghost chair. I love acrylic furniture because it’s useful but doesn’t take up any visual space because it’s clear. I’m going to DIY a seat cover for it based on a set of very expensive chairs I saw in a vintage shop in Palm Springs. Stay tuned for that!
Also from IKEA, I plan to get the rattan pendant lamp that I’ve wanted since it came out! Hopefully, there aren’t any problems with swapping out the light fixture like last time. Prayers and positive vibes everyone! It was really hard to find banana leaf curtains and these are actually old H&M that I snagged on eBay. Such a score because similar curtains are over $200 a panel. These only cost me $50 for 2 panels!
I’m having trouble with that desk lamp because the one I wanted from World Market is currently out of stock online. There’s a similar one on West Elm but it’s a little more expensive. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I’ll be adding plants (DUH!) in these cute wall planters from Target and hopefully a fiddle leaf fig in a seagrass basket. I have the basket already but I linked to the one pictured above.
The main star of it all will be this print by Gray Malin from his series At The Parker. I’ve wanted this print for so long and I bought it just a few days ago because he was having a free framing + shipping sale which saved me almost $200. This was the most expensive thing in the design plan but I really feel like this is the only photograph I want hanging above my desk in my Parker themed office. If Jonathan Adler is my favorite interior designer, Gray Malin is my favorite modern photographer. His work is fun and he has fused photography, interior design, and travel in a way that is full of adventure. When I look at his images I want to live in them.
Lastly, I couldn’t have a Parker Palm Springs-themed office without a gold banana vase from Jonathan Adler. For those of you that don’t know there’s a 7-foot giant banana sculpture on the lawn of The Parker. This one isn’t 7 feet but I needed a gold banana sculpture! 😉
Budget
As of now with the items listed above in the design plan, my budget is looking like $881 for this project. I’ve sold two items from my current office that raised $100 to put towards the budget which brings it down to $781. This will probably be adjusted as I go along and will depend on what lamp I decide to buy and if I use a few other things I already have.
I always aim to keep my design budget low and renter friendly because I am in fact a renter. I also believe that design and decor should be for everyone. That’s why I look for items and decor with approachable price points that can be accessible to a lot of peoples budgets. I already have the desk, large shelving, planters, and curtains. Orders for the Gray Malin print and rug have been placed, which I got both on sale! This week I’ll be placing the rest of my product orders and testing out some paints colors. Stay tuned to see what happens next!
