The Evolution of My Extra Space

As you know, the progress of my “extra room”, which is downstairs in my house, has gone through many transformations.

When we bought the house, it was an extra room used completely for storage – with a weird inside room that was fully padded (because they were musicians, right??????). It was a catchall for boxes, storage, and had some very weird quirks to it (see top left photo). But it also was a huge space with decent natural light and a lot of potential which is when I realized that it would make the perfect space for a home office and studio. We had just bought the house and we couldn’t afford an outside studio.

It served many purposes while it was the the home of EHD offices. The space was set up, torn apart, moved around, and reconfigured almost everyday. Because the space was big and open and had lots of natural light we used different corners of the room for all sorts of photoshoots.

One day it was decorated for the Matchbook Magazine photoshoot, or destroyed to shoot our Material Girls posts, not to mention all the times we were constantly tearing it apart for our many DIY projects that we did with Redbook magazine.

The space evolved with us creatively and it worked for what we needed as we grew and made use of it. There were even times when we were able to keep it clean and organized enough for it to look like a professional working office!

As the business continued to grow so did we. We added some new employees, a whole lot of new props, and some furniture as well. The once big white open space just became too small and stuffed to the brim for it to function as it once did. We moved into our new studio and now the extra room has returned to its original glory as a beautiful big white empty space, minus the fact that it still has a few remaining battle wounds as a studio (half painted walls, paint decks, office chairs) and my newest acquisition an elliptical machine that is unhappily collecting dust.

Now that we have our new official office space (which we are very quickly outgrowing AGAIN) we haven’t had to use the old office space for photoshoots or prop storage which means I get to make it my next project. We thought about making it Brian’s office, a workout/yoga room (because i’m so hard core????) or just a huge play room. But then I got pregnant again and realized that having an extra bedroom and/or guest quarters is probably the smartest thing to do.  My goal is to make it feel clean and modern but with warm, inviting and comfortable touches. I’m just in the first stages of design – the ‘looking and finding inspiration’ phase:

I love the worn leathers, rustic wood, and the juxtaposition of modern and rustic in these. Once I had a game plan for what I wanted the overall atmosphere and feeling of the room to be, I headed over to Chairish to pick out furniture, accessories and art. For those of you who haven’t heard about Chairish before, it is a simple concept – think craigslist, but classier, more well refined, more organized, more curated, less broken ikea furniture, less disgusting contemporary cheap furniture and a lot easier to navigate.

In order for a product to be on Chairish it has to be approved by their staff. They weed through half the junk that some people think are “treasures”, and they update their stock every single day which means they have a constant collection of goods for all our inner hoarders. On top of this, they offer door to door shipping services and make it very easy to not only buy, but sell your goods using their app, (which you can download here)

I did a little digging of my own for the new, more calm, less fussy, and much less crowded ‘extra space’ and i wanted to share some of my favorites.

1. Green Velvet Couch: It’s a little bit modern, a little bit luxe, and a whole lot of swag. This sofa is like the hot girl in at the bar that commands all the attention. I hate that girl so instead maybe I’ll buy the sofa, sit on the sofa, then become her. A good sofa = social power.

2. Reindeer Hide Rug: Cowhides have been popular for quite some time, but this reindeer hide provides a rustic look and a lot more fluff for your feet. The fur is a lot softer which means cozying up on it in front of the fire on a cold LA night is even better (side note: the cozying would be done with my slanket, whilst watching The Bachelorette and eating spoonfuls of ice cream)

3. Highboy Dresser: The dresser is distinctively mid-century which brings a bit of modern into the space, not to mention it can hold a whole lotta new hoards.

4. Ceramic and Walnut Lamp: Although my country home would be lit with only the glow of the fire and the soft light from candles scattered throughout the house, until then I can definitely get on board with this mid-century beauty. Now I just gotta figure out how to make my neck as graceful as hers.

5. Brass Mug and Tray Set: Serving up some delicious cocktails will ensure that your guests have a good time, just make sure they don’t get too drunk and steal the beautiful brass edifice in their hand on the way out.

6. Brass Side Tables: Think of these twins as Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. They instantly bring the celebrity factor without stealing your thunder. These tables add the perfect amount of glamour without taking the attention away from everything else.

7. Deer Shooting Target: I’m not into hunting, decidedly the opposite, actually. But I like how quiet and yet graphic this is. And maybe one less deer will be hurt by me owning it (??).

8. Wood Turned Side Table: The geometric shape makes it modern, while the rough hewn wood makes it rustic. It’s like Robert Redford before he got all the wrinkles.

9. Four Poster Bed: I’ve always wanted a grand bed – either a four poster, a canopy or just a grand tall headboard. This room is big and can totally handle it.

10. Leather Club Chairs: despite what hollywood is trying to tell us, a little age never hurt anyone, including this set of club chairs with matching ottoman. These say they are from the 1990’s which is why they are pretty affordable but they feel pretty 1930’s to me, in such a good way.

11. Wool Blanket: hand-spun wool, pom-poms and a graphic stripe, what else do you need in a blanket, oh and not to mention the fact that it fits a king size bed. I love, love, love this blanket.

12. Burl Wood Coffee Table: Sculptural, organic, and sooo pretty.

There might be some triggers pulled (those leather chairs, the wool blanket) but I’m still pulling everything together and getting pretty darn excited about having another space in my house to design. Meanwhile check out my favorites on Chairish.

*This post was in partnership with Chairish but all those words, ideas, mood boards, etc, are mine 🙂