Interiors

A Family Study
with Space to Lounge

A cozy living room corner with a light blue sofa decorated with colorful pillows, a small round wooden side table with a dish, a white cabinet with decorative items and books, two large windows with beige roman shades, and an abstract botanical art piece on the wall. There's also a patterned rug and a plant on the cabinet.

A client in Lexington, who resides in the 1960s Colonial she grew up in, felt nostalgic for the dark original woodwork in her home’s study (which was once her Dad’s office) — but she was ready to update the space to better fit her current family’s needs.

The dark trim and bookcases felt dated, and while the office was used regularly for computer work and book storage, it wasn’t furnished for lounging. The existing desk was both too large for the space and not well-suited for more than one user.

To visually enlarge and lighten the study, we painted everything — walls, trim, cabinets, and ceiling — the same fresh creamy white. The once-underused closet was transformed into an open storage nook: the door removed, with a drawer bank and open shelves added.

A wooden bookshelf and cabinet unit against a wall with woven baskets, books, and magazines, next to a window, with an ornate multicolored rug on the floor and a small plastic storage container and a black and white box underneath.

BEFORE

A white built-in wall cabinet with various shelves and drawers, decorated with books, framed photos, decorative vases, and storage boxes, situated in a room with a patterned rug and a partial view of a dining table and a dark blue chair.

This study is full of IKEA hacks, tackled by the owner during the pandemic: the corner sofa was too low to the ground, so she added wooden feet to raise the height; the desk is an IKEA butcherblock countertop custom-cut and placed over a single cabinet, with legs added at each corner for support. The closet cabinet is a modified base from IKEA’s kitchen collections.

Living room with light blue sofa, colorful pillows, and a small wooden side table with a decorative bowl and folded blankets. Room has two windows with blinds, a patterned area rug, and built-in shelf with books and decor.
A home office with a wooden desk, a large computer monitor, a keyboard and mouse, a globe, a potted plant, and a rug. There are three blue chairs at the desk, gold and black an office chair, pegboard wall with drawings and accessories, and wall-mounted gold lamps.

<< Previous Next >>