Initial disclaimer. If you work at one of those fancy start-ups, this before and after might not be so impressive. I know, I've visited a few of these companies, and the interiors and amenities are unbelievable. However, if you work in a normal office without a Blue Bottle kiosk or a lego room, this post might be right up your alley.

I was asked to spruce up an office for an attorney. I used to work in an office similar to this one, though the view from mine wasn't half as good. Just to set the stage, the office here is as good as it gets even before I got my hands on it. This client keeps his office in impeccable shape, and I love it. I'm so glad no one ever will see the way my office looked when I used to practice. It wasn't uncommon for me to have 20 or so document boxes with many, many large binders against the wall - it was a hot mess.

I was happy that my client wanted to invest the money and time in making his office feel warmer and cozier. We spend so much time at work, often more than at home. I strongly believe you should put a high value on how you want to feel in your surroundings at both work and home. With a high value item, it only makes sense that you make an effort to improve and maintain it. Your surroundings don't define who you are, but they can certainly help you with your productivity and well being. Spending money on your workspace is just an investment in your overall happiness! Okay, enough of the preaching, here we go.

First order of business, this view. It's hard to make anything in this office look bad with a classic - even when foggy - amazing San Francisco view like this.

I can't turn away from that view...but we must, Here we go, down to the nitty gritty. With a few small and subtle changes, the overall look of the office was transformed. Here is the before of just an empty wall just begging for some art.

So we gave in, and put up some color and personality!

An improvement. No objections right? It's amazing what a gallery wall can do for a space. I brought a plant stand in to give some interest and modernity into the office. Since we were stuck with the existing office furniture, bringing something a little more current helped update the space overall. Ready for the next wall? Here is the before.

And here is the after.

There's movement, fun and interest all in this one wall. The client requested a dry erase board. I was a little hesitant to install one, purely for my own selfish reasons. They're usually not beautiful and they are very difficult to hide. Solution? I found this glass dry erase board. Doesn't it look amazing? And when it's not in use, you can say it's a part of the gallery wall!

On to the bookcase. This is not a home office, it's an actual office at a firm, so you want to keep things clean and professional. However, that shouldn't mean that you can't have anything on your shelves other than law school books that you haven't touched...since law school. I added just three items to this bookcase: marble tray, ceramic vase, and wire squares (my favorite). Again the additions were few, and changes were small, but the impact was big. Side note: five points for all you lawyers if you can spot the Chemerinsky!

Let's move on to where all the action happens. Here is a before of the desk.

Just your standard office fare. You can't really improve the look of a printer or monitor, but you can make changes elsewhere. See below for the after!

I changed things where I could to create a more cohesive and updated look, I replaced the black wire vertical/horizontal file storage with acrylic ones, switched out the tape dispensers and stapler with more modern ones, even updated the push pins - the plastic rainbow colored ones are just so sad. I gave the kleenex box a cover which sits adjacent to a similar white acrylic tray to keep things altogether visually.

The client specifically requested a retro table fan for air circulation. It was difficult finding one that was smaller so it was to scale, but my persistence paid off, and this one looks and works beautifully. My personal favorite additions are the wooden orbs. It's visual art in the midst of all these work accessories. Here is one last photo of the overall space.

And no detail is too small, love these coasters I sourced for the client.

I hope after reading this post, you leave with the desire to make your own office more enjoyable and pleasant. You deserve it! Even if you don't call on me for my help, you will find that a few small but impactful changes will boost your mood and productivity!

If you've been following me on Instagram, you've seen some sneak peeks of a long term project I've been working on for the past year, the Map House Project! I'm really excited to share the final product with you. A little bit of background: the clients purchased a second home to be closer to their first grandchild. If you're lucky enough to have a second home - first, I'm jealous. Second, you can take some liberties with the decor since you're not using the home full time.

The clients are serious DIYers and have a strong sense of style, which I really appreciated. My role here was more advisory, sourcing and editing, which I was happy to do. The inspiration for the entire house was these simply amazing vintage maps my clients picked up at the Alameda Flea Market. We placed them throughout the home to create a theme for the house.

There were a couple of challenges. The townhouse, though in good condition, was a little bit stuck in the 90's, and updating the home on a budget was going to be difficult. Also, since this was a second home, there would be no preexisting furniture - the townhome would start as a completely empty space. Furnishing a three bedroom condo from scratch is no small feat! Thankfully, decisive clients and the internet are great tools to speed the process along. Below are the maps that served as the creative inspiration!

First up, the foyer. Here is the before with the prior occupant's furnishings.

If you've read about any of my projects before, you know I love a well styled foyer. It's the first space to greet guests, the gatekeeper for everything you bring into your home, and in some instances the place where you remove your shoes before entering a home. Foyers are important!

Below is the after.

Such a cheerful space right? The detail on the vintage armchair is everything. After some searching, we finally found the perfect table lamp to give height and additional lighting. Since the foyer is adjacent to the dining room, the credenza can store additional serveware, dishware and miscellaneous items.

On to the living room, which I like to call the adult sitting room. A room meant for relaxing and reading. Here is the before.

And the after!

An improvement? A resounding yes. The vintage map of China hangs over the mantle. We pulled shades of green, blue and neutrals from this map to style this room. Those weird cutouts above the fireplace are such a blast from the past. We think they were originally constructed for TVs when they were thicker than a few inches. Remember when? I decided that a collection of larger glass jars would be the perfect way to fill in such an awkward space, it retains visual separation of the two rooms but keeps it light.

Yes, that's a Fiddle Leaf Fig tree AGAIN. Guilty. I love them, they add so much greenery to a room with those large lush leaves. And I agree, sometimes things are too trendy, and we should all take a break. For example, it's going to be a very long time until I can embrace chevron again. But sometimes things are trendy because they are so great, retaining their longevity, and I think Fiddle Leaf Fig trees fall into this latter category.

The arc floor lamp really works here because the ceilings are so high and the space is very airy. Another tip? When purchasing an arc lamp, buy one that has a shaded bottom so no one feels like they're on a spotlight when sitting down. And, as in many of the other houses I've done, no coffee table so the baby and adults can roam freely without worry. The side tables should be sufficient for the occasional beverage or book.

Follow me to the other side of the fireplace wall where the TV room is located. Here is the before.

And here is the after.

Comfort is the priority for any room made for some serious TV watching. I think we've achieved that goal here. My talented clients actually made most of the throw pillows, and covered that ottoman. Yes, you heard right. I'm not much of a DIYer, nine times out of ten I prefer to purchase versus making something myself. So they surprised me a thousand times throughout this collaboration when I would send a product suggestion and they would respond by saying we can totally make/sew/build that.

Come follow me upstairs to the guest room/nursery. Here is the before.

Just because it's a small room doesn't mean it can't have personality. Take a look at the after.

Again using the vintage map as inspiration, this time we used this map of Canada to serve as the centerpiece. This room was designed for the clients' granddaughter when she comes to visit but can also be used as a guest room in a pinch. The mostly pink map was apt for such a space.

The bolder punches of color and the geometric accents bring modernity into the room and are a great contrast against the softer pink hues. My clients completed this room with some handmade accessories, including this hand painted globe.

We're not quite done yet, one more guest room for this installment. Here is the before.

At the top of the list was painting over the yellow walls, which unquestionably dated the space, See below for the amazing after.

Another vintage map serves as the ideal artwork for this wonderful guest room. The kelly green campaign dresser is fantastic and adds that nice pop of color to the predominately black and white decor. The vintage wooden bench at the foot of the bed brings in the warmth and texture. We created a little office area in the corner as well - see below.

I will never get tired of vintage chairs. They just don't make them like they used to. The detail on that back is its own accessory. The collection of sister vases I picked up on one of my shopping excursions. I was hoarding them in my inventory closet for the longest time until the perfect space came along. This little corner was it! This guest room will have a waiting list, I'm sure of it.

That's it for this post, please come back for the second installment where I'll you show you the magic we performed on the kitchen, dining room, master bedroom and bathrooms. Thanks for reading!