The Evolution of the Study/Reading Room

The study in the front of our home has been evolving over the past nearly 2 years and we recently finished making some more tweaks so I thought it would be fun to look back at where we've been.  The funny thing is, with each phase, I rarely thought about the next change we were going to make. I didn't think it was done, but we weren't actively working on it anymore either. Watching, and allowing, a room to evolve can be challenging--especially when thousands of you are along for the ride. There's always the pressure to proclaim a room "complete!" before publishing images here, but living in a space and allowing it to evolve over the years has proven to be rewarding time and time again. (Remember our last living room?) Worth all of the awkward stages!

Here's the room when we first moved in, late summer 2013. The room faces west and is located at the very front of our home.

By October 2013, we had painted it a custom green paint color, hung some pictures, moved in a couch and were feeling pretty good about the situation.

Until December 2013, when we thought, "That far wall really needs something!" (um, yes!) And we DIYed some wall to wall shelves and added a header for lighting, too. The room was really taking shape.

In the spring of 2014, we tore up all the floors of the main level of our home, including lots and lots of tile and carpet, and laid porcelain wood tile throughout--the best decision we ever made. At the same time, we inherited a piano and by the end of the spring, the room kinda looked like this.

Although some things were definitely moving in the right direction, looking back I feel like the room as a whole had regressed. It lost its main functionality. It took us several months to get baseboards on (thanks to Faye's early arrival) and we ultimately decided just a couple months ago, we really wanted the room to stay a study/office/reading room. And that's where all the most recent tweaks came into play. We moved the piano to another room, went a little darker on the walls, added the couch back in and a small wall desk and this is how the room is looking today:

You read about the addition of the hide here. We also brought in the painting from the entry (it just fit better in here) and a few new accessories from Lulu & Georgia. (Psst--there's a promo code for you at the bottom of the post!)

Their Fay coffee table (had me at the name!) caught my eye because in a smaller, already pretty busy room, I liked the idea of having a clear acrylic table to not take up any more visual room. We've had it for a little over a month now and it's easy to clean and we really like how it adds a visually light, modern element to the room.

I simplified the sofa a bit with just one pillow (similar here) and a throw tossed over the back. The shelves really are the main element of the room, so editing back on other surfaces is what's working for me now.

Speaking of those shelves, a lot of stuff stayed the same, but we did add some new him and her bookends (my favorite!) and an Adler horn sculpture and candlesticks. I'd like to add some fern-like greenery over time and maybe switch out a few placeholder items for something more special and collected--but that will happen over time. I love how everything is popping a little more against the darker paint color. And our fish seem so happy near the sun, too!

Above, you can see a peek at how my desk area works into the rest of the room. It was the perfect last addition; the missing link!

You can read more about my office space in this post if you'd like.

This is the closest I have felt to this room being "done" since we moved in. It feels more like us and functions the way we want it to.  But still--let's check back in in a year or two. ;)

Ps. I wrangled a Lulu & Georgia promo code for you all! I used a credit to purchase the final touches for the room and I always seem to find just the right thing. Use love20 for 20% off your order! :)