Jordan’s Dark Green Home Office Reveal

Before we get to drapery and the fun stuff… here’s how our home office came to fruition. My husband, Todd, works from home three days a week which mostly entails a lot of computer work and client calls. He was primarily concerned with the functionality of the room, so he granted me creative freedom as long as his work-from-home space encompassed these things: a larger desk with plenty of leg room (he’s 6’4”), a moody atmosphere (he wanted a dark & calming space), and an aesthetically pleasing wall to have in the background of his video calls. I think I delivered, while keeping the design cohesive with the rest of our home.

Before

My husband and I are first time home owners since purchasing a new-build townhome a couple of years ago. With it being brand new, every room has started as a blank gray & white box. My main goal with this home has been to add personality and character to each room. The first space I completed was our entryway, which helped set the tone for our entire house and got me excited to see what I could transform on a small budget, while keeping most of the existing home features- despite gray flooring not being my first choice.

Millwork

The existing windows in our home came without any window trim or treatments, so that has been the first to-do of every room I design. I kept the trim consistent with existing doorjambs throughout my house, so even though they have a simple straight-cut profile, I think they add a thoughtful detail that makes the windows feel more complete.

Paint

Then came the fun part… pulling samples and designing a space that met both Todd’s and my criteria! The jumping off point of this design was the Loloi Billie rug in Ink/Salmon from their collection with Amber Lewis. I loved the dark, rich tones that would help us on our way to creating a moody space, per Todd’s request.

Next, I pulled some drapery samples to add a geometric pattern to the room that would contrast against the organic floral pattern of the rug. The double window pane pattern in sepia was the perfect way to do that, while incorporating the existing carpet color. Paired with antique brass drapery hardware for some warmth; matching rings, and we were ready to make a decision on a paint color.

While I knew from the start that the room was going to end up dark and moody, by this point Todd was set on a deep green paint color. I picked up some samples in various shades of green and began swatching. We settled on Basil from Sherwin-Williams, and purchased paint in multiple sheens to create some dimension, despite all surfaces being monochromatic.

Design Plan

The design change that I was most excited for was swapping out the builder grade boob light for a much more elevated flush mount from Tuesday Made. Paired with a ceiling medallion, this fixture really pushed us towards the goal of adding more character to the space.

Then came furniture and decor shopping. Up to this point, Todd had been working from a secondhand desk that was much too short for his legs to comfortably fit under. He had set it up on some risers to improvise. After lots of measuring (following proper ergonomic desk sitting suggestions), we came up with some dimension requirements for a new desk and I found this dining table from CB2 that was perfect… except for the price. I didn’t want to spend that much on this room and I figured we could live with the old desk for a bit longer while saving up to find a suitable replacement. That is, until I was scrolling Facebook Marketplace and came across this EXACT table being sold by someone about to make a cross-country move. It was an older version, so slightly different in color, but I actually loved the brighter wood tone against the dark green paint. Score!

Our Saint Bernard, Margo, sleeping on the job…

Room Reveal

I wanted to come up with a storage solution that doubled as an aesthetically pleasing virtual meeting background. This room is quite small, and the full size dining table desk took up a lot of space. Therefore, we only had room for narrow bookcases lining the wall opposite the desk. Since the majority of the wall was going to be covered in storage and we wanted to keep the space moody, we opted for the Hemnes bookcases from Ikea.

In addition to storage for books, it gave me the perfect opportunity to display some special keepsakes, like an old leather briefcase that belonged to Todd’s grandfather, vintage art, and a statue from Rome I inherited.

I envisioned art hanging above the desk to balance the room. Eventually, I knew the majority of it would be covered by Todd’s multiple computer monitors, so I didn’t want to spend too much money on custom art.

I found some large-scale frames from Target, I installed in a grid layout, paired with high quality images from Dante’s Divine Comedy, illustrated by Gustave Dore… all of which I had printed at FedEx for just a couple dollars.

The green paint color really does help to camouflage the textured ceiling, and I love the addition of the ceiling medallion paired with our Lettie Flush Mount.

Here are a few more favorite vignettes of the space. I think it’s safe to say this room no longer lacks character…

The next time you’re questioning going dark with paint (even in a small space), just lean into it! It has the ability to make a room feel cozy and inviting.

Sources

If you’re interested in any of the sources or links for specific products, I’ll copy those below for you. These are all clickable…

FAQ

This space was so much fun to design, style, and check off the renovation to-do list. Both Todd and I couldn’t be happier with how it came together!

Thanks for reading- I hope you enjoyed this one.