A Home Office in the making…

Nearly 8 months ago, my husband Barry and I decided to look at a home we’d had half a notion to peek at for a long time.  It’s an older, irregularly shaped and added-onto house that had sat vacant for some 2 years or so.

We fell in love with the expansive back yard that slopes down to a 15+ mile bike path and the harbor beyond, dreaming of football games and croquet and Wiffle Ball and picnics and fishing and gardening and sleeping in tents and the Town of Bristol’s grand 4th of July Parade and the Fireworks directly above this home with our 9 grandkids.

The house?  We knew it needed work.

We’ve come to say that WE BOUGHT A VIEW WITH A  HOUSE.

But in this house that we now own, is an office of sorts.  I was drawn to this little home office on that first visit way back in September.  I work from home, and I loved the idea of the big windows and the close proximity to (what we’re calling) the family room, and kitchen.  I love that those big windows look out to the side of the house where I can see sidewalks and people walking, running, bicycling and pets and kids and grandmas and grandpas as they pass by.

But this little office was dark, DARK, D-A-R-K with scalloped-edge, 60’s-style paneling, a similarly DARK desk and built-in bookshelves of the same DARK finish. 

Did I day DARK?  As in closed-in DARK.  And carpeted with light beige wall-to-wall (that wouldn’t be happening with 9 young grandkids)…

But not to the dark, dated look.

The shelves are well-built, though, probably 50+ years old… and Barry and I aren’t ready for a major re-do, so we decided to have the paneling filled, primed and then we’ll paint.  And we removed the scallop frames from the shelves and are painting them and the louvered cabinets and drawers WHITE.

Work in progress…

I think the inside of our little Home Office is going to be as cheery and charming as the view outside.

I’ll keep you posted!