I’m blogging today from Command Central – a.k.a. my newly re-decorated Office. 

I wanted to share some “in-process” photos and lighting tips with you all.

Here is the space emptied out – that was not a fun process.  As you can see, the existing Ikea Billy Bookcase was white.  I do want to mention that painting this bookcase, even with the recommended primer was very difficult.  If anyone has successfully painted melamine please let me know how you did it!

The skirt for the desk was “no-sew” and made out of painter’s drop cloths from Lowe’s.  I already had the vintage greek key trim that I  purchased at the Warrenton Antiques Show and was just waiting to use.  The skirt took me a while because A). I did not know what I was doing and B.) I realllllly didn’t know what I was doing.  I think I have an extra fold in there, but hey – it works for me!

Progress!  Walls painted, bookcase painted (thanks to my sweet husband), skirt is on, wallpaper is up, and baskets are organzied and waiting to be hung. 

I hung the hooks and baskets all by myself – I was pretty proud!

Done!  What a relief!

I’ve come up with 5 Lighting Tips that I wanted to share:

1.  Use Multiple Types of Lighting in a Space (no matter how small or big).   Ambient, task, and accent lighting are all equally important.  In my office, ambient light comes from the chandelier, task lighting comes from the lamp, and accent lighting could be just the lamp (with the chandelier lights off or dimmed) for a party. 

2.  Lighting provides many ways to make your home “green.”  Ebay, vintage stores, and Craig’s List are all great places to score vintage fixtures that you can re-purpose.  L.E.D. bulbs are 25 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs making them better on the environment and your pocketbook.

3.  When deciding on a light fixture for your space, I prefer to go too big than too small.  Understanding scale takes a trained eye, but I do have a formula I like to use as a guide.  Take the width of the room in feet and add it to the length of the room in feet.  Whatever the answer is, that number is the diameter in inches the fixture should be.  For example, if a room is 12′ x 15′, I would add 12 + 15 = 27.  I would look for a fixture at least 27″ in diameter.  In my makeover, I used a five light fixture in a small space to add drama and actually make the space feel larger.

4.  I am a big proponent of mixing it up!  The finishes in your home do not all have to match!  I have a chrome chandelier with lots of gold in the same space.

5.  Decorating and Interior Design should be fun, but it can also be very stressful and quite expensive (particularly when remodeling).  Whether you are buying a $300 chandelier or designing your dream home from scratch, using a design professional can help prevent costly mistakes and a lot of headaches.  Design Inspiration however, is free- that’s why I LOVE Design Blogs.  They are such a great source for inspiration and information!

I want to thank SYLVANIA & Lowe’s for allowing me the opportunity to execute this makeover.  I learned a great deal and am excited to change out my CFL’s and incandescent bulbs in the rest of my home to L.E.D.’s.  Please check out SYLVANIA’s facebook page to see how other bloggers transformed their spaces AND for a chance to win a $1,000 gift card from Lowe’s.