Modern Coastal Office Addition Project: Intro & Inspiration
If you follow along with me on Instagram, you might have caught that we’re about to start construction on a little addition to our house! It’ll include an office and a little sitting room off of our master bedroom and I cannot wait. This project has been in the works for a year and I’m so excited that it’s finally happening!
This is one of those “accidental” projects - one that you didn’t exactly plan on, but due to some unfortunate circumstances, it became a necessary one.
When we purchased our house in Richmond, Virginia last year, it was newly renovated, and they had added a giant balcony off the back. A week or so after we moved in, we got one of those big afternoon thunderstorms and noticed immediately that there was a leak over our kitchen window, which was directly below that new balcony. NOT what you want to see in your brand new home.
Long story short, after some investigating, it turned out that the waterproofing membrane was installed incorrectly and the whole balcony was going to have to go to fix the problem. Yikes! So my sweet retired contractor father-in-law came over and installed a giant tarp across the whole balcony to stop the leaks temporarily while we figured out what to do.
We knew that eventually we’d like to have some true office space at home (I work out of our guest bedroom right now and my husband works from home some of the time), so we decided to bite the bullet and have plans drawn up to close in the balcony. Since it would be one long, skinny room, we divided it up in to two sections: an office and a sitting room. You can take a look at the floor plan at the top of the post to see what it’ll look like! The furniture arrangement and setup may change, but it gives you the gist.
My goal is to create a modern-meets-coastal home office that’s both functional and inspiring to be in every day. It’s about time Mix & Match Design Company had its own “headquarters” again! :)
In addition to intro’ing the project, I want to share some inspiration photos I’ve been gathering to show you the style and feel I’m going for - I’ve got some time before I’ll need to finalize the furniture and decor (construction is supposed to start at the end of this week or early next week), but I’m starting to get a plan in place.
Modern Coastal Home Office Inspiration
Let’s start with the overall look: in true Mix & Match style, it’ll be a mashup of a few different styles - primarily modern and coastal, but with a dash of Scandinavian, and a little bit of traditional. I want it to be warm and inviting, but clean-lined and uncluttered.
My first inspiration photo from LeClair Decor pretty much nails the look I’m going for:
via LeClair Decor
I love the mix of open and closed storage, white walls, blue cabinets, and light wood accents. That vintage-style rug brings in that warmth I’m craving too. Our floors will be stained darker to match the rest of the house, but overall, this gives you a pretty good idea of what I’m going for!
The next image hits on style and setup. We’ll have a large workspace that can house two of us at the same time when needed, so the plan is to create an L-shaped desk with two work areas under the windows and a run of cabinetry for storage in the other part of the “L.” Above the cabinetry will likely be couple of long open shelves to give me a spot to style and store the prettier pieces (and plants!).
via Home Bunch (Designer: Julie Howard, Photography: Stoffer Photography Interiors)
When it comes to function, I like to hide some of the not-so-pretty things when I can, and I love the way Anne Sage tucked her printer away on a pull-out shelf inside a cabinet. I think we’ll be able to do something similar!
via Anne Sage
And then, there’s the color palette. I’d say all of the images here hint at the colors scheme I’m going for: dusty blue-gray for the cabinets, white walls, light-toned natural wood, and hits of black and brass metals. I’ve been studying my paint decks to find that perfect blue-gray color. So far on my list are Benjamin Moore Wales Gray, Boothbay Gray, and Water’s Edge, and from Sherwin Williams, I’ve got Interesting Aqua, Santorini Blue, and Debonair.
Though it’s not an office, this entryway captures a lot of the look, style, and colors I’d like to incorporate into the space. It feels classic, but modern, and that blue-gray is just stunning! It has an old-meets-new look in the best possible way. Our house is from the 1930s, so I want to honor the age of it, but I do want to mix in a little bit of that modern coastal style.
via Barrow Building Group (Photography: Katie Charlotte Photography)
Finally, I’ll leave you with a beautiful photo from one of Studio McGee’s projects. Though we won’t be going all-white in this space, I love the fresh feel, the brass hardware, and the texture and tone of those chairs. If this isn’t modern coastal to a T, I don’t know what is!
via Studio McGee
I can’t wait to get started with this addition and talk about the progress as we go along.
I’ll be sharing a lot on Instagram too, so be sure to follow me there and keep an eye on my Stories!