SFGate

2dogssashatess one word, declutter

Lisa Torres completely agree. It is amazing how a room opens up when you declutter. Start there first.

Bonnie There is a lot going on in this room already so I am not sure if the faux ceiling will enhance it or overwhelm. You might want to streamline some of the items in the room and then take a second look to see if you would still like to enhance the ceiling. I notice you have a lot of photo's so you might want to consider putting them in digital format and having one electronic frame that will flip through the photos at your will. I would also recommend pairing down some of the accessories. I recommend this book "Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life" by Julie Morgenstern. She helps you sort out what you should keep versus what you should let go. A good book.

tatjanamandaric16 U tvojoj sobi sam primjetila jako mnogo prostora koje su zauzele razbacane knjige treba ih posloziti sto ti netreba to pokloni onome kome treba pa takodjer imas puno stvari u prostoriji sve koje su ti jako vazne ostavi koje ne pokloni i dobit ces na prostoru ako ti treba dizajn ja bih ti preporucila posto imas visok strop neobican strop i modernu rasvjetu od gipsa i aluminijskih profila,koje je potrebno precizno postaviti strop mozes spustiti citavom povrsinom ,po obodu ili po sredini. pokusat cu ti nekako jednu sliku imam jako ljepo,eleganto izgleda, nije skupo

Creatively Yours Custom Inc. Hi Jennifer,
I don't know if you work from home in your office, but in either case, the office needs to be more streamlined to be effective. As others have stated, keep the items in the room that are a part of the office, reading room look.
Secondly, the one photo shows to doorways to family room etc. really close together. I would say the one that backs up to the sofa is not really needed. I would put a set of french doors there to create a visual yet transparent seperation for the office. That would help define the space and cut down on the audio and visual noise in that room.
I would then paint the wall shared with the family room in a warm color such as light coral tones, greens, etc. according to your individual color scheme.

That should be a start- it does take time and can be done in stages so that as you finish one project in that room, it will be easier to start and see the next project to be done.

apple_pie_order The most effective "redo" is to declutter. Put 90% of your things away. Display 10% of what you have now.

Consider moving the photos to a digital frame or adding them to the ones displayed in the hallway.

Consider getting rid of the corner storage unit, too.

Have you thought about simpler window treatments? While you are decluttering, take down the curtains and have them cleaned; the increased light and view can give you new ideas.

The large flower painting could be the basis for a new paint color scheme. How about getting it a good frame and replacing the large mirror with the painting?

sjurcrczenia I do agree with all the others.You do really have way too much in the room. Too much furniture. I would start with with doing away with alot of the items on all the wall units that you really don't need. Update the window covering and change the lighting. You will be amazed at the change those things will do.

decoenthusiaste Boxes - labeled "Don't Need" "Warm Season" and "Cool Season" might help you store away or get rig of excess stuff. Then twice a year you can switch seasons and get a new look. I know we've all ignored the "faux ceiling" question, but it doesn't seem to be your actual Design Dilemma.

Jen Schaeper Get rid of all of it. I don't think the style of furniture goes with your house- it looks outdated. And there is way too much furniture in there on top of the clutter. Also the curtains have got to go...

onthefence Hi Jennifer. I agree with Creatively Yours Custom regarding the doorways into the room. If you could close off the one she suggested it would give you a lot more wall space.

You mentioned that this had been your formal dining room and I do see things that make me think 'dining room'. I like the chandelier but think you may need better lighting for your computer area. I see the light clipped on to the shelf unit so I can tell you crave better lighting! Also you mentioned reading room so you probably need a good light for that. Is the pink chair in the 3rd photo your reading chair?

I think too maybe a less formal window covering?

Home offices are tricky. There's just no way to make computer stuff pretty. Is there room - or can you make room - behind the doors of the wood wall unit for your computer and printer?

onthefence Also, the black mirror on the wall - can you turn it so that it's more vertical than horizontal?

eztia As others have noted, from an objective point of view (no sentimental value to an outsider looking in), the room has too many items that are not associated with reading.
I suggest you look at the site FlyLady.net

The window treatment is appropriate for a dining room, but seems too fancy for a library/reading room. I suggest you remove the draperies, and wash the windows inside and out. Leave them that way for a couple of weeks. Then you will be able to look at the windows with "fresh eyes."

The opening into the room with the brown couch is not an asset to the library/reading room. It has been suggested to put French doors in this space. I agree that the opening should be closed off with some kind of door - pocket door, barn door, bifold door, expanding ("accordion") door...

I would leave the ceiling the way it is.

The chandelier is not the best lighting for a library/reading room. Perhaps it could be used in the entry hall or another location in the home. Investigate lighting appropriate for good vision for reading print material as well as lighting for good vision when using a computer or iPad.

You have good windows in the room, and the room itself is a nice size. The space has excellent potential.

Jennifer Hayes Working on decluttering now... Amazing how much trash and good will stuff I've kept in here... Too many photo's and just plain dust... will loose the corner hutch... Curtains are definitly going... Want to replace w/ curtains that will Start at top window... That's later though... I so appreciate all the comments... Keep them coming, They are motivating... wondering if I dare go to thrift stores and look for new book-shelves... These are pretty out dated... I've thought about painting and changing the hardware...I have to have shelving in here.. What to do??? Back to decluttering :) Love the idea of warm and cool season boxes.. Need to do that in every rm of my house

onthefence Suggestion for looking for new bookshelves - wait until you're closer to finished with decluttering. Then get shelves that accomodate the items you want to keep in a layout that works for you. Don't let the layout of the furniture dictate where you store/display things.

decoenthusiaste For shelving you might consider painting the cabinet system you already have and changing the hardware. Might bring your ceiling down with a darker paint. Not sure I'd paint the trim black, but maybe the doors. The doors in the second pic below might be nice where French doors have been suggested.

gdodd22 Jennifer, you're on the right track to decluttering. Just looking at the room and reading the other posts, you clearly have your work cut out for you. You MUST remove before you replace. The digital photo frame and an ipad or ipod touch would take care of the large boom-box and the excess photos without having to let go of their purpose. And I do see a lovely family photo in there that should attract more attention but looks overwhelmed in there.
I'm guessing you could easily remove ALL of those book cases and the corner hutch and the little nightstand and replace with ONE book case. If you had only the white curtains in the room, could possibly switch to a laptop instead of a PC with a large CPU and maybe a wireless printer (reduce wiring), it could be a better use of space. And you could probably supplement the purchase with the sale of your bookcases. I'd also paint the desk black, remove the lamp and add a pretty file cabinet. I really like your ceiling as is, the color of your walls and I LOVE the chandelier!
Overall, I hope you didn't feel attacked by the bandwagon we all jumped on with the decluttering suggestion. I have plenty of the same to do myself--it all accumulates so quickly doesn't it?
Good luck--it's a beautiful room!

shortped I agree...too much clutter...also u have beautiful high ceilings, but u have made everything short and squared off all the way around the room...I agree with removing everything and starting over...you could have one tall piece that would hold a lot and keep people's eyes UP....

tatjanamandaric16 Rekla sam ti upravo bila savjet koji sam gledala jako slican slucaj prosle godine u Nate Berkus on je imao jednu savjetnicu upravo sa takovim problemom kao ti i upravo joj je dao da to uredi ali ona mu je rekla neznam koje stvari da izbacim kad su mi sve od velike vaznosti onda je Nate ostavio sve i poslozio dolje u ormaric i gore a maknuo sa stola i problem je bio rijesen

tatjanamandaric16 Ja ti vidim vec fotografije da su osobito Art netreba biti na regalu nego na zidu slikice u redu knjige sve u ladice posloziti napraviti vise svjetla u sobi svjetlije boju na zidu dali si razmisljao o ugradbeenim regalima u zid puno bih vise imao prostora za cijeli ovaj regal

marlisdunnusa Take everything out, take down the curtains, clean, start with putting back the basics ( a desk, a nice comfortable reading chair, a desk chair, a task light, storage) I would position the desk away from the wall, maybe at an angle in the corner by the window, put some storage shelves behind you or on either side of the window.

sclawson As part of the decluttering process, I suggest very simple window treatments--roman shades of some sort, perhaps woven wood/grass. Then change out the traditional chandelier for a more modern pendant with cleaner, simpler lines. Also look for ways to hide the electronics. We recently converted our CDs to digital format and put them on a thumb drive we can use on our phones, PC or digital TV. I have a bluetooth speaker I use in conjunction with my phone that gives terrific volume and sound quality and is about the size of a watch box. Laptops are much less "cluttery" than desktop units with separate keyboards, monitors and hard drives (and all those cords!!). A wireless printer also gets rid of cords, and if you get one that is a printer/scanner/fax/copier you eliminate more clutter! The prices of all these things are so reasonable compared to a few years ago and can make a big difference in how your office looks AND functions.

I've been working at home for 15 years now and am always looking for ways to keep my space beautiful and functional. In our present home, "my" room is adjacent to the front entry and open to the rest of the house, so I strive to make it look good. I recently traded in my white desk that matched the built-ins at the old house for 2 brown mahogany stained desks that match the bookshelves we bought when we moved here. It makes a big difference in the room's vibe.

I'd also suggest matching fabric-covered storage boxes and bins for your files and other supplies. And I found these great woven bins on wheels at Pottery Barn that I use for things I access a lot. They come in a dark and a light color, and I chose the dark to match my furniture. Three of them slide under one of my two desks and look good organizing all my stuff.

summilux Make use of the room height you are so lucky to have. If this is going to be a office/reading area, are curtains needed? Taller shelves and a ladder would help a lot with both storage and aesthetics. As for photos, I'm a fan of prints. Rather than have a lot of small frames though what we use for the photos we want to see, but don't need the mat and frame treatment is a magnet board. I made mine from 3x4' steel sheets powder coated to keep from rusting. Use something like that instead of the mirror.

bvbv Ditto with getting more style appropriate furnishings for how the space is used and getting rid of the dated dining/living room looking hutches. Would also put doors in and trim around the openings into the foyer and living room. The openings look unfinished as is. Also go more vertical with some of your design elements since you have such nice tall walls. Definitely make your mirror vertical and then hang some of your framed pictures around it; may consider using the same color for all the frames (black). Not sure what you mean by faux finish for your ceiling. Is it a 'popcorn' ceiling and you want to cover it up? WWW.Armstrong.com has ceiling panels, ceiling tins, etc. Also because your ceiling is so tall, you could drywall over it and texture it to
your taste. Would leave top window w/o covering. If you like the paint color you have for the walls, I would suggest repainting the white trim and wainscotting a darker shade of the same
color to get a tone-on-tone effect, although the picture decoenthusiaste supplied does show white trim with black doors and it looks good. I like the suggestion also to draw color inspiration from your large floral picture for wall colors, and you could still do a tone-on-tone with that color or just keep the trim white. Doing tone-on-tone may make it easier to reuse and update your furniture by painting them the darker tone and changing the hardware, like you were thinking. I think if you painted them black, it wouldn't look good with that style/shape of furniture. Maybe pull the green out of your inspiration picture and paint the wood furniture in a darker shade of green--it would look more French country.

Jennifer Hayes

Jennifer Hayes Drawing inspiration from this photo

tatjanamandaric16 may be need modern design

bvbv Love your inspiration photo! Looks like country French tone-on-tone. It's quite possible you can use the color scheme of the table on your heavy wood pieces to recycle them and totally refresh the look. You can also accessorize with spot color. Google country French design for more ideas. I like where you're headed!

eztia Jennifer, I like your inspiration photo. Refinishing your current wood to a light French Country finish will certainly lighten up the room!
Please post photos of your progress as you are able. I am eager to see!

bvbv If you put doors in, then you could designate the door leading into your foyer to be your "functional" door and just use it for access to your office. The other opening would have doors installed to close it off from the living room, and once you do that, you can give yourself a more comfortable reading area by including a love seat and ottoman in front of those "structural" doors (serve as a nonpermanent wall but could be used as doors as needed).

Jennifer Hayes I'm Done with the decluttering, Room is painted now. The Faux ceiling was too over the top for what I wanted for this room... Working on Bookshelves at this time.. Primed and ready to paint. Looking for material for curtains as well as new light fixture. Having issues w/ the wirless. Will most likely have to have someone come in and set up for me... As this is a work/homework zone for family, cant let the pc go...However, found some pretty silk material to cover the wires.. Have decided to go with French doors to close in a little.... Two steps at a time :) Working it

Jennifer Hayes Corner cabinet went to a new home

onthefence Amazing! If it wasn't for the window, I wouldn't think it was the same room. You've been busy and incredibly productive! I really like the wainscoting. You've made really incredible progress Jennifer. Congratulations. I know once we've made a decision on what to do, we want it done now. At least I'm that way ;-) A couple steps at a time like you're doing is obviously paying off.

apple_pie_order It's already transformed! Love the windows and wainscotting. Any chance of using just side panels for curtains and skipping the sheers altogether?

Jennifer Hayes I won't use sheers at all... Just want the side panels for color and at times in summer when sun comes straight into the room ( Heats my whole house 15 * 10am till just after noon) On a side note, thinking of seperating the book shelves One would fit on either side of the window... They are 17" deep and 30" wide... May have to wait till they are painted and just bring them in and see... Thank you so much for the encouragement... This has been daunting project... I've decided to paint the desk too... Will have to wait till shelves are done. No room in my garage right now. Was Looking to replace but it's everything we need. Just out-dated...

bvbv Wow, looks great!

karelina Looking forward to seeing the finished room!

eztia You have done excellent work! The room looks so spacious and "modern" with the wainscoting design, and the windows without draperies. Please continue to let us know your thoughts and share progress photos as you move forward with this project. :)

sspitler01 Wow- looks like a totally different room. I second the commenter who said to not use too much curtain- your windows, as well as your floors and wainscoting- are super gorgeous & you should show em off!

decoenthusiaste Consider UV blocking window film - it's not your Grandma's window film! Great job so far!

summilux Great job! Given how tall the room is, my suggestion would be to mimimize the footprint of the furniture. You could use shallower shelves wall mounted. Your wainscoting would be better displayed. You could have more room for seating and the height of the walls would be used.

blindsdirectcanada Remove the drapery and put up silhouettes and decorative drapery panels.

http://www.blindsdirectcanada.com/blinds-toronto/hunter-douglas/silhouette-toronto.html

pluckygirl Congrats on your progress. Can't wait to see the finished look.

Jennifer Hayes Slow process.... Still working on it though... Love my before and after chairs

bvbv Looking really good! You are flowing through your inspiration really nicely.

onthefence Love the chair makeover! Did you paint your bookshelves? They look a lot lighter - and they look great.

craftyone11 I would remove the book shelves and add some more modern touches like the mirror in the original photos, also I'm in love with the new wall decal trend! I think this would be a great space for one, I just ordered some and I love them, they add such a warm feeling. I used www.bgdecals.com check them out when I ordered I got free shipping too!