From the BlogSubscribe Now

The Office Design Plan that Didn’t Happen

You might remember that we’ve been redoing our office, which started out looking like this:

And will possibly someday also have an accompanying “after” shot. (We are excellent “before” photo collectors.) The wall of bookshelves is actually incredibly close to being finished, but cutting in the paint between the shelves is the most tedious, terrible, horrible, no-good very bad job anyone’s ever done, hence the delay.

So let’s talk about fun designery stuff instead! See, I had this whole plan in my head. A WHOLE PLAN. And then when it came time to execute? My very manly, very masculine, muscly, brawny husband freaked out when he realized what that plan actually involved. Just some florals! And a pink chandelier! What’s so feminine about that?

I found this fabric that I loved for the curtains:

Secret Garden by Michael Miller

And planned to paint the back wall of the bookshelves a coordinating navy blue. The raspberry color was going to come out in some DIY wall art, and um, yes. A pink chandelier. Like this one:

From Design Sponge, by Polly Alexandre

Or this one:
From Fabulousmess Etsy Shop

Add in white walls everywhere else, plus a couple very small pops of lime and I had a happy, very gender-neutral room complete in my head that looked something like this:

VERY GENDER NEUTRAL, right?

But when I got the fabric sample in and hung in on the wall and started looking at pink chandeliers, Andy’s “my-manliness-is-being-threatened” radar started going off in a big way. I think he actually pictured this:
Maybe with a DIY chandelier made of actual tampons? (OMG, someone please try that!)

His feelings are understandable, I guess. He will, after all, be using that room more than I will. And I do happen not to live in a sorority house. And “allegedly” marriage is about compromise.

So we’re back to square one! We have chosen that teal color I showed you for the back wall, but the curtains, art, etc., remain up in the air at this very moment. I think we’re on the verge of making some decisions, so hopefully I’ll have that for you soon. And we’re like four seconds away from a finished bookshelf wall, so I’ll have that for you too.

Let’s hear it – have you ever had to change your decor to make it more masculine? Did you end up with lawn chairs and beer koozies?



Let's connect

Comments

  1. Cracks me up! Hubs and I are always compromising. He let’s me do a lot of things that are really girly, but always finds a way to weave in his manpower. Leather couches!

  2. i am totally going to start decorating with sanitary pad boxes!!!! ha ha!
    my husband doesn’t really care what i do… i know in my heart he wouldn’t want pink everywhere and neither would i anyhow, but if i did it he would live with it and not complain. but i won’t do that.

  3. You are so funny! “allegedly” 🙂
    I love the plan with the floral but totally get your husband’s feelings. We incorporated some leather furniture into our last house to balance out the florally curtains.

  4. bwahahaha! You kill me (in a good way?) with your mad photoshopping skills. Our house is getting ultra girlie and I don’t think the hubs knows how to handle it. I’m no girlie girl, but we just had a baby and I guess I’m terrified of her not being in touch with her girliness so I dress her in pink and purple all day long and that’s sort of carried into how I decorate the house (who knows how that happened!). I am currently waiting for the hubs to tell me to repaint the hot pink cedar chest that’s recently found its’ way into our living room..

    • So funny! I blame all this newfound girliness on the baby girl we have on the way. She’s already exerting her influence. I wonder if your hubs hasn’t noticed the hot pink chest in your living room yet? 🙂

  5. Too funny. I’ve slowly been adding pops of pink to our house and so far my husband hasn’t noticed. This weekend I was talking to him about how all the rooms in our house are blue and white with one other color. I almost slipped and said “blue, white and pink” while talking about the living room but recovered and said rasberry (which doesn’t sound as bad…) instead. Whew…

    • Hahaha! Maybe that’s my problem – I used color words that he understands, like “pink” instead of “raspberry” or “fuschia.” Next time I’ll use words he doesn’t understand and hope he smiles and nods. Brilliant!

  6. What a bummer! The plan was looking so amazing. I actually think that without the pink chandelier it looks quite neutral. Would he reconsider the beautiful fabric or is the damage already done. Thank goodness my husband doesn’t care less:)

  7. I hear ya on the compromise. If I were single my rooms would probably look and feel very different, but we gotta make the men comfortable in our spaces too (or is that a vicious rumor?)

  8. In a perfect world, men and women would each have their own ‘wings’ in the house! I really loved your plan for the office but with the hot pink chandelier, it is a tad feminine. My guy claims to not give a toss about things like this but when I go ahead and buy the floral bedding or add the scented candles, he has a whinge!

  9. You crack me up. That second mood board is hysterical. Yes, on occasion I do make changes to a design plan because my husband feels it’s too feminine. Then I use my Jeti Mind tricks on him and he ultimately goes along. He even goes so far as to ask “Is this our taste?” 🙂

    • Oooh I need to train mine to think about “our taste” instead of “his taste.” Apparently my wifely jedi mind tricks need some work. 🙂

  10. My husband always says the house is too girly. But yet we have a golf trophy hanging up in the house…ugh. you have to give a little I guess!

  11. Of course! Someone, somewhere had to have done it: http://www.incrediblethings.com/home/tampon-chandelier/

    V. funny post Mrs. Viewalongtheway!

  12. Sorry and PS – Just noticed the label: ‘Four Paws’ Sanitary Pads – that sounds like sanitary pads for animals??!! Do animals have sanitary pads?

  13. Sorry – I don’t wish to hijack your wonderful post but (as the kids’ say: OMG!
    Direct quote from the ‘Four Paws’ website:
    ‘Four Paws Sanitary Pants are the preferred garment worn by female dogs in season.’

    Preferred by whom? Lady dogs? I suspect they would not prefer a sanitary pant given the choice.

    My investigative work here is done. I shall now bow out gracefully(ish)…

    • THAT TAMPON CHANDELIER. Omg. I am dying! It’s actually kinda fabulous, I think? Also, i laughed out loud at your investigative work on the sanitary pads. The whole concept of canine sanitary pads is totally wacky, and maybe it’s just that I don’t get the logistics? Does the dog also wear underwear that the sanitary pad sticks to? Does it have a set of “period underwear” that it reserves for that time of month? How did they gather opinions to confirm that female dogs in season prefer their brand?

      SO many questions, my mind is spinning!! 🙂

      • Now I’m laughing at the idea of them having a ‘set of period underwear’, perhaps in ‘chewing-gum-grey’? That’ll also be the week they wear old, baggy, comfy ‘no-go-zone’ PJ’s (I’m talking about menstrual dogs here, not me of course). Didn’t imagine I’d be talking about menstrual dogs this week…or ever…

  14. Kelly,

    Several things:

    (1) I have never laughed so hard when I saw your pms “design board” LOL!
    (2) I love that pink chandelier and I am totally pinning that for the twins room.
    (3) I love the navy/pink combo….but you are a rockstar of a wife.
    (4) I am already following you on linky (and google reader)…..as president of your fan club I have to keep up 🙂

    Have a rockin’ day.
    karianne

  15. I love the pink sooooooooooooooo much!! Maybe once the baby comes Andy will embrace pink more. 😉

  16. Hey! Great idea! Maybe I’ll try a DIY tampon chandelier 🙂
    For what it’s worth, I am in love with your original design plan. But, I’m confident that you’ll come up with something even better that both you and the hubs will be able to enjoy.

  17. bahahaha tampon chandelier!! Too funny. I love pink with navy and am determined to fit it into my house SOMEWHERE.

  18. You really should give us a spoiler alert when you post a post like this …

    … you know, “make sure you swallow that sip of wine before reading on …

    …. unless of course you’re not worried about replacing your keyboard and frying your motherboard?” warning …

    🙂

    Linda

  19. Compromise sucks. I think it might be the worse part of marriage. 😉 I like your girly plans so I’m sure you’re half girly/half manly plans will be just as lovely!

  20. Why can’t boys just like pink?
    Life would be soooo much easier.
    Don’t they want us to be happy?
    I heard somewhere they kinda like us when we are happy…

  21. hahaha OH my gosh Kelly, you have me literally laughing out loud! (and that’s not good cause my babies are sleeping!!) This is so funny! Now I totally want to make a tampon chandelier just for you!! It’s too bad husbands have to step in and veto fabulous design plans because I LOVE where you were going with the room! I’m sure you’ll find a way to make it fabulous but more man friendly- without the lawn chairs and beer koozies! 😉

  22. LOL that’s too funny! I know the room will be amazing, and I really love the pink chandeliers!
    Debbie

  23. OH MY…what a laugh. I am envisioning tampon chadys, hahaha – spray painted hot pink no less. Those men always want a say. 🙂 Good luck, looking forward to seeing what else you come up with.
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

  24. Oh my….a few (okay, more than a few) years ago, I painted the master bedroom pink. And not just any pink. My husband called it “New Orleans ‘hohouse pink.” And it was. Hey…you’ll be married forever, right? And paint’s cheap. (Different house now, and the master bedroom is beautiful pale spring green.

  25. Hey Kelly! I’m a fellow power blogger and wanted to stop by to introduce myself! So happy to have found you. 🙂
    Ok, I am in the process of carving out FEMININE space in my home, otherwise known as Man Land. I have a husband, two stepsons, two sons, and a daughter who has abandoned me to enjoy her time at UGA. 🙂 I call our home office my Mom Cave and they are all having to deal with it! Good luck in the battle of the sexes!
    Heidi 🙂

  26. When I got married I “inherited” all my husband’s masculine furniture and rug and bed. The rug was only let go off a few months ago after 18 years. We compromise. I always run ideas by him and so far everything has worked. I am sure you will meet in the middle. I love your “feminine” board but it looked scary to me as well 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. […] you KNOW I’m getting that pink chandelier I couldn’t have in the office. So here’s what all that will look like together: But there are options. And I have […]

Speak Your Mind

*

Back to top          Privacy Policy          Copyright © 2013 View Along the Way. All rights reserved.          Contact Me