[home office reveal]

well here it is my new office. the great things about the space, is that i actually use it. its not really a new space, its actually my dining room.

my desk was actually located in my bedroom. click HERE to see it. like most people, my intentions to use my dining room to entertain more, fell way off this year.

if you remember HERE, i blogged about selling my dining chairs. i wanted to replace the dining table with a pool table. albeit some pool tables can be inexpensive, the cost of transporting a pool table is quite expensive.

there is a long saga behind the dining table that i started telling sometime ago. i left a few of you hanging. i will pick back up on that story very soon. until then, you should note that because my dining room had not table and chairs, i really need a table, so i hauled the one out of my bedroom. 

when that alcove was empty, i decided to bring the chair out as well. one thing led to another and the decision to make the dining room into an office was born. 

since transforming the dining room into my office, i have been in here writing blog posts, emailing and taking care of client needs. more than likely the best decision to date for this space. now its a little bittersweet because i signed my 3rd year rental lease a few days ago. i didn't anticipate renting this long and i certainly didn't anticipate my previous job laying off half of my department.

but i am a romans 8:28 believer. 

since this is the actual first dedicated space to the office, i can assure you there will be a few changes and updates along the way.

if you don't already know, most of the items in here were from a thrift store or  a discount home store. 

i will give you a full break down on cost on next week. 

and this is my new home office!

[$8 makeover]

these are by far my favorite lamps. i like the detailing (straight lines) and the finial really gives it that added touch. the lampshades are my favorite as well. i bought them on sale from pottery barn about 4+ years ago. if i knew then that black lampshades would be a challenge to find, i would have bought them all. 

this weekend i dropped by homegoods in charlotte to see if i could find a few items for a bedroom makeover. while there, i happened to the lamp department (if you have been following this blog for over a year you will note i have a LOT of lamps). i leaned down and saw these...

...2 black lampshade. i assumed they were going to be maybe $19.99 each. nope. they were only $7.99! 

these shades even had gold lining. win. win. all of the lampshades in my home are black. so this was really a no-brainer. 

while in the store i couldnt think of a single lamp i had that these shades would fit. however, i learned my lesson from said pottery barn story. so i bought them. to my surprise they actually were a perfect fit to my favorite lamps. even caused them to have a greater presence.

i admit, 80% of the time i hate the lampshades that come attached to lamps. lampshades are like a new haircut. the wrong shade can make a lamp look awkward, but the perfect shade speaks for itself. 

this pairing was unexpected. however, i like it tremendously. the lines of the lamp are actually mimicked in the shade. 

these shades with the gold lining creates such a dramatic atmosphere. shopping thrift stores and pairing them with items from other sources can often give your space a custom appearance. 

do you have a favorite lamp?

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UPDATE!

UPDATE!

UPDATE!

i love interacting with all of you on my FACEBOOK page. you guys truly offer great advice and tips as well. i posted the picture of my lamps on the FACEBOOK page and the first comment was by linette. heres what it said 

well i went back just to see if quite possibly...just perhaps...and what would you guess...

i had these lamps for so long that i never thought to check. this goes to prove that when you are looking for an item, buy what appeals to you. if it is a quality brand, then you scored twice!