One Room Challenge || Week One

Hi All! I’m so excited (and honestly a bit nervous) to be a part of the One Room Challenge! Over the next six weeks, twenty Interior Design bloggers will completely transform a room from start to finish, blogging progress updates every Wednesday. The One Room Challenge (ORC) was started a few years ago by Linda of Calling it Home; I’ve always been so amazed and inspired by the spaces the designers have dreamed up! This is my first time participating & I’m delighted & humbled to be included in this roundup of crazy talented designers!

A little about me…

If you are new to Jana Bek Design, welcome & thank you so much for stopping in! I’m an interior designer in Ann Arbor, MI. Most of my designs are implemented through my E-Design Services, although I also do live interior designs as well. More recently I have launched my line of Hand Painted Brushstroke lamps (woo-hoo!) the first category of what I’m planning to be a full line of Home Décor products. I love color & pattern but built on neutral foundations so I have flexibility to mix things up as my taste change. I love layering vintage & modern pieces and as of late I’m entirely in love with light, airy, coastal aesthetics. Find me @janabekdesign on Twitter & Instagram to see additional photos of my style.

The room…

I have a lovely office (see below). It’s great but here’s why it’s not everything I need:

This room is upstairs & gets the absolute best morning light, which I need for painting my Brushstroke Lamps. So whenever I want to paint, I have to completely “paint proof” the room, proving quite inefficient.

I’ve also found I prefer doing interior design work on our main level. I like moving around when I work and it feels isolated being in the upstairs office for long periods of time. The space is perfect for painting – I turn on music and work for a few hours in a calm beautifully sunlit space, but for the many hours required for design, I get cagey.

This space is going to become a studio space for painting & wiring my lamps. I’m not designing this space for ORC – it will be lots of lovely Ikea I’m sure.

When I was gripping to my husband about the shortcomings of my existing office (cue the violins, I know) he generously offered up his office for my designing and business related work. Separated through large French Doors, the space is perfectly located off the kitchen & TV room (I’m obsessed with the Food Network & Bravo which often play in the background while I work).

Obviously this was a sweet gesture but let it be known that he’s always hated it & never uses it. Before he met me, he hired a designer who convinced him to paint it the saddest shade of burgundy. No wonder he never liked it, it is depressing!

Here are some photos of its sorry state. (It was even worse – overstuffed with a huge wood desk & barristers abound) but I failed to take photos because as soon as hubs offered it up I leapt at the chance before he could change his mind.

Helpful to know as you travel with me on this adventure...

Whether designing for myself or my clients, I pride myself in being practical. Is there something that can be refurbished? What do we have that may still work in the space? Etc. So I’m definitely carrying pieces from my previous office into the new space (desk, chair, & coffee table).

Also, we plan on downsizing at some point in the not-so-distant future. I moved here from NY almost two years ago and lived in a petite 600sqft studio (tour it here) and love the efficiency of a more compact space: you have what you need & not much more. Our current house is 6500sqft, and while beautiful, it can be a bit overwhelming!

So for these reasons, I’m taking the mindset that anything I do to this space will be:

Relatively inexpensive

If more costly, it will be something a) I absolutely love & b) will be versatile enough to use in smaller space

Vibe for the space…

I’m a huge fan of color & pattern but lately I’m loving everything lighter with a coastal lean - a little less tailored and more relaxed. I think designing this beachy abode for my NY client got me jazzed about everything being easy on the eyes, you can see more photos of that design here & here.

I want the space to feel like a big sigh of relaxation with pops of glamour. Here are some photos that are inspiring my design; you can view more on my Pinterest board here.

I MEAN this Palm Beach Bungalow by Anna Burke is the perfect balance of coastal & modern, cannot stop dreaming about it!

Claiborne Swanson Franks NY apartment is seriously swoonworthy

And I love the lived-in easy elegance of India Hicks Bahamas home

I’ll be sharing more in depth plans next week so be sure to stop back! Also you can keep up with any scheming in the interim on instagram & twitter @janabekdesign.

Thanks so much for stopping! Be sure to check out what rooms these talented ladies are transforming via links below!