I had the privilege of contributing to The Washington Post “House Calls” column today so I thought I would share it with you pretty people!

The Olson family came to The WaPo with a tricky space in need of a makeover. With two teenage children and all their office electronics and papers, this glorified walkway loaded with sloping ceilings not only needed to be pretty (a necessity), but über functional and filled with storage.

Enter moi.

I envisioned a space that wouldn’t feel like an afterthought and would blend the modern architectural elements of the home with vintage and retro pieces to put the “fun” in “functional”…

Yes, I said it. And I’m not sorry.

Here’s a look at the space before:

And this is what Washington Post artist Julius Goyanko sketched to illustrate my vision:

Though not displayed in these images, the family has a collection of guitars in shades of orange hanging on a back wall. Taking my inspiration from those, I chose to use orange as my accent against a wash of Benjamin Moore’s “Blue Echo” paint. By removing the existing workspace elements and creating new, more functional built-ins, the space now has double the storage, hides unattractive electronics, and has an impactful new focal wall. And if you know anything about me you are familiar with my Library Table obsession, so naturally I had to include a small dining table as a study area in the center of the room. Having this surface allows for the family teens to work in groups with friends while still giving the other family members space to work at the built-in desktop and preserving the walkway to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

The Olsons wanted to maintain their current storage and still have enough workspace for at least three of the four family members to work at the same time. I increased their storage and gave them enough workspace for six.

I’d call that a win.

For more info on the space and client check out The Washington Post page. If you just want to look at pretty pictures of all the products I recommend for the space, head on over to my Olson Office Pinterest Page. There are even several Splurge versus Steal options! Everybody loves a bargain!

Thank you so very much for sharing me with all your friends!