When it comes to decor, I love a good “before and after” story and this is a really fun one — but even better, there’s an Uncommon Goods giveaway at the end to help you decorate your own space so don’t miss out!
The Backstory: Nearly six years ago when I moved into my house, the spare room across from my bedroom became my office. At the time, I was still freelancing at studios around town so it was the ideal spot to spend nights and weekends working on projects. That all changed as Branch grew and working from home began to hold me back from expanding. Six months ago, I moved my design studio into a designated office space and that left me with a barren room which no longer served a purpose. Here’s what the room looked like before I moved my office out:
I hate leaving anything unfinished in my life — it’s a Virgo thing. I appreciate organization and order more than anything else. We already had a guest room in the basement and no plans of moving any roommates in (because let’s face it, Chubs already did that last year). Then, I started pinning ideas to a board titled Dream Hangout with visions of this room becoming my go-to relaxation spot.
Over the next few months, I pulled items into the space, arranging and rearranging until it felt like me. For the first time, I had a room that was very personal — it wasn’t the color palette of Branch or Blogcademy but rather, just my taste. I’d loved “Crayola crayon green” since I was four so I used that as an accent to offset the more expected black and white.
Then, I spent what felt like forever trying to add the so-called finishing touches so I could mentally check it off as done. But as you know, real life rarely has such clean, defined barriers. It never really felt 100% finished and I soon realized I was using that as an excuse to not share the space with you. So, here it is — some things will shift as time goes on but you know what? Good enough is good enough!
IKEA has stepped up their lighting in a big way — I have two of these floor lamps and they add a lot of style to a barren corner!
I can’t stand clutter but rooms need a play of both dimension and scale to really come to life. I tend to lean on things that have a useful quality to them like books, mirrors and plants versus random knick-knacks that collect dust.
To keep the room from veering too far into kitschy, overly colorful territory, I anchored it with a lot of black and white accents like IKEA pillows and the Pia Wallen cross blanket. If you’re thinking of ordering this, I should mention that this is the small version and works better for accent purposes like draping over the arm of a chair.
On my coffee table, I have a mix of personal items contained in a mirrored tray. Trays are great because they lend a sense of order to even the most random collection of objects.
I’m not super big on taxidermy but my brother showed up on my doorstep years ago with this beauty he’d found at a thrift store and I held onto it for him. When we first rescued Chubs, he would crawl up it and hang from the antlers!
I wanted to tell you about this loveseat because it has a really great feature: the cover is removable. The downside is that it doesn’t stay perfectly tight and shows wrinkles but the upside is that if you have pets, babies or constantly knock over your glass of red wine, you can just buy a new one! This is also a great solution for the commitment-phobic since the covers come in a bunch of different colors.
In the far corner of my room, I have an inspiration board dedicated to my favorite vacation spot, Palm Springs. This room is dedicated to relaxation, after all. 😉
I’ve had this Phillipe Starck gnome table for nearly 15 years and it happens to match the couch perfectly!
Here’s the view of the room from the couch — there’s a bookshelf to the left that holds my fashion magazine collection which is so much better than having it jammed inside the closet.
You know how a lot of older houses have tons of built-in cabinets and shelving? I had a set of doors that opened to storage right here but hated the way they looked. In my old office, I had this area blocked off with artwork. The thing is, I needed a spot to put my TV and Joey had the idea to remove the doors, mount it inside and then paint it black so it popped against the white exterior walls. It turned out to be a great space-saving solution that looks really customized.
Adding an element of life is really important when decorating a room so I have tons of low-maintenance succulents and cacti.
My long-standing addiction: magazines.
I looked all over the place for a bar cart but nothing I came across was affordable — then I found this basic one on Overstock for a great deal. It’s perfect for holding cosmetics and all sorts of odds and ends.
Doesn’t everybody coordinate their coffee table books
Room Decor Sources
Loveseat: IKEA Klippan in Vissle Green
Rug: IKEA Sillerup
Pillows: Various, all from IKEA
Cross blanket: Pia Wallen (mine is black)
Vogue print: CoolPoster
Astral wall hangings: Uncommon Goods
Cockatoo makeup brush holder: UncommonGoods
Acrylic coffee table: CB2
Floor lamp: IKEA Ranarp
Head planter set: Membil
Mirrored tray (on table): West Elm
Gnome table: Atilla by Phillipe Starck
Plants: Various, all from IKEA and Trader Joe’s
Books: Kate Spade
Round mirror: West Elm
Bar cart: Overstock
Rolling bookshelf: West Elm (mine is a shorter version)
Candle: Dyptique Baies
White coral and hand sculpture: Home Goods
UncommonGoods Giveaway
For this giveaway, I’ve partnered up with UncommonGoods, an amazing online store with a focus on supporting artisans and giving back to the community. I love everything they stand for and now, it’s your turn to put the finishing touches on YOUR space, whether it’s your kitchen, office or somewhere else! One lucky reader will win a $100.00 voucher and you can spend it on whatever you’d like on their site!
To enter the giveaway:
1. Like UncommonGoods on Facebook.
2. Like Nubby Twiglet on Facebook.
3. Leave a comment below letting me know which room you’d like to redecorate and why!
The fine print: Contest is open to everyone over the age of 18 worldwide. You have until 11:59pm PST on Friday, May 15th, 2015 to enter. Please include your email address so I can contact you! One winner will be chosen at random. Once contacted, you will have one week to respond and claim your prize. The prize may not be exchanged or transferred and no cash alternative will be offered. Liability cannot be accepted for entries which are lost in transit or not received due to technical difficulties. My decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. No purchase necessary.
Good luck and thanks for joining me on this tour!
Special thanks to Uncommon Goods for sponsoring this giveaway. All photos and opinions are my own.
Anna says: 
Amelia Plunk 
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