I’m back with the next Capitol Hill Condo Tour! Previously, I shared our living room, dining/bar area, kitchen, and guest bathroom. I’m skipping over the gallery wall hall for the moment, and moving on to our second bedroom, which we use as a home office.
This room has been a labor of love. We’re on iteration 5? 6? And I’m finally happy with it. It’s been overflow and it was a literal packed-to-the-ceiling storage closet when we were acquiring pieces for Rosehill Cottage during renovations. We tried to make it work without making big changes, and that’s where we went wrong. We needed to just put some effort in and embrace the big impact decor choices. When we did, things finally felt done.
Our Dark Navy Home Office
This room is in the middle of our condo facing our next door neighbors, so the one window gets limited light. 1 PM to 4 PM is really when it shines. All other times, you’re not quite sure if it’s sunny or raining. We considered going light to try to brighten the space up, but Adam loved the idea of a moody, dark navy home office and I’m never a hard sell on dark, so we went for it.
We used a glossy navy paint (Valspar Corduroy Black) to help reflect light (tip: never use matte paint in a low light space!), and, from the minute the first wall was done, we knew we’d hit a home run. We then painted the ceiling white to create a crisp contrast. (JK, it wasn’t that easy…we first painted the whole room a dark green before deciding it looked like a pool table, went to Lowe’s that night at 9:30 PM and grabbed a slew of blacks and dark, dark navy shades. I wish we’d just gone with our instincts the first round.)
One of the pieces that inspired the room was the Rifle Paper Menagerie Camont Rug. I am obsessed with the French country vibes on a black background. I decided it might be too much black on our black floors, but added a jute rug as a bottom layer to help break it up and add warmth.
This room still has a bit of overflow, like the black nightstand (the other is in our bedroom) and lots and lots of books, but it works now. We went with a secretary desk for a minimal footprint that would leave room in case I want to do a quick yoga stretch between meetings, and there’s a small Floyd chaise for those afternoons where I can’t take working at my desk any longer.
The decor is an eclectic mix of family heirlooms, like my grandparents’ portraits, quirky Texas items of Adam’s, and vintage finds that have come from thrift shops, antique stores, and sidewalks. That awesome 70s wood lamp? Found that laying on the sidewalk during a midday walk. The incredible barrel chair? A Facebook Marketplace find that I reupholstered. It’s a unique blends of styles that all work together in this cozy space. It’s no longer somewhere I close the door to — I actually want to spend time in here.
Also, I realized I didn’t take a single photo of our secretary desk open! I’ll try to add that at some point.
Dark Navy Home Office Source List
Rifle Paper Menagerie Camont Rug
Midcentury Magazine Rack (almost the exact one!)
