office inspiration: fabrics

I still haven't done anything with my identity crisis office...but I have been thinking about it. 

That counts, right?

One of the biggest things for me was figuring out what I wanted to do in there, colorwise.  I knew I could make it as girly as I wanted (since the Man has no interest in a craftroom/storage room/home office).  I was sorting through my craft supplies a while back and found what would become the centerpiece of my office "design plan."

I picked this up about 10 years ago while fabric shopping with Dear Mother at the fabric barn in Eclectic, AL.  I'm not even sure if it is still open... or how to get there, but I remember falling in love with this fabric and knowing I had to have it.  Dear Mother conceded, even though I had no project or purpose in mind, and bought about a yard of it. 

During college, I used it to convert a thrift-store baby mattress, some MDF, and casters into an oversize ottoman.  After graduation, I remember planning to throw the ottoman out... but I couldn't bring myself to let go of it.  I had no room or use for an ottoman, so I just ripped the fabric from the bazillion staples I had used and tossed it in a bin of my other craft supplies.  This poor fabric has been lost and found many times over the years, but I still love it-- the pattern is classic but fun, the colors bright but not too bold.  It's perfect.

While rummaging around, I also stumbled upon two shower curtains I had bought at different thrift stores.  They are the exact same pattern as the curtain I have in my guest bathroom.  This is another "can't let go" thing with me.  I have had the same shower curtain since my freshman year in college.  It's been washed many times (don't worry) and I've put it in storage a time or two, but I always gravitate towards it. I love it enough to buy two backups (and a third which I made into matching pillows -- when I used the shower curtain as a bedroom curtain instead).  Once again, I love the colors...and the simplicity of the stripes.   I think it works with my Eclectic fabric:

I think it's all starting to come together... they even coordinate with an embroidered piece of fabric I've been holding on to (removed from an IKEA lampshade about 5 years ago),

 a colorblocked desk set I picked up from HomeGoods during my senior year in highschool,

and I even think it works with the paint color I'll be using

 (the same as our living room and hallway to keep things cohesive and on the cheap!)

So there you have it!  The start of my office inspiration.... now to figure everything else out,

oh and save up the money to do something about it,

and find some time to work on it,

and the energy to actually start painting....

... maybe I'll just stick to finding more inspiring photos... and then blogging about them. 

 That's progress, at least..