black and white and red (not all over)

• Our "office" (2nd bedroom) has a busy job housing all of the stuff that comes along with 2 full time graduate students. (read: tons and tons of books, a giant desk, giant chair, two computers, backpacks, binders, and all the extras.)
• Plus it has to act as our "TV room" since we sometimes watch an episode or two of online TV shows on our iMac in lieu of having cable on our regular TV downstairs (that one only get used for movies).
• And it needs space to house my music stuff (guitar, microphone, stand, earphones...wires!) so I can hook up to the computer while I'm recording.
• On top of all that, it acts as pretty much the only storage closet for all our extra junk and suitcases/boxes, etc. (you better believe that closet is bursting at the seams)
• Oh and one more thing we forgot to mention...its also Colby's place to hang out while we are away from the house...so it has a HUGE metal crate for our HUGE black dog. Wowza.
• We love that it has a nice big bay window, but unfortunately that takes up almost an entire wall of space...and since I'm not willing to spring for an expensive piece of foam to make a cushiony seat, its pretty much only used as Colby's perch from which he watches over the neighborhood and barks at his friends outside.

Needless to say, it was feeling very cluttered and very blase with its black and white scheme. I really want to paint this room...but can't decide on a color yet.

I didn't do much to it, but made a few adjustments here and there. See if you can pick them out in the pictures!

Here's a hint: I picked up 2 of these badboys at a local thrift store for a dollar each. They were a fainted blackish-brownish color and reaaaallly dusty. After some cleaning and a coat of red glossy spraypaint, they looked fab! I loved the curly-swirlyness. (And how great will these look on a Christmas dinner table?!) This one now sits on the corner of the desk. See if you can spot the other one in the room.

Blah...

Beauty!

Blah... (Hi Gus! He's our friend's dog.)

Beauty!

Blah...

Beauty!

In the first pictures: I cleared away a bunch of junk, added those awesome Pier 1 Japanese paper lanterns I found for a couple of dollars at a thrift store ( I may hang them later, but for now I'm liking them on top of the giant bookshelf). The little black flannel throw does a nice job keeping Colby feeling cozy and hiding his giant cage. I also put some Egyptian cushions we already had on the bay window seat and hung up the prayer beads and Yemeni dagger jonny got from Kuwait. I think its now the perfect place to sit and read a book (like "War and Peace" ;P).

The next set: I made a cheap (2$) paper border for our map which we love. I thought it was a way to make it look a little nicer temporarily without spending an arm and a leg for a nice big frame. It is a white and black damask pattern. I also cleared away some clutter around the desk and moved the big black printer to the closet (since we never used it anyway) to make room for a permanent resting/recharging spot for my laptop. But the star of the show is that big sleek clock with the Arabic numbers on it. My mom gave it to Jonny for his birthday last month, and it is now one of our favorite things in our house.

Lastly: Speaking of Kuwait, I chose 3 pictures from our trip to represent the desert, the beach, and the city , and printed them off in black and white. The frames were ones we already had that were kind of bronze-ish. They also got the red spray paint treatment! (so did some of our concrete patio. oops) That black leather ottoman was scored at a garage sale for 3 dollars, and the amazing colorful elephant pillows (which were the inspiration for the red and 'international theme' of the room) were a hand-me-down from my mom, from India. (Also, that little love seat was free from my friend Sarah, who donated it to us when she moved to Cape Cod last summer, and the slip cover we had from our first apartment.)

So, what do you think? The candy-apple red was so bold for me. Colby sure loves it! That is one of his fav places to curl up for a nap. Its a good thing he matches the decor...