My office replaced the breakfast nook adjacent to the kitchen. It’s small but central to my work and keeps me grounded in what I love, decorating and being close to food. After seventeen years directing large-scale dining events for a prestigious Northeast college, I set a new course with a duly-designed compass. I needed good work from home office space. I first removed my daughter’s blue mountain triptych artwork to another room and substituted it with my diploma from Norwich University. To add spark to the formidable gray frame, I repainted the matting in Spanish Red, leftover from the living room project. The red paint brought out the crimson color of the college logo. Ten years ago, I studied Organizational Leadership and loved every minute of that eye-opening online coursework. I am still proud of it today.
The Desk
After my dad passed away, my sister staged his roll-topped desk in the carriage barn to decide its destiny. Its two-piece frame is boxy and imposing and needs repair. The fabric that holds the scroll top is separated from the anchor piece to remain open all the time. Solid hands and heavy weight broke a couple of pulls on the wooden drawers. There are water stains and scorch marks on the top. But despite its size and shape, I could not see it apart from our family. Purchased at one of Ronnie’s Seifert’s auctions in Hoosick, NY, I distinctly remember my mother saying, “hold onto this desk; it will be worth something.”
Moreover, it keeps my dad’s memory alive every time I sit down. My dad was a larger-than-life man at 6 foot 5 inches tall and 250 pounds. His desk looks and feels the same. It’s funny how it works in this space; it’s pretty stunning with all its tiny keyed doors, pull-out side tables, and horizontal slots. Dark and dirty from years of clutter and paperwork, I cleaned it up nicely with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Just doing that brought the old oak behemoth back to life.
I toyed with painting the desk, but each time I mentioned it to a family member, they emphatically said, “oh no, I wouldn’t paint that desk.” My goal was to pull the beautiful green accent color from the kitchen and make the desk come alive. To add green to the room, I researched online green leather desk pads, which are very expensive. As an alternative, I spruced up the cork-like backsides of six old placemats with Benjamin Moore Beau Green that I already had on hand. The leather-like mats rest on the desktop and the writing surface, held together by duct tape. It was just the color I needed, and I was so pleased with both my creativity and frugality. My dad would have loved this.
I miss the ability to stand at my desk, and it seemed out of place to retrofit a new desk stand with an old piece. My husband mentioned that he stands at the high cut-out counter near the kitchen to read on his Ipad, so I used that information to set up a standing desk on the side of my roll-top. I stacked five big cookbooks, my all-time favorites, Julia Child, Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, The Inn at the Round Barn, James Peterson Vegetables, James McNair, and placed my laptop on top. It works just fine; I am so pleased to see these heartfelt recipe books with me during the day by my side. I am especially fond of James McNair, who taught me all the ins and outs of making homemade pizza. I still make his Lemon Meringue Pie, a decorative showstopper that requires 15 egg whites. The book cover is pretty beat up, yet its colors coordinate with my office. I genuinely have the best of both worlds.
On the top left side of the desk, I chose to place a beautiful plant arrangement from a dear friend to remind me of his thoughtfulness in my time of grief. A funeral arrangement for my dad, the plant sits just so near the window and picks up the red of the burning bush outside. At a recent outing to the Schaghticoke County Fair, I admired the cover of a Rensselaer County Farm Map that lists 46 farms and farm stands from Brunswick to Stephentown, four of which are in Hoosick, where I live. I admired the colorful cover and placed it alongside the plant.
The Chair
To complement the look of the desk, I used one of my ladder-back chairs. It was narrow enough to push underneath to sit up straight while typing. I looked a bit online to see if I could find a seat cushion but to no avail. My husband and I took a day trip to The Vermont Country Store, specializing in country cushions, but they did not have my color or style. I had a particular look in mind from one of my old Singer Sewing books from the Home Decorating Institute. When I got home, I looked through my collection, and there it was on page 93 of the Decorating with Fabric & Wallcovering, 98 Projects & Ideas. It was a slipcover, a short casual skirt, clustered gathers at the front corners. It was just what I needed to help soften the room with fabric and cover up the old caned chair seat. I had the material too. I would use the same pattern as my kitchen accent wall that I covered years ago as part of my kitchen remodel. It’s an all-over Waverly paisley pattern fabric, ideal for this purpose.
I read the 12 step instructions and forged ahead. Something about a sewing project brings me back to my roots. My dad’s mother, my Russian grandmother, who I adored, worked in a shoe factory in Athol, Massachusetts. I still have her singer sewing machine with the rough homemade wide-pine casement stored in my workroom with its old belt and foot pedal. Her name was Lydia, and she arrived with her mother on Ellis Island on September 28, 1929, on the ship Nieuw Amsterdam, a Holland-America ship. My ancestors did the work and made do with what was on hand. My mother loved buying reasonably-priced designer fabric at the now-closed Waverly outlet store in Adams, MA. My dad knew how to sew; he and I made all the custom-lined drapes and bed skirts together. He even made my younger sister’s prom dresses in 1981 and 1982. She was 6 feet 1 inch tall and could not find a dress long enough off the rack. In 2021, my niece, also tall, re-designed my sister’s wedding dress for her rehearsal dinner, which was stunning. I love that family repurposing sentiment runs deep and tall in my family.
I realized that I would be short on the fabric and would have to use a liner for the backside of the slipcover ruffle. Piecing fabric widths together would require a few extra steps. Like my ancestors, I had to do with what I had on hand. I found a special cardboard sewing aid in my attic that helped with precise measurements. Since I had to use every square inch of fabric, I thought making a pattern first would help me tremendously. Sewing for me is daunting yet rewarding. I am always surprised at how long it takes to do each step. The ties alone took nearly two hours to pull through the narrow strips. I hate to admit it, but it took me a week to finally complete the project. I'm not the best sewer, but I know I will get better with practice, just like baking. I know how to bake pizza and pies from years of trial and error. Just stick with it and keep doing it repeatedly, and it will eventually become second nature. And, of course, my slipcover is beautiful. Just like homemade pizza and pie, I enjoy the results.
The Look
It did not take me long to decide the look of my office nook. The country theme came to me right away because I loved how my deviled egg plate hung between the windows. Made in Italy, the roosters in the middle of the nestled eggs made me happy. I also knew that I had a ceramic Kleiner rooster, chicken, and a Holland Mold hen in storage, so I quickly plucked them out of the bin in the basement. I removed them from the nook years ago because they were cracked and chipped in spots. But now I didn’t care, I wanted to use them, and they looked great. Always displayed on top of my maternal grandmother’s refrigerator, I now have them placed prominently on top of my desk.
I would touch them up with paint myself, but I recently discovered that restoration services would have them looking brand new again. I toured the Williamstown Art Conservation Center and realized that everything was repairable, marble statues with missing fingers, broken, centuries-old crystal lamps, oil masterpieces, torn prints. You name it; they can fix it. It’s truly remarkable. Some day my collectible fowl friends will be back in all their glory.
I searched around the house for items with a country feel. A Christmas gift from my son Peter I brought the Mason Cash Original Made in England ceramic duck serving vessel from my adjacent dining room. I placed it on a small side table from my son’s bedroom, painted in Benjamin Moore Beau Green. I then remembered another duck in the house that had been through the wringer. I acquired this beautifully crafted wooden art when Peter, ten years old, accidentally tipped it off the shelf in a local Artisan Valley store near Cambridge, NY. For the longest time, a bandage held the broken leg in place but then a few years ago; it tipped over again, the beak broke. My husband fixed both, and it’s back on display. This handcrafted duck with the mark “dcuk” on the bottom foot is solid but tippy by design, so I plan to use velcro to keep it from falling over in its new location. Both “Tippy” and the charming English duck rest underneath a serene country brook scene, with updated Beau Green matting, painted in watercolor by my aunt, Harriet Winston. Tucked underneath the bottom shelf is a tightly hand-woven basket made by Mary Jane Smith, a dear family friend. It is my dad’s first love, his airplane, its likeness embedded in the center; his call sign, Cessna N732HZ, forever in my mind. I flew with him often, and I will never forget his commanding pilot voice when he radioed the control tower, “This is Cessna November 732 Hotel Zula approaching runway one for final landing.”
The Curtains
I think about the now-closed Country Curtains store in Stockbridge, MA, at the Red Lion Inn, where my husband and I spent our honeymoon night on the way to the Rose Farm Inn on Block Island. I used to peruse their catalogs to find inspiration and purchased already made curtains over the years. Luckily I did not have to make new curtains for my office because I already made them 20 years ago with purchased Waverly fabric. The matching kitchen pattern-lined paisley panels were tucked away in a drawer, taken down to allow a more open view in the snug breakfast nook. Now I needed to warm up my office, and voila, instant curtains looked great. This time around, I used wooden dowels positioned inside the molding to admire the craftsmanship. My husband designed the holders so they would not sag when pulled aside. The end nubs were a little too big and stuck out just a smidge. So I made them a feature and painted them in Benjamin Moore Spanish Red which picked up the paisley print. Also, I found never-used coppery brown tassel tie-backs in my storage drawers that give the room elegance. I even draped one over my ladder-back chair. Held back by 1-inch brass cup hooks, the rod pocket curtains looked beautiful once again. I realized that paisley is one of those classic good looks that keep its style. Now complete, “Country Elegance” is just what I had in mind.
The Lighting.
The former breakfast nook seated our family of four at a high-top round table so that a central pendant light worked well in the middle of the room. When I removed the furniture, I noticed the pendant cut the view of the overall room. I also thought that too much vintage would keep me stuck in a dated model. This time I chose a Possini Euro Deco 16" wide bronze ceiling light from Lamps Plus with marbleized glass to illuminate the room. The black and white fixture added a contemporary look instead of the old-fashioned leaded glass I once admired in this space. Moreover, it matched the black lantern wall sconces. Formerly brass and inexpensive, I painted them black to improve their appearance.
The Desktop
The big roll-top is also known as the “clutter” desk, and I can see why closing the top is essential to maintain order. With all its nooks and crannies, it’s accessible to slot office supplies, paperwork, and stuff. To keep it looking neat, I have carefully chosen a couple of items near and dear to my heart; everything else goes in the drawers. A wooden-crafted pen by my brother-in-law Harry sits in a blue ceramic holder by Artist Joyce Decker, my loving aunt who recently passed away. An Irish coffee mug from the local general store Hoosick Provisions rests on an acrylic coaster, cleverly slotted for a designer Capri napkin. I like how the vibrant colors accent the mat. Steeped in nostalgia, I flipped over my mother’s Bennington College name holder using a paint pen for my signature.
There are small rectangular metal tab holders to identify the cubby holes. Designed specifically to hold checks, I rummaged through old Christmas cards to find textured cardstock to freshen the look. Unsure of what to write on them, I left them blank for now. There are two holes that my husband thinks housed bumpers to rest when the roll top is closed. I happened to have a pair of leftover country-knobs from a furniture project and screwed them in place for decorative effect, coming close but knowing that I had done my best not to alter the original wooden desk.
The Lost Treasure
Like lost treasure, I discovered a box filled with my family’s metal memories: St. Mary’s Academy high school rings of my mom and her dad; college sorority and Elks Club rings; wedding bands with loving inscriptions of my grandparents and great grandparents; old European coins and World War II trinkets. My husband told me I should get one of those hand models to display the rings. Low and behold, I knew I had one in a box, a basement storage box, destined for a yard sale. I showed a couple of rings for attention. These are items that my siblings will want to see when they visit. So I placed it on top of the antique child-like box nearby on the window sill, close at hand, never to be forgotten.
As you can see, I love the color Spanish Red, so I painted a small table to hold additional items in the room. It complements the wall art that includes a picture of the entire Donohue family at my in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary celebration. All remarkable people, generous by nature and nurture, are close to my heart. A framed poinsettia picture and green-bow box grace the table for the 2021 family holiday season.
The Floor
I looked around for a small carpet to reduce the wear from the legs of my ladderback chair and found the one I removed from the front porch, rolled up in the corner of the mudroom. It’s just the right size and color. My office is a passage to the dining room, and I wanted it free and clear from any potential trip hazard posed in this situation. Refinished a few years ago and with a continuous flow as part of the kitchen, much of the maple hardwood floor would remain exposed yet add additional warmth to the cozy room.
The Wall Art
Almost every office has photos of loved ones, and mine is no exception. I used what was already in the house and updated the frames and matting with paint on hand. Instead of a one-color palate, Benjamin Moore Beau Green and Spanish Red emerged. I could see from the curtain holders that adding Spanish Red was making the room come alive. So I accented three Mixtiles family photos, my diploma, and the radiator grille. The radiator cover was one of the first made by my husband, a simple design that fit the room’s country style. I love the red and white look, and it reminds me of The Old Checkered House In Winter, a Grandma Moses print that I had framed 30 years ago. I realized that I still had the picture in my upstairs workroom. Stacked haphazardly, I pulled out the artwork, lucky that it was not damaged. As a last-minute lark, I had my husband hang the picture high to the ceiling, in line with the radiator above the illuminated opening. We turned it at an angle to see it, just like they did in the old pharmacies. Doing this with oversized artwork may be a bridge too far, but what the heck, there is nothing like pushing decorative boundaries.
The red and white checkered house was an actual house. Years ago, we drove by it through Greenwich on our way to Saratoga. Painted in 1950, Anna Mary Robertson became “Grandma” Moses.” I live in the country village of Hoosick Falls, NY, near the Moses homestead in nearby Eagle Bridge, so when I look at the festive scene with snow-covered hills and horses, it hits home and brings a smile to my face.
The Opening
Close to the finish, I folded a yard of Waverly red and white checked fabric on the lighted sill that looks into my office. On top, I placed a chunky basket full of tea and spices, organic garlic, and onion bundles from the Berle Farm. Zinnia seeds filled a Ball canning jar with the metal locking lid. My husband and I love to play golf. So I displayed a box of six vintage Kellogg’s logo golf balls, dimpled like eggs, nestled snugly in the box. I get a kick out of seeing our favorite breakfast cereal childhood characters, Tony the Tiger, Toucan Sam, Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Close to the holidays, I purchased a pretty Christmas tree gift card to add to the scene. In this simplistic Americana country setting, red and white are charming and elegant, just the look I am going for in my home office
