SYTYCD Week 2 Project: Catalog-Inspired...Pottery Barn Styled Workspace

Well, dear readers, I've made it to Week 2 of the So You Think You Can Decorate competition. Thank you for those of you who voted for my Week 1 project featuring "Weathered Details in the Master Bedroom." No hard feelings if you didn't, because I know there were lots of great projects to choose from. :) (See Week 1 Results.)

This week's project theme is "Catalog-Inspired." What I especially love about catalogs is their expert styling. That was the approach I took this week as I used this inspiration photo below from PotteryBarn.com to style a small, corner workspace area.

     Section 1: Entry as posted on So You Think You Can Decorate.

     Section 2: Additional photos...'cuz you know I can't take only 5!

     Section 3: How to view the other entries and cast your votes.

SECTION 1: COMPETITION ENTRY

Oh, inspiration! The best thing about catalogs is that they know how to create such fabulous vignettes. But what do you do when you don't have the exact furniture, the exact accessories, the exact colors, and/or the exact style? You work with what you do have!! It's not about copying the inspiration. It is about being inspired by it and creating a space that is definitively your style.

PHASE 1: Clearing the space.
The existing neutral walls and the dark brown desk fit with the inspiration room. Everything else that was in this space was cleared out.

PHASE 2: Adding key accessories.

I started by adding the key accessory pieces that drew me to the inspiration photo: the framed vintage swimsuit and the sign. As often as possible, I like to use authentic pieces with character and history. Luckily, I was able to add some here.

THE SWIMSUIT

In my version of the framed vintage swimsuit, the swimsuit is a man's size 40 black wool suit that has "Detroit Beach" printed across the chest in orange letters. I found it at an estate sale last summer. Imagine a muscle-bound lifeguard strutting across the beach during the 1920s!

THE FRAME

The swimsuit is framed in a $1.99 Goodwill find. A simple sanding and coat of black paint covered the once brass finish on the frame.

THE SIGN

While I didn't have a rowing sign, I did have a black and white water-themed sign that says "WPA Water Main." WPA stands for the Works Progress Administration, which was an organization started by President Roosevelt in 1935. It employed nearly 8 million workers in the U.S. as it rebounded from the Great Depression.

PHASE 3: Adding supporting accessories. 

To finish off the space, I started with this buoy, a garage sale find from last summer. A loose piece of wood became the perfect "clip" to hold a black-and-white photo of my grandmother in Lake Michigan many years ago. While this unique "frame" echoes the framed artwork in the inspiration photo, it is a fun interpretation that makes it uniquely my style.

This battery jar, plant, and seashell display is my interpretation of the plant and jar of shells on the floor in the inspiration photo. For an additional punch of personality, a vintage Arcade ice pick gets added to the mix. The metal finish of the ice pick relates to the chair found in the inspiration photo.

With the addition of a lamp, a framed photo in a natural frame, a wooden stool, some books, a chair, and a lantern, I was all done.


Here is the WhisperWood Cottage interpretation of the inspiration photo...

Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation and twist on the catalog inspiration photo. Are you feeling inspired by all the SYTYCD projects? I hope so! Now, go out, be inspired, and inspire others!! Visit my extended post for more photos at WhisperWood Cottage!

SECTION 2: MORE PHOTOS

No words, just photos...

SECTION 3: GET OUT THE VOTE

CAST YOUR VOTE AT SYTYCD! 
Voting polls for Week 2 are open through Friday, March 12. 
Voting open to everyone....bloggers and non-bloggers alike.

RELATED POSTS:

• SYTYCD Week 1 Project: Accessories...Weathered Details in the Master Bedroom
• So You Think You Can Decorate: Meet Amy

Participating in these events...

TRASH TO TREASURE TUESDAY BY KIMM@REINVENTEDKB.COM