DECOR ROUND-UP, INSPIRATION, Interior Design, Uncategorized

BEFORE + AFTER // LAURA HOOPER CALLIGRAPHY OFFICE

April 17, 2014

I am so excited to finally share all of the details that went into the office I designed for Laura Hooper Calligraphy in DC. I don’t share near enough posts about the process of how we get from before to after in a project and I am going to do more of this because I know from reading a couple of my favorite design blogs, it’s exciting to see how a project all comes together.

Let me start by introducing Laura of Laura Hooper Calligraphy, obviously by her business name you can tell she is a calligrapher. A crazy-talented one at that! I seriously could watch her write all day long. I had the pleasure of virtually meeting her via Instagram (gotta love social media) and she ended up contacting me about her office design project. After Laura sent me photos of the space including dimensions and some existing decor pieces, we worked through email to complete the layout + decor pieces…and then I flew out to DC to help pull it all together.

Through the first phase I sent over the direction I was heading with colors and decor. In the first mood board I was drawn to the blue that is on their website and thought pops of pink would be an exciting addition. Now looking back, there is no way the pink would’ve worked because it’s not Laura so I am glad we took it out. I tweaked the first one a bit to bring it more down to earth and to go with her existing beach-y decor. (even though I hate using the term “beach-y” I am going to use it here). After we finalized the shopping list, sticking to the basics until I got there to see what else we would need, I booked my flight to DC.

Okay so the BEFORE photo is a really bad photo from my iphone which always makes for a better ‘before and after’ but it really wasn’t that dark and Laura had some amazing bones in the space for us to work with. Once I arrived, I wanted to make sure I understood exactly how Laura works in her every day. Sure we can put together a beautiful space but I wanted to make sure it was functional. Plus, I wasn’t sure how she ran her business and what she needed near her and what could be stored. Once I gathered all of this helpful information from Laura, I decided we needed to take every single thing out of the office to see it a new light. Then we could asses all of the pieces in a different light.

After taking everything off the shelves, it was nice to see a blank canvas and begin packing away some of the not-so-attractive parts of the business and showcase her beautiful work. Once we got to a point when we knew we needed to make a Target and Homegoods run, we all jumped in the car for a fun shopping adventure. And by we I mean, Laura and her sister Alyssa, who helps run Laura run LHC and the manager of the LHC blog. We purchased a lot of attractive storage boxes and labels for Laura to write on. On that note – can I just say how perfect is it that Laura was able to put her beautiful handwriting on all of the organizational boxes?? It’s amazing. We also scored on some wall frames for her calligraphy work and decorative items for Laura’s living room + client meeting area. I am a BIG fan of going shopping with my clients because it feels like a game and we are on the same team to find the perfect pieces….but you have to be careful shopping with me…I tend to lay personal items down and leave them (Laura/Alyssa -ahem, my phone). 😉 But it’s easier to make those smart design decisions with a Designer by your side.

Now sit back and enjoy some of the beautiful shots by Abby Jiu Photography – Abby is incredible!! You can also see the interview on Glitter Guide to get to know Laura a little more 🙂