Make it work
I've been watching season 14 of Project Runway with my kids. One of the contestants, Merline, never stops talking/moving/dancing/singing. In an early episode, she was repeating Tim Gunn's "Make it work" over and over, like a tic, or a broken record.
Make it work make it work make it work make it work.
I'm having a make it work moment. I've been in my office for 3 months now, and I FINALLY ordered a desk chair. (why are practical things so much harder to commit to than impractical ones?) I knew I essentially wanted a tan leather knock off of an Eames management chair but spent a lot of time deciding between padded or ribbed, real leather or "vegan" leather (which really came down to budget.) I finally pulled the trigger on the ribbed style, in faux leather. It came quickly and then sat in a huge box for a week.
I unpacked and assembled it this weekend. It is not tan. It is brown. Which would not be that big of a deal (tan will show more marks from blue jeans etc), except that this particular shade of brown CLASHES WITH MY DESK. (a table I found on craigslist).
Ugh. This is the danger of ordering online when the subtlety of the color really matters.
So now, do I disassemble the chair, repackage it, and haul the huge box away, and order a lighter, TANNER tan chair? I am so not inclined to this solution.
Do I find a textile to fold and drape over the back?
Do I paint the tabletop? (the base is ivory, the top is currently wood.)
I'm hanging art behind the chair but don't know what it will be yet (apart from a row of white frames with white mats.) Do I choose something to draw the eye away from the desk-chair combo?
I love the idea that this space be somewhat minimal, without a lot of pieces and layers. When you do that, in neutrals to boot, everything has to be just right.
This is a VERY easy mistake to make (and a difficult one to avoid when you can't see something in person. I suppose the tip is, when ordering online, make sure the items you are ordering are in contrast colors to adjacent items. Less nuance in color = more wiggle room). Obviously it is my job to avoid or fix such mistakes--but it is much harder to do that for myself, on a weekend, than for my clients, as part of my job.
I can tell you this: I'm sitting in the chair right now and it is comfortable. The thought of going back to the sagging upholstery of the vintage Milo Baughman chair I have been sitting on for weeks is NOT appealing.
Time to make it work.
Make it work make it work make it work make it work.
I'm having a make it work moment. I've been in my office for 3 months now, and I FINALLY ordered a desk chair. (why are practical things so much harder to commit to than impractical ones?) I knew I essentially wanted a tan leather knock off of an Eames management chair but spent a lot of time deciding between padded or ribbed, real leather or "vegan" leather (which really came down to budget.) I finally pulled the trigger on the ribbed style, in faux leather. It came quickly and then sat in a huge box for a week.
I unpacked and assembled it this weekend. It is not tan. It is brown. Which would not be that big of a deal (tan will show more marks from blue jeans etc), except that this particular shade of brown CLASHES WITH MY DESK. (a table I found on craigslist).
Ugh. This is the danger of ordering online when the subtlety of the color really matters.
So now, do I disassemble the chair, repackage it, and haul the huge box away, and order a lighter, TANNER tan chair? I am so not inclined to this solution.
Do I find a textile to fold and drape over the back?
Do I paint the tabletop? (the base is ivory, the top is currently wood.)
I'm hanging art behind the chair but don't know what it will be yet (apart from a row of white frames with white mats.) Do I choose something to draw the eye away from the desk-chair combo?
I love the idea that this space be somewhat minimal, without a lot of pieces and layers. When you do that, in neutrals to boot, everything has to be just right.
This is a VERY easy mistake to make (and a difficult one to avoid when you can't see something in person. I suppose the tip is, when ordering online, make sure the items you are ordering are in contrast colors to adjacent items. Less nuance in color = more wiggle room). Obviously it is my job to avoid or fix such mistakes--but it is much harder to do that for myself, on a weekend, than for my clients, as part of my job.
I can tell you this: I'm sitting in the chair right now and it is comfortable. The thought of going back to the sagging upholstery of the vintage Milo Baughman chair I have been sitting on for weeks is NOT appealing.
Time to make it work.