I considered sharing a house update with you this morning but decided to postpone it in favour of publishing a much meatier post in a few weeks time. At least that way I’ll be able to show you round the completed shell of our house with both extensions before plasterboarding commences. We might even have our new ‘old’ front door in place too! I thought at least that way you’d have a much more realistic before and after to compare which is always much more satisfying I find.

In the meantime Ste announced what I’d been longing to hear all year…that it was time to start thinking about fixtures and fittings for the house in order to help our electricians and plumbers with first fix. Granted I’ve pretty much visually mapped out the entire house including the hall, stairs and landing but the one room where I keep changing my mind is the study/snug.

Originally the dining room, the new study will double up as my home office as well as a cosy nook for anyone that wants to curl up with a book. At the moment this is namely me but given Hector’s fondness for literature I’m hoping that in time it will become his space too. I spend approximately 80% of my working week tapping my laptop keys at home and Ste devotes a hefty portion of his evenings to deathly boring admin that is essential to the running of his business. Both of us were keen then to create a space in the new home that was devoted to ‘work’ which we could shut the door on when all was finished for the day but which was still lovely to sit in amongst whilst we were there.

The room isn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination. Measuring approximately 3m by 3m and sitting at the front of the house, the room has a south-west orientation which means that it gets the sun most of the day. There was a tragic 1970s gas fireplace which we’ve ripped out and we’re currently trying to find a replacement that suits the house (i.e. antique) but that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Any recommendations are HUGELY appreciated. There are two little nooks either side of the fireplace but aside from this the room doesn’t have much character other than that which we’ll be introducing (think deep skirting boards and panelled doors). There’s a beautiful bay window in the middle of the room too where I’ve envisioned placing a desk in the enclave; if you’ve got a lovely view then it makes sense to look out on it plus I always feel a bit odd having my back to a window.

Despite the fact I adore looking at perfectly white and pristine workspaces on Pinterest with a splash of coral and pink here and there, I just don’t see such a colour scheme working in our house. And if I’m being honest I’m always drawn to those interior design setups with more masculine elements anyway hence the inspiration in the gallery below.

And that’s as far as I’ve got.

You see we can’t quite decide on the colour scheme. Do we choose a soft charcoal grey to match a Brissi mirror we own? Or instead opt for a dark green blue hue which we were inspired by in a recent MADE.COM campaign using their Penn desk. I also really adore Fired Earth’s range of paint colours particularly Storm and Tempest and can attest to the quality having used Malm in Hector’s bedroom. If it’s one thing Ste and I both agree on it’s that we want the room to look cosy and using darker shades is one way we envisage doing this.

Storage is also key. For a start Ste has piles of paperwork some of which he needs to keep for seven years for tax purposes so a stylish filing cabinet or something to that effect needs to be integrated into the final design. I’ve yet to see anything that fits the bill but ideally I’d like something that I can use to compartmentalise different aspects of our administration as well as doubling up as something useful and attractive to look at and photograph props on. It needs to feel as if it’s a part of the room rather than a secondary afterthought.

The floor? Well we’ve spent hours deliberating over reclaimed parquet or luxurious carpet. I do love working with soft plush pile under my feet but an aged wooden floor would be more in keeping with the kind of smoking den/library feel that we’re after. We’re still undecided but having taken a look at my gallery inspiration it seems that I’m erring on the later choice. We’ll have to see if Ste’s up for laying another parquet floor after the beauty that was in our first house.

Oh and the final thing? Lighting! I’m of a mind to illuminate the room solely using lamps and task wall lights rather than opting for any overhead jobbies but I’m not sure if I’ll regret this in the months to come. Have any of you opted for such a setup? Did it work for you or is it just inconvenient? I’m keen to hear the fors and againsts so why not share your thoughts in the comments below…

If double duty living is your thing and you’re planning your own multi-purpose rooms then you might want to check out Lauren’s post too on the matter which she shared not so long back.