Do you have a girl crush? Between you and me, I’ve got quite a few. They range from celeb-status to YouTube artists that are known for their talent, looks, style and personality. To my pleasant surprise, one of my girl crushes recently DM’d me on Instagram about wanting to collaborate on her new office space design. Meet Melissa Chanel.
Courtesy of MelissaChanel.com and Brandon Grate Photography
Melissa Chanel is a lifestyle blogger best known for her website, MelissaChanel.com. With nearly 26K followers on Instagram, this IG Queen is also adored for her flawless photos including natural hair, fashion, travel and beauty (check her out at @melissachanel). Not only is she gorgeous and just plain fabulous, but her outgoing and sweet personality makes you feel like you’ve known the girl for years. Being both South Carolina natives, we share a few mutual friends and already followed each other on Instagram. After she reached out, I was so excited for the two of us to finally meet in person while I was in Charlotte visiting family over the holidays. With a shared love for big curly hair, sneakers and all things gold, we hit it off immediately and spent most of the afternoon chatting and laughing in her new apartment.
But enough about us… On to the good stuff!
Melissa needed my assistance transforming her second bedroom into her dream glam room! She’d use the space as an office and backdrop for blog and social media photography/videography, but she also wanted to use it as a makeup and dressing room, AND as an additional entertainment space for future girls’ nights. Talk about multifunctional! Let’s take a look, shall we?
I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t quite sure where to start. LOL There was a table and shelving present, but the rest of the space and closet was full of endless boxes, photography equipment and miscellaneous items as the room was only used for storage since Melissa moved in. In order to meet Melissa’s needs, I’d need to worry less about designating a corner for each individual activity and more about creating a colorful and cohesive space where she’d feel inspired, creative and right at home. Here are a few ideas I shared with her before we began shopping:
Both being busy girls, between our initial meeting and staging day, Melissa and I worked on the space solely by email and text for six weeks. I picked out furniture and décor items online for her to contemplate and she made purchases at her leisure. I also saw some items while out shopping in Texas that she could look for in similar stores in North Carolina. During this process, we selected many items to purchase online – her NuLoom area rug, chaise, geometric curtains (I have the exact same in my own master bedroom!) and neon light sign, a cool idea and product discovered via Etsy! She also found some great framed artwork in Hobby Lobby and sent me photos of the teal and gold satin bench and hot pink chair before running away with them from Home Goods. On the day of the final install, I visited Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, Home Goods and Target to select picture frames, knick-knacks and these beautiful gold and lucite curtain rods for her two smaller windows framing her desk space. Just $24 each - what an incredible and affordable find!
My favorite part of this project was the free-hand accent wall Melissa trusted me to create and paint on a whim in the room. That’s right, I had no idea what design I’d be painting before my arrival! LOL After a lot of board-pinning on Pinterest and ruling out the alternative of wallpaper, I knew we wanted something unique, black + white and geometrically pleasing. Entrepreneur and founder of Curlbox, Myleik Teele had a similar accent wall design in her office that served as inspiration as well. While Melissa DIY’d the transparent shelves and clothing rack with gold spray paint in one room, I began painting too. With some Scotch Blue by 3M painter's tape, onyx black paint and an alternating three easy strokes, a little Black Girl Magic occurred and the room was completely transformed! Tell me, how’d I do?
Once all the furniture was put in place, the gallery wall positioned and last minute touches added to the shelving mirroring her personal interests and blog topics, Melissa’s glam room was complete! There was just one more addition - the infamous Melissa Chanel pink neon light - which needed to be installed after my departure. Now that it’s up, I’m completely speechless about the end result:
Courtesy of MelissaChanel.com and Brandon Grate Photography
I’ve designed several offices including my own, but this one might be my absolute favorite! Every inch of it screams Melissa and it was such an honor to be included in this project. Thanks Melissa Chanel for giving me free rein to be creative and providing the canvas for this beautiful masterpiece. I hope you enjoy living in it as much as I love staring at it. :-)
For more After photos of #ProjectChateauChanel, check out my Portfolio.
Be Blessed,
ACG
Design Deets:
Office Chair – Home Goods
Desk – IKEA
Bench – Marshalls
Chaise – Wayfair
Rug – Rugs USA
Shelving – IKEA
Organizing Shelf – Marshalls
Frames and Artwork – Hobby Lobby, Home Goods, Target, independent artists
Curtain Rods – Home Goods
Curtain Panels – Joss & Main
Clothing Rack – Wal-Mart
Lighting – Amazon
Neon Sign – Etsy
Accent Wall – Me ;-)
Professional Photography – Brandon Grate Photography
