Hey, I’m Rebekah and this is my new home office and gym design! Let me show you how it all came together.
This is a food blog, but today I’m sharing my newly remodeled home office and gym design with you! It’s the space where I do all of my writing, and that’s the motivation behind this project. As many of you know, I’m writing a new book, but before I get started, I’m setting myself up for success with a functional office space that doubles as a home gym. In addition to food and cooking, I love interior design. This is the first space in my home that I’ve designed from start to finish, and I love how it turned out.
The Inspiration: Coastal Farmgirl The Color Scheme: Coral; Seafoam Green; Tan and Gray The Challenge:
An inherited roll-top antique desk that didn’t work for my needs.
Creating a space for functional office + workout equipment
A plain Jane box of a room with no focal point.
A small laptop lacking storage capacity and screen space to work on my new book.
The Budget: $3,500
Using a few key elements I already had, such as the cowhide rug and a European mount of my husband’s first buck, I layered in new furniture and the pièce de résistance: An under the sea wallpaper mural I had imported from Turkey.
BEFORE:
This room previously had carpet, and we changed the flooring to a more treadmill-friendly laminate last year. Playing off the gray, I also installed my “Dreams Don’t Work Unless You Do” art gallery as a COVID project during 2020. The gallery features newspaper and magazine clippings in farmhouse gray frames, matted to my signature seafoam green brand color. The media tells my story from my journey on ABC’s The Taste and Food Network Star, to self-publishing my first book, and inspires me to keep dreaming big and making it happen.
Though the desk has sentimental value, it didn’t work stylistically or functionally. With its four white walls, the room also lacked pizzaz. Enter new furniture!
The room needed height variation, provided by two ladder style driftwood bookshelves positioned behind the L-shaped desk. The bookshelves are open in the back, so they don’t cover the wall mural. The desk features storage, cable management for hiding unsightly electrical wiring and room for writing, including a finished back for positioning anywhere in the room. The positioning of the desk was critical for me. The L-Shape allows me to face the natural light from the two windows. This is important for two reasons: It positions my face in the best light for video calls, and is not facing my computer screens, so the sunlight will not drown out what’s on the screens. The L-shape desk also has the primary side open to see others when they visit my office or walk through the French doors at the entrance of the room.
A round coral mouse pad demonstrates personality.
The seashell-shaped pink desk chair is such a fun detail to support the Coastal Farmgirl aesthetic. Think of ways you can surprise when reimaging a space! A new All-in-One computer has sleek lines, features proper storage, touch screen and a built-in camera. An additional monitor provides side-by-side screen comparison and space, a great benefit when working.
And now for the accent wall! I knew I wanted something bold with lots of color to pull the room together. This beautiful textured, handmade wallpaper was the perfect solution. Imported from the breathtaking Mediterranean coast of Turkey, it spoke to my location in coastal Georgia, provided pattern, and included all of the colors in my palette – seafoam green, coral, tan and gray. I couldn’t have picked a better design if I had dreamed it up myself! All of these colors complement the cowhide rug, new furniture, and add a fun and unexpected jolt of color to the otherwise white walls. I love how the seafoam green from the gallery mattes also tie in with the mural. My husband and I had never installed wallpaper before, and we were super nervous. It took us about two and half hours working together, and we found the finished product very rewarding.
Just look how vivid! I love styling the open bookshelves with textured baskets, house plants and my favorite cookbooks and family photos. My first book, “Some Kinda Good,” sits proudly displayed on the top shelf.
Accessories include a coral lamp, a “Make It Happen” sign, and a spinning supplies organizer. Two wild turkey feathers also grace the space scavenged from my family’s farm in Twiggs County, Georgia. Anytime you can include personal touches like this, do it! It’s what tells your story.
The cowhide and the tan fish on the mural together make my heart sing! Mixing patterns with the same color palette and tones is a design challenge I’ve loved growing into. Start small if you’re unsure, but whatever you chose, don’t be basic. The rolling cart contains workout weights and towels. Two yoga mats sit next to it.
What a difference in the before (left) and after (right)! Say hello to Ewok, my 10-pound, 11-year-old Shih Tzu who is the heart of our home.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my new home office and gym redesign. If you need me, chances are, I’ll be right here, working away, feeling fabulous and inspired, bold and full of color. Follow me on Instagram and TikTok @SKGFoodBlog for all the videos from this project.
New to Some Kinda Good?
Georgia native Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is a professionally trained private chef, culinary TV personality and author of the best-selling memoir, Some Kinda Good: Good Food and Good Company, That’s What It’s All About. Featured on Forbes, Food Network Star, ABC’s The Taste and The VeryVera Show, she is the longtime Statesboro Herald food columnist and contributing food writer for multiple Southeast Georgia magazines. Lingenfelser earned a Bachelor of Science degree in public relations from Georgia Southern University, Statesboro. She also attended Savannah Technical College’s Culinary Institute of Savannah. To learn more, connect with Some Kinda Good on social media, visit RebekahLingenfelser.com or email SKGFoodBlog@gmail.com.
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