April 03, 2020

Getting Comfortable Working From Home

April 03, 2020/ Gray Oak Studio

Now that working from home is the new normal for many, many people, we wanted to pull together some ideas, inspiration and furnishings that will make your home office or dining table/kitchen island/random-console-end-table office more functional and beautiful.

Designate a Space and Make it Functional - Whether you have an actual office or not, it’s important to take time to create a space that will work for you while you work in it. If you're spending half your day unplugging and replugging, detangling wires and sifting through a pile of files on the floor, you’re not spending much time actually working. It’s worth taking a couple hours and a bit of money to make it a space you can actually work…and maybe even enjoy spending a big chunk of your day.

Below are some functional items we found (they’re also pretty!) to help create a great space.

Gray Oak Studio - Work from Home Storage and Organization Ideas

Cord Wrangler ($15)
Cord Organizer ($10)
Felt Peg Board - Take advantage of wall space ($10.50)
Wood Sphere Push Pins ($3)
Acrylic Computer Riser - This is amazing to elevate your computer for an ergonomically healthy working position (if you’re not working at a traditional desk). You can also slide a notebook or keyboard or files under it. ($9 - 1$18)
Steel Desk Riser - The intense version of above. We love how clean and organized it all looks. ($20 - $35)
Desk Notepad Daily Planner - This is about the size a piece of computer paper (pretty big) and it’s a nice way to organize all the non-work related stuff you have to manage in tandem with your professional schedule…because you’re mastering the art of multi-tasking under current conditions. Are we right?! ($18)
Mini Secretary Desk - If you don’t have a desk, but you have a bit of extra wall, this guy is pretty awesome for a temporary solution (or a full solution for a temporary work situation). ($250)

Clear Acrylic - If you’re someone who doesn’t have a designated office, and find yourself working in the middle of the kitchen or dining room…or walk-in closet…you probably need to increase function without adding clunky visual clutter.. Clear, acrylic pieces are sleek and minimal, they’re also great for seeing what you need without having to search around. Check out this storage system and file system.

Stealing Space from Existing Furniture - If you have a dining room or kitchen island near a bookshelf, it’s time to steal some shelf space for your office. All the decor, books and whatever else can be stored away from the time being. We love this inspo from The Cottage Market.

Home Office Refresh - If you’re suddenly realizing that you need a full overhaul on your home office, we’ve pulled together a whole new room for about $850 all in. Add a couple coats of paint and you’ve got a complete room makeover for under $1,000. Not too bad!

Gray Oak Studio - Home Office Refresh Spring 2020

Paint Color Suggestions - Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore for a calm feel. Gentleman’s Gray by Benjamin Moore for a cozy feel.

X Base Wood Writing Desk - $300

Ivory and Charcoal Dash Chair - $350

Black Industrial Floor Lamp - $90

Acrylic Filing Box - $75

Acrylic Desk Top Organizer - $15

Felt Peg Board - $10.50

Blue and White Watercolor Art Print - $5

Black Frame - $30

Quick reminder to submit all your home design questions - we’re offering free virtual design advice for the whole month of April. We’ll answer everyone’s questions in a series of blog posts! You can even email us photos of your home and ask us to source furniture. We’ll do it all. So, email us, send us a message on Instagram, leave us a comment on Facebook or leave a comment right here!

- Leah

January 29, 2020

Gallery Wall Roundup

January 29, 2020/ Gray Oak Studio

Many of our interior design clients request the highly coveted gallery wall. And we get it - they’re beautiful. They bring so much character and interest into a room. The flip of that design power is that they’re quite time consuming to create. First, and probably most time consuming, is to find the right art. Then, the perfect frames. Last, the magical configuration. Oh, and then hanging it up without making too many extra/accident holes. The sheer amount of time is one of the key reasons we only offer gallery wall creations to our Full Service package clients.

So, while we can’t offer you an actual gallery wall plan (unless you want to inquire about our Full Service Interior Design package in which case we would love to!), we can offer you lots of inspiration to make it happen on your own. Today we have a round-up of gallery walls we’ve created. We’ve designed and installed all different styles of galleries and all different styles of art. We love that you can get a feel for the Client just by scanning through the gallery.

Gray Oak Gives Back Project

This 15 frame grid gallery is from our Gray Oak Gives Back Project. A simple grid of matching frames filled with stock black and white photos. These photos can be easily replaced by family photos or more curated landscape photos or a series of abstracts. But they’re beautiful as is. (For sources on all things Gray Oak Gives Back head to the project reveal post)

Prospect Project

This gallery is from our Prospect Project. If you guessed that the occupant of this room is under 10 years old, you guessed correctly. We love how the 3-dimensional elements of this gallery add to the whimsy.

Pearl Project

In both our Pearl Project and our Hutchins Project, we used a simple grid of 4 identical frames to create a gallery moment. This is a really great starter gallery if the big guys seem intimidating. For the Pearl Street Project, we simply clustered a series of pieces our Client already owned. Bringing them into a small gallery made them more of a focal point - the same effect as one large scale piece of art (but way less expensive!).

Hutchins Project

For our Hutchins Project, we created a gallery wall of frames ready for our Client to fill with family photos. Incorporating family photos in a modern, clean way was the goal.

Homestead Project

This next gallery was from one of our very first projects, which was the second phase of a project for our very first Client. Needless to say, it holds a special place for us. Our Client had these beautiful, vintage, professionally framed family heirlooms that she wanted to display but always felt that they looked out of place in her more transitional (modern) home. By mixing in a series of round brass frames (very current and clean), we were able to bridge the feeling between vintage and modern and make it feel like a cohesive thought.

Lovell Project

Our last mini gallery is one of our favorite and probably our most shared/coveted/revered. It’s from our Lovell Project and it’s a good one. The key here was choosing one large anchoring piece and two complimentary, smaller pieces. When creating an eclectic gallery, it’s important to mix and match the size of the frames, the material of frames and the size of the mats (some frames with mats, some without, some with oversized mats).

Lovel Project - Design by Gray Oak Studio

Hope you’re feeling inspired to get started on the gallery wall you’ve been imagining.

Have a wonderful rest of your week.

- Leah

May 07, 2018

Interview with Cynthia Harper

May 07, 2018/ Gray Oak Studio

Happy Monday everyone! We're taking a break from our Pearl Street Project reveal to share a truly awesome interview we did with Cynthia Harper. This is a bit different from previous interviews we've shared because Cynthia isn't an interior designer. She's a stylist...amongst other things.

A stylist (versus an interior designer or interior decorator) is someone who specializes in curating the decor of a space - the pillows, art, coffee table books, sculptures, plants...you get the idea. The person who handles all the details that make a space not just gorgeous but also livable. And Cynthia Harper is an incredible stylist.

Gray Oak Studio Interview with Cynthia Harper

You can follow her on for a daily dose of beauty, which we highly recommend you do. Or, check out her brand new website. Not only will you find gorgeous, inspirational home design ideas and images, but also heartwarming tidbits of her personal life and some universal words of encouragement. She's a true talent and GEM.

And now, the interview.

Gray Oak Studio - What is your "job title"? Silly question, but hear us out: you do SO MANY things! You're a stylist, you have an Etsy shop (Harper and Arrow Marketplace), you're an Instagram Influencer (71k followers as we write these questions), you mentor Instagram newbies interested in growing their following...what are we missing? You're a busy lady.

Cynthia Harper - That's a great question, and one I've wondered myself, lol. Though to be honest, I've never been one who feels the need for titles or labels. I love being creative and helping others, and as opportunities have arisen to follow my dreams and implement new ideas, I have embraced them. That being said, I consider myself a product stylist and educator, with my primary goal being to encourage and equip others to live their lives with authenticity and joy.

Gray Oak Studio - Of all that you do, what is your favorite?

Cynthia Harper - My favorite job of all is actually one that wasn't mentioned above, and that is being a mom! That is a lifelong dream that I've been fortunate to see fulfilled. I've often told people that the only 2 "followers" I have that will ever matter are my 2 children. Outside of that, the rest of this is empty.

Gray Oak Studio - We can't tell you how many times we've been searching Pinterest for some personal or professional inspiration and landed on "the perfect image"...of your home. You style is so clean and bright, yet comfortable and approachable. How did you land on a style that felt right for you?

Cynthia Harper - It took several years for me to really determine what my true style was. And it started to happen when I began to listen to my own inner voice that told me if I truly liked something or not. I don't think about if it's trending or if my best friend will like it. The question is "Do I like it?" When I stopped designing my home for what I thought it 'should' be and instead started designing it for what sparked joy in me, that's when I really began to hit stride stylistically. For example, people in my real life told me that subway tile to the ceiling in a kitchen was crazy and that I was planning far too much white in my kitchen. Imagine if I had listened to them, instead of my own desires. I would be missing out on a kitchen that I love, and which is coincidentally also appreciated by many people on social media too.

Gray Oak Studio - And when you're shopping for that perfect piece and you find something, how do you know it will work not only functional wise but within the context of your style?

Cynthia Harper - I gravitate toward neutrals with lots of texture because it's so important to use texture to keep a space from falling flat. And when I'm shopping, I always ask myself 2 questions before I buy something: "1) Are there are least 3 places in my home that I could put this? and 2) Would I still consider buying this if I had to pay twice as much for it?" If I can answer yes to both those questions, then I know it will work within the context of my style because I know it will be a versatile piece that will work in many rooms, and I know that I'm not just tempted to buy it because it's a cheap impulse purchase.

Gray Oak Studio - Who inspires you? What Instagram feeds are you most excited to see pop up on your feed?

Cynthia Harper - There are so many! That's a tough one to narrow down. I'm inspired by big design firms like @studiomcgee, and by other interior stylists & mamas like @brepurposed, @arrowsandbow and @thehouseonbeachroad, to name a few! I'm also inspired by the insightful humor and wisdom of my friend @thefestivefarmhouse. There's just so many who inspire me on instagram!

Gray Oak Studio - Your home featured white walls long before they became the rage. What draws you to white walls? And, if you don't mind sharing, what are your favorite white paint colors?

Cynthia Harper - I love the clean calm simplicity of white walls, and I love that they are the perfect blank canvas for creating any space I can imagine! I love White Dove by Benjamin Moore and Snowbank by Olympic (the perfect crisp white).

Gray Oak Studio - What is your dream project?

Cynthia Harper - I have 2 dream projects! One would be to one day renovate an RV and spend the summer traveling in it with my family. The idea of creating a vehicle for us to go explore new places as a family is exciting! And then while we aren't traveling in it, we could rent it out as an airbnb or something. That would be fun! Also, I'd love to one day have a studio space that can be utilized by creatives and small shop owners for photo shoots, or hosting markets, or events. A place to build community and creativity while empowering and equipping entrepreneurs and creatives...that would be a dream come true!