Well friends, I have a confession to make. I'm beginning to second guess a big design element in our Study. If you know how much I've been struggling to commit to any decisions around this new/old house of ours (so much so that I've held up any major renovations around here for more than a year now), maybe the fact that I'm no longer feeling so sure about things won't come as a surprise to you, but I honestly didn't see this coming.

It wasn't that long ago that I fell so hard for this beautiful green tile that it became a jumping off point for our first real renovation around here. I was SO in love with the way the green played off of the white walls and oak shelves in our Study, I decided it was time to finally follow a design instinct for this old house and run with it. I'd let my fear of making the wrong choice hold me back for far too long already - it was time to start committing to some design choices and this green tile felt like a perfect place to start. After drafting up some design plans for the space, I felt even more sure that this soft green subway tile was the way to go. It really brought a fun pop of character and played up the vintage vibes in our little Study. And so, we took a leap of faith and ordered it up, along with all of the other bits and pieces we needed to pull this cozy Study together - a new sofa, chair, desk, lighting, carpet & window coverings - all the things that would bring this cozy space back to life. 

 

The thing is, with each new choice I introduced into the space, I found myself feeling less excited about how things were evolving together. I told myself it was just nerves and that the doubt creeping in wasn't necessarily because I was heading off track with things. But, as each of these elements began to arrive, I found myself feeling more and more doubtful about where this was heading. 

 

Last week, I took some time to pull together a little mood board, collecting each of the bits and pieces I'd planned to include and here's where I landed…

I was hoping that seeing each of these different elements brought together like this would help me feel more sure that I was on the right track, but instead, I felt the opposite. I spent hours playing around with this - walking away and coming back to it multiple times, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't bring this all together in a way that spoke to me. What's worse, I couldn't even put my finger on why I wasn't loving it.

 

Until our new desk arrived that is. You guys, I'm not sure I've ever been so in love with a piece of furniture. It's got the most beautiful shape, a gorgeous green leather inlaid top and it really is a perfect mix of traditional and modern. It's so incredibly perfect for our Study, but as soon as Brady and I moved it into place, I found myself questioning whether I liked the way it would look beside the green tiled fireplace. In that moment I knew that the one thing that wasn't working in this space, the one thing that was blocking all the other pieces from coming together was that green tile. 

 

I dug out an old sample that I'd collected for our ensuite just to test the waters with a darker coloured tile and it all just sort of clicked for me. In an effort to combat the dated feel that the honey oak brings to this space, I'd been trying to introduce some more modern elements - the sofa, the curtains, even that traditional, yet modern desk - all of it has been meant to contrast that more dated honey oak. With that big oak fireplace being the star of show in this space, I'm not sure why it never occurred to me that perhaps the tile should lean a little more modern too. 

 

Swapping out that one piece of the puzzle instantly brought it all together for me.

I created some flat-lays on our new desk top this morning and I feel like it makes it so easy to see how it all just makes sense with that darker tile. 

 

If you've ever felt like something is a bit off in one of your spaces, I hope this inspires you to trust your instincts and keep trying until things click for you too. It might just be one little change that makes all the difference!