Hi Leona, You have offered very good suggestions. I try to ignore the cords but great ideas to address those when we paint. The shelves are a pain to move, I had to do it once when the computer was out! As for the plants, I don't want the maintenance! A little greenery will have to do. I will put the ornate plant stand where the leather chair used to be. Thanks.

I would love some suggestions for drapes. I am thinking a pattern but I would have to be careful with the chair in the room. Also, I believe I could do better with the lamps. What do you all think?

I have been reading all the comments and think your shelves look great now. I'm taking notes because I have a really unsightly book shelf I need to do something with.

birdkkk, I love what you've done. You began this discussion saying you wanted a space that is warm and inviting, but neat and tidy, and that's what you have. Great job! I really like to see a room with mixed patterns. I could see a stripe fabric for your drapes, playing off the colors in the chair. Something bold like the stripe in the pillow.
Or the stripe in the drape for something more subtle. And it could be in any of the colors in your chair's upholstery. I have to think about the lamps.

Back to the lamps. The lamp by the chair is a very good height for reading, it's a classic style that works with the furniture. You could change the shade for a fresher look. I'm thinking about the other rooms in your home, though, where you've mixed contemporary with traditional. Is this something you might think about doing in the office? Maybe with "new" colored glass lamps? I think a pop of color with your desk lamp would add some excitement to that area, and tie in with the colors in your chair and paintings. I'd nail down the fabric for the drapes first before thinking about replacing the lamps; especially if you're going to purchase new ones.

@birdkkk... please, please, please put that greenery on the shelves in a container.
You are doing a great job.. the top shelves just look a bit jammed.. need some lower items on them.

I am in absolute AWE! Those shelves are amazing! You did it! All by yourself!!! I can imagine all the trips up and down the steps, too. BUT worth it!!!

Your drapes will depend on the color you choose to paint. You can go either way......choose the paint first and then the drapes or the other way around. But, yes, the chair will help make quite a few choices.

I rather like the big art on the wall alone, where it was last night. It crowds that chair corner now. Other than that? I am soooo smiling!

You are getting great advice on lamps and drapes.....

In my opinion, it is the rod the drapes hang on that needs to be changed. A fat wood or bronze tone rod would give the drapes a more upscale look-the fatter the better. A den should be heavy not delicate. It is probably too late but the look is more luxurious when the drapes are hung closer to the ceiling.
I think faux painting is dated now. I would get rid of the faux.

I do not like the blue leather chair. You could remove it and place a low shelving unit there to put your extra books. Perhaps some nice looking baskets as well for some of the clutter.

Would you happen to have a toy box that would fit in that corner where the chair was? New grandbaby would love it or the games could also go in there. I hope you kept them handy as know what fun it is to bring them out when the clan gathers.

@abbyjean... Love that idea. Yes! ..now your have your "Granny thinking cap on".. great idea for the "Toy box"...would not need to be the traditional toy box but how about a chest of drawers, even a different color.. then the lower drawers could be used for the baby toys & the higher drawers for the older toys (games).

Ohhhhh, you guys are good! I have a trunk in the basement. Right now it is full of my son's I love me things. Boy scouts stuff etc, yah, he's only 29! A good excuse to purge since it is his baby I am making room for!!!!

Is this your first grandchild?

Yes Lenona, can you tell? Here is where I want to hang this picture of her. I have to frame it. Abbyjean, do you think it still crowds the corner? What do you think of the trunk?

Here is the desk lamp. It is much more functional than the other one. What do you think?

I like it better than the other one. It doesn't distract from your pretty shelves. It doesn't make a statement, it just blends in. Your trunk is very nice. I'm just concerned that it will get lost in that corner. I feel you need something taller. I'd be interested to know what Abbyjean and Leona think.

P.S. Keep the baby. She's adorable. ;-)

Before you empty the trunk, can you try it in the room to see? I just had a feeling you would have something like that to try there.

LOVE the desk lamp....again, you shopped your home and scored! BIG TIME!

LOVE that baby and you should be excited with that first one! Any chance I could know her name????

Here is my concern with her there........can you see her enough to smile at her every day????

The little angel is Sophie. I can look right into her smiling face from the desk. I might have to get some glare free glass though when I have her framed! I think I will stick with something light on the frame. Should I use a mat?

I also have another toy box/bench which is white. It sits a little taller. I could paint it. It would come up to the chair rail. It is so not fancy!

That toy chest would work, and I like the bench look for that corner of the room. If it were me, I'd paint it one of the colors in the chair upholstery. Here's where you could use a couple of pillows to soften the bench and give it that "window seat" look. It's certainly deep enough. It would be especially nice if you could match the pillows to the drapery fabric. I'm really loving this room.

I think the trunk would fight with your desk and shelves with the color of it, right? So perfect that you have this other piece. It is actually just what I was hoping for!!!! And yes, pillows on it, for sure!!! And soooo easy for little hands to open when they want their dolly out. Sophie is such a perfect name for this angel!!!

Yes, glare free glass, but also think about this.....you will want to constantly update this picture even though right now, this one is your favorite. Maybe you will have a smaller one of this one to keep on your dresser forever, but in this office, I can see it changing a lot as she keeps changing a lot. Maybe think of a frame you can easily do this with. I know, It will not be as nice as a custom frame job, but I think it will serve your purpose better.

Going outside to paint garage doors.......such a perfect day to get this job done. While I might not enjoy each moment doing it, I will be smiling tonight when it is done. And we are changing the color.....brown, so not that exciting, but it is when they are now white, so there will be a new look to smile about, too.

Great suggestion on keeping the frame accessible for updating photos. I am glad you like the white chest. I will have to get creative in it's design. Right now I just think of it as something to get rid of!!!! I love the desk lamp! Happy painting.

Wow birdkkk.. do you have a warehouse somewhere in your basement.. you never need to leave the house to go shopping.... bet hubby loves that since men don't usually like to go shopping..LOL
That bench is even a better choice .. I was concerned about the heavy lid on the trunk & little fingers!.. grandma mode. I now have 5 grandchildren ranging from 6 months to 7 years, that includes the last 2 (twin boys).
That little Sophie adds such a "cutness factor " to the room. I would consider matting the pic with an off white mat & using a dk. brown or black frame.. that way if you want to put a bigger pic in that frame at some time it will fit. I think I would remove the pics on the adjacent wall & let it all be about "Sophie". With those 2 pics gone you will be able to widen your drapes if you chose.. which I think someone had mentioned previously.

Great ideas Leona, I will plan to do something different on the rod and drapes and definitely widen them. I will remove the other photos and make the wall about
Sophie. I am spinning my wheels on how to make the chest appropriate for the room. I hate the thought of stripping it but I could I guess. Thoughts?

I was able to widen the window by almost a foot on either side! Makes the room brighter. Congratulations on all those grandbabies! That is awesome. Twins too! Oh my!

Wow, awesome .. little baby taking center stage . so sweet.. I'm a sucker for babies. does she live close so that you can visit often? Nice job on the window enlargement & it didn't cost a dime.

Can;t wait to get it framed. I think Michael's has 60% off right now! I don't get to see them as often as I would like. They are about 8 hours away.

@birdkkk , have you decided on the color that will be going on the walls? Are you saying that you will be using the bench (chest) or do you mean the trunk? If it is the bench you could make full seat cushion maybe with a striped fabric that would include the curtain color & also a gold with a cream background to echo the chair by the window. Then "Grammie" or...( what are you going by)? will definitely need a "NEW" FAMILY PHOTO TO INCLUDE THE NEWEST MEMBER.

Oh. 8 hours.. unbearable.. I see a lot of "road time " in your future! Don't want to gloat but one family is 2 minutes away & the other about 30 seconds. You will have to Skype.

Leona, you lucky dog!
I found some leftover fabric that matches the chair! I could make a nice bench cover from that. I can pipe it in a deeper blue. Should I paint it like an oatmeal color? I am not sure about the wall color yet. I have been too busy arranging and rearranging shelves and bakers racks!!!!!!! lol!

Painting it oatmeal and making a bench cover to match the chair is genius!

Ditto what abbyjean wrote. :)

@birdkkk, Yes ,I consider myself very lucky. I lived very close to both sides of grandparents. As a young teen I was always there visiting both cooking & cleaning for them (great memories).

And lucky you found some leftover fabric .Guess it pays to have a warehouse in your home...LOL..Yes an oatmeal color sounds like a great neutral (any other color would seem too country) or you might consider a brown which would echo the wood tones in the other furniture & add some brown to that corner of the room. Apparently the fabric looks really nice with the brown tones because that is the combination on your lovely chair.

Don't forget the new family photo.. can use it on top of the bench or a nice collection of the beautiful Sophie.
My daughter is a professional photographer & every Christmas she gives me a hard cover "Photo book" (of the entire year). Her only child is 5 yrs. old now so I will soon have a library of those books..."Monique D'Eon Photographer". She is also a yoga teacher & the little one is following in her mother's footsteps.

Personally I love books in an office/library and from your initial post it sounded like you use them which is wonderful. I would have added MORE books and added some stacked if you needed to fill in an empty shelf. If you are a reader you will certainly accumulate more....why keep them in the basement? They add warmth and coziness to a room. I agree with the 1/3 1/3 1/3 rule ONLY if it is for built ins that are there mainly for decor. Your shelves look `nice` now but are they really going to work for you in the long term? Form follows function. The faux finish and red wains coat give the room a very dated look. If you are truly in love with the red I'd use it in the whole room...very cozy library. Love the tapestry chair anywhere! Use some bamboo shades with cream panels and light accessories to add a bit of contrast and femininity. That fab chair is the perfect bridge to pull it together. If you are short on light accessories you can always cover a few books in butcher paper to stack on tables etc... for the blank corner a simple torchiere lamp would work.

Wow Jetti, thank you for the cohesive response. I love the red in the above pictures. You have great suggestions.

Keep all your books , it makes you look studiuos we've strayed so far away from Books and rely on laptops and cellphone.
I say change the colors to Mint green or winter green wall, the book shelves makes an already compact room seem heavy, the room is suppose to look smart but inviting and all it takes it a warm but cozy color.
Yes yellow is a warm color but its outdated, that is the problem i see here.
And after you've painted the walls, then move books around, what was here, put it there.

In addition, if all your walls are of the same lenght, i would move the book case on one wall, my visual tells me move it on the right, after it is painted Mint or smokey grey allowing the two remaining walls to be exposed, as is,you broke up the color on you walls ,one Yellow on the left ,then book case, then yellow on the right, so you have a broken visual field.
Two wall panels painted in a lighter hue would reflect light better if not broken in two "form dose fallow function and more light is good for function.

Great website: www.paperbackswap.com. Post a book, pay to ship it Media Mail when requested from you, and then you get a credit to shop the site for a book you might want. Perfect way to "keep the library revolving"

I will check it out. Thanks bunnyllg. Most of my reading material is food related. I love to travel, cook and entertain. Most of my books are based on that inspiration. Although I do enjoy a good novel now and then.

Bunny and how do you refrence a book you no longer have?

Food, travel and entertaining books are actually highly sought after. Rescued Relics, I am not sure what your question is?

My question is ,how do you refrence a book you no longer have if you trade it in for something else.
Im sure we've all tossed out books that we wish we had'nt and with kids around why not give it to them .
This not so much about throwing away or donating books , its about finding a way to keep order in a limited space while making it inviting and a cozy reading room that dosent look the same, my suggestion was to keep the books because that is what a office/ libary needs,books, just change the office colors and move the storage into a diffrent position to allow flow of energy and invite the reader or readers to feel like they are'nt over shadowed by books.
A readyng room should be inviting to all while being equiped with reading options, can't do that if you are too concerned with sterilization by hiding you books or giving them away

Rescue Relic, that would be hard to do for sure. I would suggest only swapping books you are sure you are done with. Swapping is a way to recycle and use your credits for other interesting reads. You can also give credits to other members. Libraries are always tricky because there is a fine line between too much and just enough to be attractive and inviting. I think this room accomplishes that brilliantly.

Bookshelves are for books that you read and reread and for reference. Forget the decorators’ formula - unless the books are decoration - then I’d suggest something more worth looking at than the spines of books.

thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I like the way the shelves came together. You all delivered what I asked for. That being said, as my library anticipates a deep breath, I may add to it and not sweat the picture perfect wall. Houzz rocks!
Abbyjean, you have no idea what is around the corner for you and all the others who have helped me along. Stay tuned!!!