Samia Verbist
- Jun 17, 2020
- 3 min read

One Room Challenge Spring 2020 - Week 7 - Custom Home Office

Updated: Sep 15, 2022

Last week before the final! How exciting!

" First time on my blog? Welcome and thanks for coming by! My name is Samia Verbist, I am a French Interior Designer based in Huntington Beach, California. I obtained my Bachelor Degree in Interior Architecture in Paris, France and created my company in California 5 years ago. I love to create interesting designs for my clients and to suggest an interior that goes over and above what they would have thought of. I love wallpaper, gold and turquoise color! I have a passion for Mid Century home and Hollywood Regency style. And my favorite place on earth is Palm Springs! "

I love One Room Challenge! It is such an amazing way to show you the make over of a room in a short time. So, thanks to Linda and all the ORC team who organize this event twice a year in collaboration with Better Homes & Gardens. It is my second participation as a guest participant and I really enjoy this moment of the year. I hope you enjoy it too! And don't forget next week will be the big reveal!!!

If you miss the last 6 weeks, you can still read all my previous posts:

week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4 and weeks 5&6

This week was dedicated to the installation of all the custom furniture by François Langin, a talented craftsman. Langin Designs is based in Orange County, Southern California and the project is in Palo Alto near San Francisco. So, it was a long week, one day to drive up North, two days to do the installation and another day to drive back to OC.

Now it is time to show you the hard work to install everything in the room with some pictures (and a video at the end of this article, don't miss it!):

First, the large desk in front of the window. We had to insert the counter into the window. This window is lower than the regular height of a desk. Custom furniture can be adjusted to any specific architectural contingency! Clients will still be able to open the window of course! And from the outside, the back of the desk is visible but beautiful too!

Open windows in Orange County office interior design

Here comes the second desk with storage and shelves on top. Furniture was painted with 10 coats of white lacquer. For the inside of the cabinets, I wanted to keep the beautiful natural appearance of maple wood. The counter top is made in a strong and noble wood: oak.

Cabinets under construction in home office remodel

Green ladder in front of deconstructed cabinets

Already the end of the first day of installation! Step by step, this custom home office comes to life!

Interior design contractor working with tools on home office remodel

Second day was dedicated to bookshelves and Murphy bed installation.

Two interior design Orange County contractor installing crown molding

Look at this beautiful cornice on top of the bookshelf! I really wanted all the furniture to go from floor to ceiling. There is no shadow or dust on top, hence the ceiling seems higher and the room feels bigger. This is really elegant and classy! I love that particular design for the cornice!

Green ladder in front of white bookshelves in home office remodel

Now comes the most difficult part for the team: the installation of the Murphy bed. It was a huge item which came in one piece. The access to the room was tight. But after many efforts, François and his team were able to install it! It really has to be secured because the system of the bed is heavy and you don't want the whole piece to fall when you open the bed!

New Murphy bed in custom home office interior design

Here we are! Almost done!

Home office Murphy bed with panel resting against it

Then they installed one by one all the slats across the width of the frame. Made from strong wood such as pine or beech, these bars work together with the mattress to provide a good support.

Orange County interior designer installing the runners on Murphy bed

All the connected bars are installed. Everything is secure! We are able to open it!

Interior designer opening Murphy bed in home office

The big reveal is planned for next week. We still need to add the final touches like joints between the cabinets and walls, source for two desk chairs, a ceiling and 2 table lamps, decor etc...

But do you want to see a trailer??? Here is a video, you will notice that François Langin is French like me! Just a coincidence...