From Christmas to Patriotic: Restyling an Office

I met Richard Kennelly, a Marine with 30 years of service, through his wife Adela, who was one of my students. Adela had a living room that was dedicated to Christmas all year long.

Richard and Adela decided that they would like to turn the Christmas style living room into a home office for Richard. Being the proud Marine he was, and still is, he had a lot of Marine collectable items that would be perfect to be displayed in the office along with his special college diploma from Kennesaw State University.

So, we decided to create an office with a Marine theme. I was very proud to have been chosen as the interior designer of his Marine Corps office. I created an interior design plan that would enable me to redesign and transform that Christmas room into his Marine room. I would display his Marine Corps honors, accomplishments, pictures and so much more.

We chose to purchase a special desk to be placed in his office as a focal point. Only the most important pictures and diploma would grace the wall behind the desk. Those pictures include a picture of the flag raising of Iwo Jima, which was signed by Charles W. Lindberg.

Behind the desk is also a picture of Richard receiving his college degree and his Kennesaw State University diploma. Two important flags flank Richard’s desk. One flag is the flag of the United States of America and the other one is the Marine Corps flag.

I was proud to hang many of the pictures that Richard had collected, but it was an honor to hang the picture of Richard and his son in uniform on the wall in Richards’s office.

To complete the room I added window treatments on the windows to add a popular Marine color, to be symbolic and to allow privacy. The bottom portion of the valance has a curvy design and has a three-dimensional shape to the window treatment that reflects the shape of a flag blowing in the wind. Because Richard and Adela have chosen not to use blinds for their windows in the office, I chose to fabricate the drapes in a “GREEN” fashion to prevent heat loss and to help them save money on their heating and cooling bills. The positioning of the draperies still allows all of the sunlight to come into the room when they are opened.

Richard is very proud of his Marine Corps room. The room is not just an office now it is a library. His library is very special because it presents his memories and accomplishments for his friends and neighbors to experience with him.