See Vahe Gregorian’s junky home office before it’s redone by his wife, Cindy
My workaholic husband often asks me to sit in his office while he works during evenings and on weekends, so I can keep him company. I usually decline. I don’t like his office.
Vahe admits he’s not so crazy about it either, claiming it’s too dark. That’s not true, at least not during the day. An entire wall is lined with windows, and natural light floods the room even when skies are overcast.
The problem is the perimeter of the room is filled with stuff on the floor or leaning against the walls. There are framed pictures and book sleeves, vintage board games (Electric Football, anyone?), piles of media passes, movie posters, CDs, vinyl albums and 45s, a record player, a CD player, boxes of papers, comic book memorabilia and on and on.
Hundreds of sports event media passes hang haphazardly on a cork board on one wall, while 47 Bruce Springsteen tickets and a concert set list are thumb-tacked, willy-nilly, to another board on a nearby wall. A pingpong table is piled high with more of the same.
The real reason neither of us likes being up there — it’s on the third floor — is because it’s a jumbled mess. It looks like a garage sale.
I feel bad saying that. I do. My husband loves his stuff. It tells the story of his life: How he fell in love with Spider-Man and Scooby-Doo, played college football, became an ardent fan of The Boss while living in New Jersey, co-authored a couple of books with renowned coaches and covered thousands of events including 19 Final Four games, nine Olympics and the past two World Series.
I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that he get rid of his stuff or even put it all away just to please me. So … I’m redoing his office with it, but to my liking, which I’m certain will also be to his liking. (Insert winking emoji here.)
Right now, most of the walls are a pleasing off-white with tan undertones, though one is a clashing royal blue. I plan to paint over the blue wall and some of the others with an elegant gray to make the wood shelves and the white trim around the windows pop. Some walls will remain off-white.
I’ll frame most of his memorabilia and create several themed gallery walls; get his audio equipment, records and CDs off the floor and onto bookcases; slide as many of his media passes as possible beneath the glass that tops his desk; and hang a ceiling light directly over his desk. Some stuff, including his boxed office papers, will go into storage.
Once the room is decluttered and styled, the eye will be drawn to its great old bones, which include 107-year-old shiny pine floors and cozy window nooks.
Also, we’ll finally be able to play pingpong.
I’ll be chronicling this project here and with videos over the next few weeks. You can watch Vahe give a tour of his messy office at kansascity.com/living/home-garden.
“Bachelorette” couple at home show
Trista and Ryan Sutter, who met on ABC’s “Bachelorette” series, will hit town this week to speak at the KC Remodel & Garden Show, running Friday through Sunday at the American Royal Center. The couple, who live in Vail, Colo., recently completed a pilot home renovation show for HGTV called “Rocky Mountain Reno.”
They will speak about “Living Life and Taking Chances” at 5 p.m. Friday and at noon and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Local blogger Leanne Lee, creator of Diva of DIY, will also be on hand twice a day, every day, offering instruction on how to take old rundown stuff from “Drab to Fab.”
Other highlights of the show will include lush gardens created by several local landscaping companies and two steel shipping containers that Custom Container Living has converted into living quarters. The containers are a nod to the tiny living trend and illustrate how architects are transforming them into everything from backyard offices to cabins in the woods.
The show runs 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit kcremodelandgarden.com or call 816-931-4686.
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 2:00 AM.