Home office makes cluttered first impresssion

This is what you see when you walk into my house. Love (not) the scallop wallpaper border; I meant to remove it before we moved in but didn't have the time. The window treatment is also very dated and needs a good facelift. I really think this can be better organized into an office/living room area given some good organizational furniture and modern updating. Can you please help me get that vision?

Design by Steinhafels

Expert: Interior designer Andrea Odishoo, Vernon Hills store, www.steinhafels.com.

Budget: $5,000 plus

If this is the main entrance to the home, I suggest this room not be designed as a multipurpose room, but instead like a living room - with an office quietly tucked inside.

Suggestions

• To do this, the sofa should be placed facing toward the entrance with a writing desk or even a wide sofa table directly behind it to provide a good-sized worktop space. The messy desktop can then be hidden behind the sofa, out of view.

• Use an attractive upholstered swivel chair that doesn't look like a typical office chair, as a desk chair.

• The bookcases, placed on the far back wall, will provide both closed and open storage for files, books, even a printer or other computer equipment. The top shelves can be a place to showcase living room style accessories easily seen upon entering.

• Strip that scalloped wallpaper border and paint the room a deep wall color. A large piece of artwork between the bookcases will add weight and provide a place for the eye to rest.

• Add a single accent chair opposite the sofa with a floor lamp on the side.

• Finally, solid-colored draperies in a velvet fabric will complete the rich look of this living room.