Home office in the works

Our new house has a spare room that we use daily to enter the house and where we greet all of our visitors since it is our main entrance.  It quickly became a catch all room where we would just dump everything we didn't want to deal with at the moment.  That was a really big problem and it was stressing me out.  I wanted to turn it in to a home office space and create a  functional entryway.  I wanted it to be beautiful and reflect our style and I needed to spend as little as possible.

After pic my desk area

Planning my desk area

I knew what I wanted to do, I was just so overwhelmed that I didn't know where to start.  So I made a list (I always make a list) and got to work. To make the entryway functional we needed to add hooks for jackets, handbags, etc, etc... and a bench to take off our shoes.  We already had a few pieces we planned to reuse in this space.  In our previous home we had purchased a shoe cabinet from Ikea that has served us well and was in perfect shape, I just updated the hardware.  We also had a campaign desk that we purchased second hand and painted it glossy white.  Our small fish tank was sitting on top of a table we had built in our previous home, we planned to use it for the time being until I refinish the cabinet we plan to use in the space.  It's an old road find that needs work.  I also thrifted a small metal file cabinet when we first moved in. I wanted to add another desk to the room.  The room is long and narrow with four windows, three doorways, a big bump out from where the fire place is in the living room, and a small nook next to it with a window facing it.  It's just a little bit of a challenge when it comes to arranging furniture in it but we were confident we could make it work.

before pic

before pic

Painting a room always gives me the feeling of a fresh start, so first we emptied out the room and got it ready for paint.  We wanted a moody, dark charcoal color for the walls. The paint color we chose was Behr's Intellectual but had the color matched to Glidden's premium plus paint and primer in one. For two reasons, to save money and because we have used it before and it is good quality paint.

After painting

Next we got to building a desk for my husband. We searched high and low but couldn't find something that fit both our style and budget.  So we designed it to look somewhat like a work bench, simple lines, very masculine and strong. The body is constructed of solid wood 4x4's and 2x4's and the top is made of 3/4" osb material because I like the texture.  We used pocket holes to conceal the screws.  I then sanded it smooth and painted it. I chose a semi gloss black and sealed it with water based poly.  I know a lot of people wouldn't use this material for any surfaces but we seriously love how the textured surface looks.

We wanted to make use of the little nook with the window facing it.  At first I figured I was going to use a small metal and glass shelving unit from Ikea.  The dimensions were perfect, it would be the perfect spot for the printer, some magazine files and other stuff.   But then I thought we could save even more money if we just used some of the leftover sheet of osb that we bought for the desk top.  We have tons of leftover wood from previous projects we've tackled in the past.  So we grabbed some 1x2's to make the supports and painted them the same color as the wall so they would kind of disappear and painted the shelves white. Again I know it's weird but I really love the texture this adds to the space.  I will definitely be using this material in other spaces around the house.  It's cheap, strong, and full of texture.  Anyhow we got our shelves up and we love it! It gave us the added storage we needed, it looks great and best of all it was FREE!!

The pin boards were another DIY project.  They were basic cork pin boards with a cheap, frame that we've had for many years.  Over the years we have used them in different rooms for different purposes and have gave them different looks.  I knew I wanted to use them in the office so I gave them another makeover with leftover fabric and batting from another project.  The nail heads I also had leftover from another project.  So that was another FREE DIY project!!!  Those pin boards are already working hard everyday, I love them!

Next to my husbands desk I hung a floating shelf that we already had to display some of his things.  I displayed his baseball glove in honor of his favorite sport. The stack of boxes are a few of his games,  his wooden chess set, cards and dominoes. I framed two of his certificates from work on the wall.  Next to the certs is the handmade tree I helped the girls make him for fathers day. The wooden dice are handmade by yours truly.  He keeps his golf set in the corner behind his desk.

The curtains I bought a while back for the living room and I switched them out so they ended up here.  I added some plants that I stole from other rooms in the house for fresh air and because I love plants.  We didn't spend much to get the room to look like this because a lot of the things we already had.  The only accessory I bought so far is my desk lamp because I needed one and it wasn't expensive at all. I bought it at Target on sale and with a coupon so it was under $20. The rest of the money was spent in the paint for the room, the supplies for the desk and the hooks for the entryway. Total we've only spent about $120 in this room.      

I want to do a separate post for the entryway part of the room because I'm not quite done with it but here are a few details. We reused our shoe cabinet, added hooks, built a small bench with scrap wood, and added some temporary accessories.  Basically I made it functional but I still need to paint the bench, I'm not sure what color I want.  I also bought a new, smaller lamp for the top of the shoe cabinet I just haven't thrown a picture of it yet. I have to order two more pulls for the cabinet. I bought those for another piece but I like the way they look on this cabinet better.

The room is not finished but it is functional and looks soooo much better than it used to.  I still have a list of things I want to do to it but like I said I wanted to make it functional and beautiful for the least amount of money possible.  Some of the things I want to do require spending a little more money others just require time. We will get there!  For now we are really happy with the outcome of the room. It is getting daily use, no more spreading out paper work on the sofa, leaving shoes and purses in the dining room.  We now have a place for everything and everything is in its place.  I know that sounds cheesy but it's true.

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