The (Not-so) Great Home Office Makeover
Lately, I’ve been thinking I need a space of my own.
When I started writing about five years ago, I chose to work in the dining room―which gave me an excellent view out the front of the house and of the backyard―so I could keep an eye on my boys when they played outside. It’s worked pretty well, except that I have to clean up all of my folders, books and papers (ie. junk) whenever we have guests.
I also have no place to hang writing-related memorabilia or inspiration boards for my work in progress. And I’ve got an award or two I picked up as an unpublished writer hidden in a drawer somewhere.
Since the boys are older now and I no longer need to keep as close an eye on them (at least not when they play outside), I’d like a place to shelve my research books and favorite things, while also centralizing my writing tools and needs in one place.
Luckily, we’ve got a study that pretty much no one uses. It’s the place sports equipment is dropped and old instruments go to gather dust. The book shelves are a mish-mash of old children’s books and other books that are not really keepers.
A key part of the makeover is budget…as in, I don’t really have one. So this is going to have to be a thrifty redesign. Remember that old HGTV show, Design on a Dime? That’s kind of what I’m going for here.
To start, I went in search of a deal at an antiques place near where I live. The shop has an annual “Ground Hog Day Sale” where I’ve managed to find some treasures over the years. This time, I came away with a couple of great finds, including a black painted wood desk with nice clean lines. And the price tag? An amazing $69. Sold!
My next big question is what to do about the shelving unit. It was a freebie when we moved into the house and looks much better in pictures than it does in real life. Should I paint it black and keep it or is it time to start scouring Craig’s List for a nice set of shelves? Decisions, decisions…
The design of the unit isn’t exactly modern contemporary and painting is a biiiig job so I think I’d get rid of it but definitely replace it with shelving of some sort. Shelving in an office is a must. Sauders makes inexpensive units that you put together yourself and I have seen them in black. Straight clean lines that would look better with the desk. Black file cabinet and if you decide to keep the sofa, maybe a new cover with a modern pattern or a cool throw with black and turquoise. I love those colors together and will brighten the room. Paint walls turquoise as well. Light turquoise, color of Caribbean water. I bet you could do all that for under $300. ok I’m done.
I will have to check Sauders out. I agree with you about the clean lines. I’m not sure I’m a turquoise kind of girl though…
OMG – do NOT give up that great storage. The lines aren’t bad in the picture. Use a hacksaw or powered reciprocating saw and trim the curve/scroll at the top into a squared-off corner (or leave it as-is), sand and paint.
Black may seem like too much, but you’ll use those shelves to showcase your awards and your published works. The black will recede and be a frame for whatever you want to show off. And it will hide the woodgrain, so it will look cleaner. Sanding and primer should help if the woodgrain is really prominent. Leave the interior behind the doors/in the drawers/ alone unless you just want to tackle them. You won’t see them. You can store printer paper and whatever in the bottom.
If you replace that with open shelves, you’ll always see the mess. With those lower sections, you can hide it in drawers and behind doors. I have built-in bookcases, which are lovely, but I wanted something like the bottom half of your unit, However, the cabinet company our builder used didn’t have anything that would work without putting a countertop on it first. Ugh. So I have a couple of junk shelves out in the open.
The couch, however, has to go, or go elsewhere in the room, away from the desk (of course). A comfy chair and footstool could work by the window to the right as you enter the room for reading/daydreaming/plotting away from the desk.
Hi Willa – I would hate to give up the storage. Believe me, there is plenty of junk behind those cabinet doors. As to the look at the top, we do have trim that goes at the top of the shelves – we just never bothered to attach it – so that should help improve the look.
I love your description of uses for a comfy chair (reading/daydreaming/plotting). I definitely plan to incorporate that too!
The sanding and painting shouldn’t be too bad – in fact, you can do a lot of it with a roller. Good luck!
Kicking off my Budget Home Office Makeover. What do you think? http://t.co/RiDtlTlnbM
Hi Diana,
That’s a great space! It looks like it has a good amount of natural light.
I set up a writing nook in the dressing room area of our master bedroom. It’s nice to have a space of your own to keep all your writing materials close at hand. The funny thing is, I had every intention of using the desk for writing but I find I actually work better in the cozy chair near my desk.
That wall unit gives you such great storage. I agree with Jennifer. Painting that unit it a big job! It is hard to tell the condition of the wood from the picture. You might want to think about finishing the rest of the space first and leave the wall unit for last. You might find out that it works in the room without having to paint it.
If you do decide to replace it, take a look at the Ballard Design Catalog. They have really nice pieces for your home office. I don’t know if you have a Home Goods store in your neck of the woods but they have beautiful things at very reasonable prices.
Good luck with the design and thanks for sharing your photos.
Hi Laurie,
Your writing nook sounds very cozy! Unlike you though, I find I don’t do much writing while in sitting comfy chairs and couches.
I love Ballard Designs but I don’t think they qualify as “budget.” :( However, I do have a HomeGoods nearby so I will keep my options open, as you suggest, and see what turns up. Thanks for helping me brainstorm on this!
Love the desk. Great buy! The shelves are a keeper. I like the idea of painting them black. I’ll admit I have some black pieces and they are dust magnets. But that might just reflect on my housecleaning skills. After painting you could add knobs to the doors and drawers. Looking forward to the after pictures.
Knobs are a great idea! That will definitely help update the overall look. Hmm, I hadn’t thought of the black=dust connection and, believe me, my housekeeping skills are not so great, but I am still leaning toward the painting idea. Especially after checking out the prices of bookshelves!
You have to post a final pic when it’s done!
I definitely will post an “after” picture but at the moment this makeover is a very slow process :-