Home Office Makeover

Today I’m excited to share my home office makeover with you! Life has dished out a lot of lemons lately, and those lemons led to my home office makeover becoming more important. 🍋

My Home Office

Over the summer, I decided our home office desperately needed a makeover–stat. We’ve been in our new home just over 2 years, and this room hadn’t really received much attention.

Prior to the last few months, it was a room that rarely got used, so it just wasn’t a priority. But, 2020 has managed to rearrange priorities for a lot of us, like it or not. 😒

This home office makeover was one of those things that unexpectedly became a priority.

• Schools got shut down in the spring, and I suddenly found myself teaching from home.

• Over the summer, I enrolled in another graduate class and didn’t really have a comfortable place to sit and type my papers.

• And, my blog was growing, and I needed a dedicated place to work.

All of these things, combined with not knowing if we will find ourselves doing virtual learning at some point again this school year, made me decide to move the home office makeover up on the priority list.

The “Before”

This is sort of the before. When I took this pic, I had already turned the desk perpendicular to the window. Prior to that, it was facing directly out the window to take advantage of the view. But, nobody ever sat there before, because this room was really just a “catch all”.

I had also already moved that rolling cart to the end of the desk to maximize the storage space of the desk since it is on the small size. These pieces did not come together, but they sure look like a matching set. Just a happy coincidence!

Here’s the before of the bookcase and the chalkboard I had above it. The white paint on this old bookcase that I’ve had for years and years just wasn’t working, and the scale of the chalkboard was too small. Plus, it always ended up being a junk collector, as you can see. 😳

In Progress

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

This pic is the work in progress.

• New, more comfy and stylish desk chair
• New mercury glass lamp
• Painted the hope chest that my mom left me (General Finishes, Empire Gray)
• Brought home the clock from my parents’ house and painted it (Also, Empire Gray)
• Decluttered significantly

The After

• Replaced the rug with a larger one I loved this rug so much, I bought the exact same one again, just in a bigger size.
• Had a light-filtering shade installed
• Added the antique urn with dried hydrangeas in the corner, which is a better fit, scale-wise

• Added some pretty touches that make it comfortable and happy, like the real flowers (these are left over from our romantic anniversary dinner), and the marble candle
• Repurposed some of my vintage hobnail milk glass collection to use as practical storage options

Because part of the joy in using this room comes from the beautiful view, adding an appropriate window covering became important. I wanted the desk positioned so I could take advantage of the view, but the afternoon sun can be overpowering.

We had a shade installed that can be adjusted from the bottom up, or top down, so as the sun moves during the afternoon, I can adjust the shade as necessary, and usually do not have to completely close it to block out the view.

Another Angle

This is the office, looking in from the back hallway. Because our new travel map is hung near the office doorway, we still get to enjoy it whenever we are coming and going through this heavily trafficked back hallway.

The office has a barn door, that is both practical and pretty. It can be used to close off the office for more privacy if needed but also serves as visual interest.

The Bookcase

This is a night & day transformation, don’t you think? Nothing but a coat of paint on the bookcase, and a better-sized piece of art above it makes all the difference.

You can see how we created this DIY Floating Frame for our canvas map HERE.

And if you’d like to order your own personalized travel map, you can find it HERE.

A few stylish, yet functional accessories make this bookcase a workhorse in the office too.

• My mom’s recipe box is stored here, where her handwritten recipes serve as inspiration for many of the recipes I feature on the blog
• I have several pieces of my vintage hobnail milk glass collection displayed in the office, serving double duty as organizational pieces

These magazine organizers from Target work perfectly to stylishly store all my cooking/home decor magazines. I looked everywhere for the perfect magazine organizer before finding these well-priced ones that I ordered online from Target.

When they arrived, I was so impressed! They cost less than $10 each, are sturdy, covered in the perfect neutral gray fabric, and have these adorable cup pulls on both sides, so you can face them in whichever direction you prefer! I saw many others for much more money than these, without double-sided handles, or with no handles at all, so these are a deal.

• These vintage glass jars from my mom’s household crafting supplies

The Antique Chest

You can see the story of my antique hope chest, and how I gave it a makeover HERE. This spot in my office is the perfect place for it. It holds more of my crafting supplies and showcases the vintage-inspired art I made from our home blueprints.

Also, more hobnail! 💕

The vintage yard sticks were my mom’s and grandmother’s. I like how they look leaning in this corner, plus they are easy to grab and use for a craft project, like when I was measuring ribbon lengths for my DIY Ribbon & Burlap Wreath.

The Armoire

This old armoire used to be a piece of bedroom furniture made to hold an old tube TV, but now it works well here to hold the printer and an abundance of office supplies and paperwork.

It’s a heavy, well-made piece, and I like how the light oak goes so well with the top of my antique hope chest, and my desk.

On top of the armoire hangs this beautiful horse picture that was a gift from our son, along with some antique ironstone that was my mom’s and grandmother’s, some more of my vintage silverware, and another of my mom’s antique jars holding my crafting ribbon.

Upcycled Clock

In this picture, you can see the old wall clock that hung in my parents’ living room for as long as I can remember. When I was redoing the office, I knew I wanted a clock in here, but couldn’t find anything that I liked, no matter where I looked.

Then, one day I was at my parents’ house after we had cleaned almost everything else out, and this clock was one of the last things left still hanging on the wall. Right then, I knew it was perfect for my office. I love that it has sentimental value, and with a quick coat of paint, it fits right in this new space. You can see how I upcycled it HERE.

Bonus: It chimes! My parents must have had the chimes turned off because all the years it hung in their house, I never heard it make a sound. Now, it makes the most beautiful chime on the half hour and hour. 💕

Some of My Favorite Things

This office is now one of my favorite places in the house. The colors are serene, it’s cozy and comfortable, and I love being surrounded by so many things that have meaning to me.

Most of the time, being in here doesn’t even feel like “work”, and that’s a sign of a good home office makeover, wouldn’t you say?

Update!

I recently updated the office closet with a custom built-in with DIY installation. It makes such a difference in the form and function of this room. Game-changer.

You can check it out HERE.

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Shop My Office:

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Linon Talia Office Chair, Gray

Textured Glass Table Lamp, Mercury/White

Rugshop Transitional Floral Damask Area Rug 7′ 10″ x 10′ Gray

Fabric Magazine Files– Threshold

Aromatherapy Candle, Gray Marble

White Marble-Style Absorbent Coasters 

Mail Organizer

General Finishes Water Based Milk Paint, 1 Quart, Empire Gray

Desks

I got my desk from Wayfair, and it is sold out now. But you can find similar desks HERE .