Office Makeover

I started working on our office in October.  Finding this $2.00 Chandelier started it all.  It's been slow moving and there are still some technical/wire things that have to be taken care of, but the hubby is not cooperating.  So I figured I would show you were we are at. 

This picture below is the office the day we moved in.

The picture below is of the same angle as above.  We bought 5 filing cabinets and used a marble slab to make a desk and area for the printer.  The intention had been for each of us to have our own side of the desk, but that changed quickly with my husbands budding DJ hobby.  The way the picture below looks was very typical as to the condition of the space.  Everything, I mean everything was dumped here.  Our house was built in 1955, meaning no attic and NO closet space.  It was a junk room and quite embarrassing. It is off of the kitchen and typically our guests gravitate to this space.  I think its the idea of the DJ equipment and the computer that draws them in.

While my husband was away on business my sisters and I headed to Ikea and we found this kitchen counter top and thought it would be perfect for a desk top.  I was using my inspiration pictures for ideas.  We managed to load and unload it and bring it into the house. It is super heavy.  We also managed to move the tombstone DJ equipment out of the way and we rearranged the office.  The room instantly opened up and felt so much bigger.  I don't think we realized how much space our desk was taking up.  The picture below is of the office right now.   I added Ikea curtains, new Ikea pillows, a rug, a thrift store lamp on my found side table, and a wrought iron stool. 

The desk is now along the wall and the DJ equipment is sitting on the same wall.  I would love to paint the filing cabinets white, but I am so not in the mood to undertake that project by myself.  The picture below is the section that is the 'desk'.  My cork boards are right over the desk.  I painted the walls Sherwin Williams Extra White for a crisp white look. 

I also started a gallery wall using my book page wreath and my $0.50 mirrors as the starting off points. I may want to tweak this a bit, or add on as time passes.  

So here is the after again.  I am so happy with how it has all turned out. It is a completely different room.  I was able to work with what I already had.  The black couch, black office chair, and filing cabinets were existing in the room.  Even though, I actually wanted to get rid of all those features, I'm glad they stayed.  The best part is that I did not spend a lot to fix this room. 

The before...

and after...

What do you think?

Edit post:  I joined a linky party at Findind Fabulous and Tater Tots & Jello.  Thank you for stopping by.

Office Gallery Wall Mirrors

I am almost done with my office gallery wall. I found these mirrors last week for $.50 each at a garage sale.  

The oval one had two of the 'teeth' cracked off.   

The little old lady who sold it to me, actually tried to convince me to buy it by suggesting I glue something on there.  I took her advice and cut up a piece of cardboard and glued it on.

 I spray painted them black and here they are. 

I ordered this Family Rules Subway Art from Groopdealz a couple of weeks back for $5.00.  I will posting pictures of the final project soon.

Office Gallery Wall Art

I've been working on a small gallery wall for my office.  Here is one of the projects that I am very excited about.

I bought a frame for $2.00 at Goodwill and spray painted it black.

My friend Gloria, the art teacher from one of the schools that I work for, made this to show the kids a craft project that they could work on during the school fundraiser walk-a-thon. I was in charge of the cookie decorating table. I had frosting in my hair, all over my clothes, and I smelled very sweet. Using metal tooling foil, which is thicker than aluminum foil, she carved/drew into the foil using a pen.  She is so talented and did this in minutes.  I loved it so much, she gave it to me. I was going to try my own, but I knew it would never look like this one.

I hot glued it to a piece of black card stock.

It is so cute and the best part about it, the total cost was $2.00.  Love it!

Gallery Wall Inspiration

I'm working on a small gallery wall for my office.  I want to incorporate my book page wreath and some other frames and pictures I've been collecting.  I'm loving this black and white idea.



via Coastal Living

DIY Wrought Iron Stool

This stool used to belong to my sister.  It was painted black and had a leopard print cushion on it.  It ended up in my yard for some time and then it found residence in our shed.  My husband pulled it out the other day saying he didn't want any more garbage in his shed.  I thought it would be perfect for my new office layout. 

It was pretty rusty and the wrought iron was all bent up and fused together.  I had my father-in-law straighten it out for me.  My nephew always says "Abu can fix it" when any of his toys break, and he sure can.  I sanded it and used Rustoleum spray paint in white lacquer.

I bought a foam pad pad and cut it to the shape of the round plywood I had found for $6.99 at a local lumber supply store.

Then I covered the foam/wood with a beige linen from Joann Fabrics.  I had never upholstered anything and I struggled a bit with the round cushion.

I have it next to my computer as an extra seat for those occasions when my husband has me watch surf videos with him.

I joined a linky party at Finding Fabulous

Week-End Finds

I think this weeks thrifty finds were pretty decent.  Nothing crazy exciting.

These vase/candlesticks/ceramic things were $2.00 each at Goodwill. I first thought I would spray paint them, but then I realized that my bookshelf in the office could use some accessories.

These little birds were $1.00 each.  I put them in the bookshelf as well.

This tray was $2.00 at Goodwill. I bought 2 of them.  I put it in my family room and figured it was an organized place to keep remote controls.

I'm not really sure what this is.   A vase or cylinder in a gold/brass color for $2.00.  It caught my eye and had been looking for something to place on my found table with my thrift store lamp that was not breakable.

This one is the cutest find...my 1-year old niece.  She's actually walking around my office and house saying no, no, no, as she touches everything.  Another reason why the above gold/brass thing is perfect.

What are your finds?

Project Day

I'm loving having the day off today.  I figured I'd start a little project. My sister used to have this as a stool in her room at my parents house over 10 years ago.  It was black and had a leopard print cushion on it.  Somehow it ended up in my house, in my yard. Hence, the condition it's in right now.

When I first rediscovered it, the iron was all bent out of shape and would not move.  My father-in-law straightened it out for me.  I'm going to sand it down and spray paint it and make a new cushion for it.  I found a round ply wood at a local lumbar store to attach to the seat.  I will post pictures.

We have paint-in the Office

I was able to muster up the energy to take some pictures today.  Of course, that is after taking a little nap watching HGTV this afternoon.  I realize that some mistakes were made in painting my office.  First one, is that I did it.  No really, I did not use primer.  I was painting over a blue/green color in white and did not use primer.  I have not painted any rooms in my house since I painted my room at my parents house a pretty shade of lavender many, many years ago. The picture below is the same one that I posted yesterday, but now in white.

I have been searching for rugs for a couple of weeks now.  I happened to find this one at Ross for $18.99.  The size is right for my new layout, it doesn't interfere with my desk chair and the price was great.  The beige is almost an exact match to my chandelier. 

Since we will be keeping the black leather couch, I found these cushion covers at Ikea.  They were too big for the pillows that I had, so I had my mom sew them to size.

It's starting to come together. I found a lamp yesterday at Goodwill that I'm working on.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Painting my Office

I decided to repaint my office. When we bought our house, we had painting contractors do the job. Our paint was flawless.  We chose mostly neutrals...well, beige in most of the house, except for our office.  We painted it Sherwin Williams Waterscape.  I have always loved the color, but it was not matching my new office ideas, plus it was all nicked and dirty.  When we repainted our family room, we hired some handy man/painter, they did a decent job.  So I decided to paint the office myself, what a disaster.  It has taken me 2 days, about 10 hours, 3 coats of paint, and I have finally finished.  I am covered in paint, but it's done. I painted it Sherwin Williams Extra White.  I don't have any pictures yet, I can't move my arms to lift the camera.  That's right, every part of my body hurts.   The picture below is the color before. 

I will have pictures tomorrow.  If I can move.

Office Inspiration

I've been looking for inspiration for my office.  The three pictures below have a common element that I think will work for us, the long table top.  I am loving this idea for multiple reasons.  We would have plenty of work room and space for the DJ equipment (can't forget that).



cheyennemillwork

Apartment Therapy (above and below)

I am loving the white in the last room.  Our office is currently painted Sherwin Williams Waterscape.  It's a pretty color, but I think I'm over it.  I would probably paint this room myself.  It's looking like the colors in the room are going to be black (couch and office chair), white (walls, bookshelf, accessories), and beige (chandelier). 

Rug Ideas

I am in search of a rug for my office.  I am looking for something black and white, maybe stripes, and economical.  I am a little nervous about pattern on a rug, I haven't done that before. 

Here are some ideas.

Ikea Sveje $12.99.  I can put two together and it would be the perfect size.  The price is more than perfect, but its not available at my Ikea and they don't carry it online.

 Ikea Stockholm Rand  I like this one, I think it may be too big and too much pattern for me.  It's also more than I want to pay for an office rug.

 

Target Dwell Baroque rug Collection there is something about this one I like, but again I am not sure.

Overstock Hand-tufted World Classic Grey Wool Rug (5' x 8')  I really like this one, but it's not the right colors.

My search will continue.  Let's see what I figure out.