Home Office Makeover

I am so excited to finally share our home office makeover with you guys!  This has been a long time coming.  Mostly because I just never got around to styling the bookshelves and taking care of a few finishing touches.  But, I can now check this room of the to-do list!

Before I dive into all the after photos, I want to remind you of where we started.  The first image below is what you saw as soon as you walked in.  Yikes!  In the second photo you can see the cabinets we were using for “storage”.  Not a useful solution.  There was nothing even remotely pretty about this space.  All the cords and computer components on display were getting under my skin.  Among other things.

BEFORE

Here I was trying to trick myself into thinking that curtain rod placement would make a difference.  Yeah, like that was the problem here.

Two years ago we had built in cabinets and bookcases added to the back wall, with more than enough hidden storage for all of the computer components and cords.  I cannot tell you what a difference this has made!  I had a small work space added for the computer to sit between the two bookcases because I didn’t want the desk cluttered with a computer screen and more cords.  It was such a great decision!  All of the objects in the bookcases are items my husband collected during his time in the military or were from his childhood.  I hated that so much of it was stored away in boxes.  Now everything has a proper place and can be enjoyed.  In case you find yourself wondering about that photo above the computer, it’s of our first dog, Ruffino.  I made it for my husband one Christmas.  We always joked that Ruff was a human trapped in a dog’s body 😀

AFTER

BAMBOO SHADES + COUPON CODE:

Aside from the built ins, another change that made a huge difference was getting rid of the drapes.  They were dark, heavy, and just added to the cluttered feel.  I originally had inside mount shades with cords, but once I removed the drapes I knew I needed a different option.  I worked with the folks at Blinds.com to come up with a better solution, and they were awesome enough to provide me with the drapes in this project!  We decided on the same bamboo shades that I have throughout the house and absolutely love, but ordered them in a larger size for an outside mount and went cordless.  These matchstick blinds are their Blinds.com Woven Wood Shades in Antigua Natural, with added blackout liner.  I was easy able to then mount them higher than the window, making it appear larger, and I no longer had to see cords hanging down.  A perfect solution!

I really do love these bamboo shades as I’ve used them throughout the house, and I can tell you their customer service is absolutely amazing!!  Blinds.com is offering you guys 20% off any purchase now through 10/31/17 with code: crazywonderful  This is good on ANY purchase, bamboo shades, cellular shades, wood blinds, etc.

RUG + DESK:

This rug is one from my husband’s collection that he purchased while overseas.  I went back and forth over knowing that I needed a larger rug that went completely under the desk to loving the color and pattern of this one too much to not use it.  I decided the heck with design rules and just went for it.  The desk was one that my husband found on Craigslist before we moved into the house.  I stripped it down (the top was covered in pieces of cork that held a glass top in place) and refinished it.

HIDDEN STORAGE:

I mentioned how every component was hidden away in the cabinets.  We ran into one issue when it came to hiding our paper shredder.  It was just too large to tuck away and drag out every time we wanted to use it, so they made the bottom of the shelf slidable.  Things like this make my heart go pitter patter!

DIY LIGHT FIXTURE:

I also want to mention the DIY light fixture we put up.  A few years ago we were at the Round Top antique show and my husband saw some cage light pendants he liked.  We thought it could be cool if they were turned into a billiard’s style light fixture for his office.  So, that we did!  We used metal piping and connectors to piece it together and it turned out exactly as we envisioned it.  Love when things actually turn out!

This post is sponsored by the awesome folks at Blinds.com.  The blinds used in this office makeover were provided to me at no cost, but the opinions are entirely my own.  For more information, please visit my disclosure page here.

SOURCES:

Wall color – Pittsburgh Paints (PPG) Gray Palomino // Bookcase color – Benjamin Moore Simply White // cabinet hardware – Pottery Barn (no longer avail., similar here) // bamboo blinds // light fixture – DIY (similar here)// desk – Craigslist (similar here) // chair // rug – vintage (similar here and here// photo ledges – IKEA (no longer avail., similar here) // pencil cup

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