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Honestly, my office was usable. It had the necessary space, and file cabinets to store what I needed. Was it functional, yes, kind of. Was it what I wanted, no.
Here I am sitting at a crowded space with little to no decor, scrolling through Pinterest, hoping and dreaming that a new office would appear like a Fairy God Mother. Not gonna happen Cinderella....
With all the new changes coming to the blog, I need MORE space and MORE functionality. AND I WANT TO LOVE IT.
So here is the space as so......
It wasn't the absolute worst, but it just wasn't functional for me, and what I need it for.
For one, it was cluttered and there was no space to work. What's the point of the desk if you have no desk to work on? The answer: it's not.
And two, I found myself dreading coming in the office and trying to get anything done. I have the worst case of "doing everything except what I was supposed too", and the clutter and junk added to the frustration. Not from not is not.... ya'll
I really had no where to do my try-on's and no where to hang my goods.
Long story short, I needed a change. I needed functionality, comfort, love, and a special place where "all the magic happens" (not that kind... ha!)
The first thing I did was scour Instagram and Pinterest. I was a werido about it, and I ain't even sorry. I wanted what I wanted. I screenshot, copied, and lightroom'd enough pictures that my phone told me, enough girl, I can't handle it. For realz, I was out of phone room. WHO DOES THAT??! Me...
From the picture above you can see I pretty much pieced together an Ikea table and another piece from Furniture in the Raw, and a hutch from another desk. Hey, when we built this office, I was still working with the husband (still am) I wasn't fully blogging and I really didn't need anything nice or functional. Obvi, that has changed (Dear Jesus... Thank you <3).
Clearly my first step was to get rest of the desk. When I first got the main "shaker" desk from Furniture at the Raw, it was a three piece with a corner piece and another "shaker" on the left to make an "L" shape type style. I loved it but ya'll the price tag was ouch-y.
But I took the chance and went for it sense I had the one piece for so long, and it was in such good shape after so many years of use, and two crazy marker crazed babies.
I did not regret it at all! If you are close to a Furniture in the Raw (link here!) I highly recommend their pieces. Their furniture comes unfinished (duh), but it is also quality wood. Not plywood like or particle board. It is hardwood, and it last forever! You can choose to have it finished or come "raw". I choose the unfinished option because I knew I wanted to tackle the painting and staining on my own. Plus I needed the desk to match.
Watch my stories (highlights) on all the decor options and paints!
Call me lazy but I made a run to Wal-Mart and I honestly did not feel like finding the same stain as the one I originally used on my old tops. I went ahead and choose white, and a "platinum ring" grayish color by Kilz in chalk paint.
my whole thing was to try and give it a "vintage" worn look. Basically, what is in right now.
The stain I originally had on the main desk was a "sun bleached" look and I loved it, because it was distinguished from the rest of the desk, which I painted a plain white.
My thought was a soft grey brush, and "sand" it down with a steel wool, so that you can still see the wood grain on the top.
I really hope this is making sense to ya'll. In other terms I wanted a grey coat on top, but I light coat so you could still see the wood through.
Instructions: dip brush in paint of choice, lightly swipe back and forth, coating lightly enough that you can see the original wood through the paint. Let dry, and then rub wool steel over to sand down and give it a more granular look.
From the picture you can see, that the wood shows through giving it the worn look I was going for.
I also did one coat of white on the legs and "sides" ( it really isn't a side but the bottom hang part of the desk to hind the underneath). I used the same technique that I did on the top, but DID NOT go over it with the wool steel.
I wanted some added "OOF" and I saw a project where they were using removable wallpaper on apartment back-splash and counters, and I thought I could do that on my shelves. Especially, because I was going to an extra shelf in my corner piece. I know, most people won't notice but I wanted something extra.
I found this marble-like sticky paper at Wal-Mart and I fell in complete love. It thought what a cute detail to a space. AND on top of that, it had some gold grain in it that accent my decor, which made it a match made in heaven (or in my office, same difference...).
Ya'll I winged it. It was my first time attempting something like this, and it wasn't nearly as bad I thought it was going to be. I didn't measure really either. There are marks on the back for cutting but I did not use them at all.
I simply measured the length with the paper and cut it with a box cutter.
I did, though peel slowly and pressed as I went along to make sure there was no bubbles or bends in the paper lay. The paper was not quite the length of the shelf so I had to cut a second piece and finish it out, but again, that was not nearly as difficult as it sounds.
When it was all laid flat and pressed, I took a card ( my Costco one... lol) and ran it across the shelf to make sure I got all the ripples and bubbles out. The paper was durable and did not rip or tear, which made it nice! After all said and done, I used the box cutter to cut off any remaining pieces on off the edges.
The corner piece was so stink'n good. I think I sat and stared at it for a good 30 minutes. Don't judge, but I was patti'n myself on the back the WHOLE TIME!
I repeated the same marble paper technique for the hutch that I painted to match the desk. And I also, repeated the same painting technique for both shaker pieces.
Let's talk decor. I thought I was doing myself a favor and stuck with Wal-Mart instead of Target, well there were so many cute things that I'm sure I probably did as much damage, if not more.
Oh well, it was for good reason! Since, I went with the grey and white. I wanted a pop of color, and what better way to do that then to go with the most "pop-able" color? GOLD and GLITTER GALORE!
I did buy a few select things from Target dollar spot, like a cork board, and some really cute baskets for odds and ends!
A lot of the items I had already. Just happened to have collected over the years. Those, are just your basic small gifts and used things that were re purposed.
I did, however, get a bunch of cute stuff from Wal-Mart:
White Wash Lamp/ Baskets/ Plant / Cloth Basket/ Picture Frames
I linked everything under the photo! The frames are a different brand, but I believe that I purchased the Better Home & Gardens gold frames from a Black Friday Sale last year. But the Mainstay ones are practically identical!
Lastly, my rug. I got this on Overstock, sooooooo long ago, like pretty much when we first built the office. And it matches perfectly with my decor. It has the white and grey, and the beautiful demask markings. I did a good rug cleaning on it, and it was pretty much brand new... Also a good item to splurge on. Good rugs last a long time!!
I found a rug that is very similar to the one I have! And it's on sale for $63!!!
The first chair I used for the desk was a find at Home Goods. But I needed a more mobile chair. I upgraded to wheels! I found this perfect chair on Amazon, and let me tell you it is the perfect color, and height for just what I need!
That covers all the decor for now. I may add a few pieces here and there. But in my opinion, a little goes a long way. And when you are constantly using your space, you need as much of it available as possible!
Now to organize. I bought 2 totes so that I could hold on to all my files, until I could properly sort through all the stuff I REALLY needed, and get rid of what I didn't. I have a few idea on where I want to start but I will be honest, having all my husbands business stuff and personal floating around in the same space makes my OCD go haywire (insert hair pull).
My plans are to go to one large five drawer file cabinet, so that all files are held in one space, but that it can be separated and labeled by drawer for what is needed.
This is what I have in mind! I would add the marble sticky paper to the front, so that it all incorporates into the general decor of the space.
** I will edit and add a different post for this one**
Eliminating two file cabinets for one, will make the office space more one space instead of a bunch of stuff, literally stuffed together. Now the organizing will obviously need it's own individual post, but i'm sure ya'll catch my drift when I say baby steps! Especially, when it comes to organizing a lot into a little.
For now I will focus on organizing the cabinets I have now, and try to utilize what really needs to be in files and not.
**Check back for updated post here**
Final space!!! OFFICIALLY REVAMPED❤😍💖
Until Next Time!
