So we’ve been wanting to do our office over for about a year now, and when Rona showed her ugly face we decided it was the perfect time. Our office makeover was a great way for my hunny and I to bond during our time being on lock down, and we are ready to show it to everyone!
Even though Covid hit, thankfully, Terrance’s business didn’t skip a beat. Because he was working 10+ hours a day, our office makeover took us about a month and some change to complete. Thankfully Terrance is a licensed contractor and home builder, so a lot of the custom builds were able to be completed in our garage.
So for the about a month and a half the dining room was now my home office.
As everyone whose done a renovation before knows it turns messy very quick. After my most needed items were in the dining room, we moved everything to the center of the room. Now it was time to patch and prime. Thankfully that was Terrance’s job. I love to paint, but I don’t have patience with patching or priming and he definitely is the pro between the two of us!
As you can see from the before pictures, the room was very dark before the renovation. There was a built in desk (that came with the house) that was in the far corner of the room. I used it as a stand for my TV since I didn’t use the desk for its original purpose.
… so much patching and priming… YIKES!
We both agreed that we wanted to get rid of the desk. Now we had to think of what we were going to put in it’s place. I originally wanted to put a sitting bench and hang the TV above it. Then I wanted to have an area for sitting and reading. I also wanted to have a working area. Trying to figure out what to do with that corner was an every moment thought.
While I continued to think, to make it it more “official” with removing the desk, Terrance just ripped it out. Anyone who knows me, knows that I need to know what the next plan is. In not knowing the next step, I was freaking out. Since this is what Terrance does on a daily basis, that wasn’t that big of a deal to him.
Once the desk was out, he installed four recessed lights. The process for this was pretty interesting. He had to cut out parts of the ceiling, and go into the attic with wiring, in order to hang them. When I tell you that these lights have brought a new type of life to the entire room; It is an understatement.
Once the lights were hung, it was now time to paint!
We decided to go with a light grey for the walls and to have an accent wall that portrayed one of the four colors of my Self-Sufficient Classroom brand.
Building the Custom Built In!
The painting was beginning to wrap itself up (after several coats and one horrible brand color switch) it was time to figure out what we were going to do with the old desk area.
I loved the idea of being able to have a standing work station in that area. I also liked the idea of being able to have some type of cabinetry above the work station if we weren’t going to hang the TV in that space. Once I told T what I was thinking, he began to draw up some measurements, and pulled out his building skills.
We decided to create the standing work station that I wanted. As he was building the work station, I also came up with an elaborate idea. Sometimes I throw things out in the air and see if they stick to anything. Since Terrance was going to be building the standing work station, I thought about how cool it would be to include space for a mini fridge. He took the idea and ran with it!
We went online to Wayfair and found a fridge that we both absolutely loved! We got the measurements for the fridge, and since he is good with dimensions and measuring, he carved out enough space for the fridge to sit recessed in the built in!
Choosing The Accent Wall Color
As the measurements were being taken and the shelves were being built; it was now time to decide what color we wanted on our accent wall. We had originally went with a gallon of dark pink because that color is in my Self-Sufficient Classroom logo, but the more and more he painted the color onto the wall, the more it looked like a scene from out of a horror film.
We gave it about a day to dry on the wall and both agreed that it was not going to work. It was more of a gross red color, and would be more of an eyesore than anything else. We always thought that black would be a nice color on a wall somewhere in the house, so we just said, let’s go with a can of black.
Terrance moved the electric power box (is that what it’s even called) from the bottom of the wall to the top. He added outlets for more electronic plug options as well as a light that would later be installed under the top shelving unit.
Installing The Custom Built In
So after about two weeks of measuring, cutting, sanding, nailing, staining, and then staining some more; it was time to install the built in!
T had previously done the custom crown molding in the office about a year ago. He was able to create the same custom look for the top of the shelf. Our office makeover was now starting to come together!
As you can tell from the (above) I was so excited to get my books back on the shelf. When Terrance came home, he was not having this hodgepodge of a mess. He went through all the shelves and ordered baskets, stacking trays, book ends, and containers.
For the past few years I have been fawning over barn doors. I would always blurt outlaid how I love barn doors but our house really isn’t built for a barn door. Well my hunny came through (as he typically does) and surprised me with a custom built barn door! **insert heart emojis** He really is the best guy there is.
Choosing the Furniture
Last year we had purchased two of these shelving units from IKEA. We had plans to put them in the living room. Well, we decided to put them in the office since they seemed to pop on that wall.
Now that the main areas of the office were finished it was time to order the furniture for the office! Let me tell you! We spent a TON of nights on Wayfair, Overstock, and Amazon trying to find the perfect pieces. Searching for the perfect pieces was probably the hardest part of our office renovation. Of course I didn’t build the shelving unit or paint, but let me tell you; IT WAS HARDDDDD!
During our weeks of searching, we both had been eyeing a table that we saw at Wayfair. It was solid wood and had metal legs. We both agreed that the table would fit perfectly with the built in. It would also fit perfectly with the barn door that Terrance ended up surprising me with.
We put the table in the cart, along with two armchairs, a mirror, lamp, and sofa table.
Hiding the Cords
We wanted the table to sit away from the wall, but also wanted to keep the cords hidden. To solve this issue, Terrance mounted our power surge under the table. He then ran the wires down the table leg and under the carpet.
So for the most part our office is totally finished! Terrance is going to make me a custom bulletin board. We are going to take down the chalk board and put it in its place. This should help as I am mind mapping and getting all of my thoughts out!
We wanted to rip up the carpets, but decided to wait until we take up the carpets in the entire upstairs. For now, I will be just fine with the carpeting in the office.
I hope you have enjoyed the detailed version of our new office! Make sure you check out the video below to take a virtual tour! ooohhhh so fun! A virtual tour!
