Today I’m excited to share with you some of the progress that we’ve made on my personal home office renovations. There’s just something about a new year that makes you want to get organized, am I right? So for us, that was the goal. Instead of papers, craft supplies and decor ideas floating around from one place to the next, we were determined to create and even build designated spots and storage for everything.
Like most of our home renovation or room makeover projects, we started by clearing out the space, entirely. Not only does this force you to organize all the items that used to once be there, but it also clears your mind to make room for ideas and possible new solutions for the space without having existing furniture and decor in the room clogging up your thoughts.
Even though my office has a large window where natural light pours in, it’s in a basement, so it has low ceilings and originally started out with very dark paint. So first things first, we lightened up the room using a few of our favorite painting tools and techniques.
Next we designated out specific spots in the room to perform different functions. Even in a small space you can do this! A place to work, a spot to create and even an area to rest. The location that we chose to work on first was the creative space. For this we used some Ikea storage drawers, a little elbow grease and some innovative thinking to come up with a worktable and shelving storage unit that suited my creative needs perfectly!
I even dressed up a few plain storage boxes with tape and paint to fit my personal decor taste, for only a few dollars.
Stenciled storage boxes via The House of Smiths
The work area of my office is the space that we most recently finished. Since 90% of the time I’m writing for my job, I knew it would be important to have a place where I could gather lots of ideas. So with a beautiful frame, some cork board and fabric, I created a custom pin board that could finally house all of those decorating ideas for me, in a nice orderly fashion. It’s great for organizing, but it also serves as inspiration when I’m trying to think of new ideas.
Fabric pin board via The House of Smiths
We still have a few finishing touches to work on before everything is totally done, but having a new look in my office for the new year feels SO great! It’s amazing what a coat of paint and implementing a couple of custom organizing projects into a space can really do for a room.
Do you have an area in your home that you want to freshen up or organize for the new year? If so, you might want to check out these posts as well:
Related Posts
-
Makeshift Mudrooms and other Drop Zones
Mudrooms are all the rage these days don't you think!? They really are such a... -
Nina James “Bachelors Only” Project
Helping men turn their space into an inviting area is an important cause for Nina... -
New Year, New Project
Join me as I share the highs and lows of my renovation experience. To learn...
Shelley, this is amazing! I’m challenging myself to make this on my goodwill budget. Thanks for inspiring me to finally get moving on this hard to decorate room, (that EVERYONE has to pass through). This is the most awesomest room! ~Cyndi
Great job, Shelley! I subscribe to your blog already, so I’ve seen you working on this, and it looks like it turned out great! I’ve been working on a craft room, too, and everything in it has come from the thrift store, including my 30 dollar vintage drafting table that I love (worth over 300 I later found out, HA!). It’s still “in progress” but it is coming along nicely. Thanks for sharing!
P.S. If you want to see my craft room, it’s on my blog. I just did it, so it’s one of the first posts. Thanks!
Love your office makeover! One of the things I love so much is you always have some easy simple touches that are high impact! Have seen some things I’ll be adding to my workspace. Thanks!
Shelley, I love this room – just as I love every other room and project you do! Keep em’ coming. I get a ton of inspiration from you!
Hi Shelly
Love your office makeover, very inspiring!
Wondered if you had any templates for the little labels hanging on the wire baskets? Super cute!
I love it!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey are you going to the Haven Conf this year??
Hey Lynda,
Glad you like Shelley’s office makeover! I’m not sure if she’ll be at Haven, but I know Homes.com will be! Be sure to stop by and say hi to us
-Leslie
Thank you so much everyone, for the sweet comments about our office space! It means a lot!
I’ve really enjoyed having an organized, well laid out works zone. It’s amazing how much more you can get done when you know where everything is!!! haha!
Lynda, Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to make it to Haven this year. So sad! But make sure to say Hi to the Homes.com girls, they are lovely and a great connection to have as a blogger!
Such a beautiful space! Especially love the white desk with weathered wood desktop, gorgeous! And the baskets. We have a couple old freezer baskets sitting around, this inspires me.
Absolutely stunning! I love it. What you did with the storage boxes is my favorite, they look great.