I'll open this post by making an admission that I'm sure I'm not alone on: Although our office contains a desk, files, and office supplies, it tends to act more as a walkway to our deck or an accidental catch-all for things that don't have homes than the place where we get down to officely business. With the desktop computer becoming an anachronism, the bed, couch, or kitchen table tend to be where most work ends up getting done these days.
Having said that, the idea of an office space still seemed best for this particular room and it ends up serving its purpose in its own little way. Of all of the rooms in our house this was definitely the most straight-forward makeover. Paint, fabric, and laminate (boo!) to match the rest of the main level.
Having said that, the idea of an office space still seemed best for this particular room and it ends up serving its purpose in its own little way. Of all of the rooms in our house this was definitely the most straight-forward makeover. Paint, fabric, and laminate (boo!) to match the rest of the main level.
The fabric is all from Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2 collection (granite colour way) which we fell in love with as soon as we saw it. It worked great with the "Manila" paint which serves as a fresh neutral backdrop to the majority of our home. It also inspired us to give a fresh coat of grey paint to the horrible old IKEA furniture that had one foot in the grave. This actually ended up coming out much better than expected. I think part of the reason it works so well is how perfectly it frames the large window that floods the desk with light. The corner cabinet is solid wood (probably a Mennonite piece) and was found on Kijiji exactly as you see it, as was the antique window frame turned mirror. Both pieces were had for under $50. The desk chair was donated by Hayley's grandma (it came all the way from Bermuda!), and after getting a coat of wall-colour paint and its seat recovered it really tied everything together.
The biggest splurge was definitely the mosaic tile at the deck entry, but with everything else being so simple it definitely adds a bit of richness/warmth.
The best deal was the outdoor pendant that we snagged from Home Depot's clearance section for $5 (it even came with a CFL bulb!). It's a nod to the room's previous life as a screen porch. The matching desk & floor lamps were also a great big box store grab- this time from Rona on a blow out sale for $30 for the set of 3.
The biggest splurge was definitely the mosaic tile at the deck entry, but with everything else being so simple it definitely adds a bit of richness/warmth.
The best deal was the outdoor pendant that we snagged from Home Depot's clearance section for $5 (it even came with a CFL bulb!). It's a nod to the room's previous life as a screen porch. The matching desk & floor lamps were also a great big box store grab- this time from Rona on a blow out sale for $30 for the set of 3.
pro tip:
Home Depot will pretty much pay you to take anything they have one of, typically being old display items. If you find an empty shelf ask about buying the display sample- each time we've done this the floor manager has offered an insanely discounted price- typically 10% OR LESS of the shelf price. Apparently if these are still present during the next inventory they are charged the MSRP for the unsold item so just having them gone is like money in their pocket.