Sorry for the radio silence here lately. I've had some (great) life changes but I've been completely overwhelmed with work that blogging had to be put on hold until I could slow down for a second.
The past 3 days have been a mess of me redecorating my home office, where I will now be based at full time. As soon as I found out I was going to work from home, I had grand visions of crazy modern office furniture and funky lights and such. Seeing as I didn't have an unlimited budget (oh, to be independently wealthy!), I revised my plan and then completely got obsessed with it until I got everything finished.
I know I took photos of the “before” but for the life of me can't find them on my camera. We'll just jump into the during and after. Just kidding, found them!
Before, my office was an orange, cluttered mess. Seeing as I was working in a formal (uncluttered) office building, and a laptop while on the sofa at home, the office was just a dump-all for papers that needed to be filed and bills that needed to be shredded.
After 2 cans of Kilz primer, sanding until there was dust everywhere, wiping off all particles with tack cloths, I was ready to paint. I chose to use a white glossy Krylon spray paint. I applied a few thin layers. The next morning, I sprayed another layer. I then used a Martha Stewart silver craft paint from Home Depot to detail the handles of the dresser. The paint looked like a silver sharpie marker had exploded. Like a liquid silver. It didn't adhere to the surfaces well, but I tried it anyway,
I've had these big desks and credenzas that I got from my dad. Apparently in the early 80s (like, when I was born), a company he worked for went out of business, and many people were able to take the furniture if they wanted it. It's very sturdy, however it's aesthetics left much to be desired. I was drooling over a silver Parsons table from West Elm, but I wanted 2 of them, and even 1 was really out of my budget.
So, I improvised with paint and a few rolls of silver contact paper.
I knew I wanted a mirror in the room to hang over the dresser I was painting, so I found one for $34 at Home Goods that was the right size. The frame was a white washed wood. I took my Martha Stewart silver paint to the frame, which had to go on in a few coats.
Next up was making a feature wall. I love chevron, quatrefoil, greek key and other patterns. I found a shop on Etsy that sells these sorts of wall stencils, so I snapped one up to try. The one I got was “Moroccan Dream.”
Finally, I moved furniture back into place, de-cluttered, and pulled in accessories. Most were from Home Goods: lamps, vases, storage boxes, etc. I love Home Goods.
My husband topped it all off with a 27″ Thunderbolt Apple Display that I can dock my MacBook to when I'm working in here. It's AMAZING and I'm completely geeking out over it. Considering he doesn't use computers, I'm even more surprised that he got it.
Anyway, here's the finished product:
I am majorly geeked about it. I love it so much! The only part that is missing is my splurge item for the space, a Herman Miller Aeron chair. It should be here in the next 2 weeks. Costs: quart of white paint ($12), 3 cans white Krylon ($15), 2 cans Kilz primer ($15), stencil ($40), painters tape, paint rollers, etc ($10), contact paper (4 rolls – $20), 1 can Valspar turquoise spray paint for clock ($5), dresser from a local shop ($250), Martha Stewart silver paint ($8), sandpaper, gloves, face mask ($8). So, in total less than $400! I couldn't have bought 1 of the desks I wanted for that rate, plus 3 days of sweat labor.
Edited to add: how can I forget the amazing HomeGoods items? I swear my entire house is accessorized with HomeGoods. In this, the 2 silver lamps with holes in them (I think $30 each), the mirror ($34), aqua and brown vase ($9.99), clock (purchased 3 years ago at HomeGoods, and now repurposed in my office), turquoise Cynthia Rowley frame on bookcase (I think $9), storage box on bookcase (less than $8), flowers on top of bookcase ($14 from 3 years ago), lamp on desk (less than $30 3 years ago).
Yay!
