When we moved into our house a few years ago, I really wanted to create an office space that was all mine. With a husband, two active teenage kids and a dog, the house was always bustling with activity. As the manager of our lives, our house and my small business – I needed a place that was comfortable and that also inspired me to do all of my creative AND “administrative tasks” – the stuff I don’t love to do. 😉
Selecting the Room
Originally this space was used as a dining room. I decided it was the best spot for my office because of its proximity to the kitchen and the front door, so I could keep an eye on the activity in the house and keep things moving with meal prep. It also had great bones – French doors leading from the entryway and huge windows facing the front yard that provided incredible natural light. It had great potential for my home office.
Design on a Budget
Honestly, for as much character as we built into the room it was actually pretty easy and inexpensive to update. We had just moved in and had the entire house to decorate so I set a pretty strict budget for this project. I wasn’t so good at taking “before” shots back then so I can’t show what it looked like previously, but the biggest change we made was adding the bookshelves and desk. I wanted built-in’s so much but that wasn’t in the budget, so we made an IKEA compromise. The pieces are from their LIATORP collection – I really liked the finished edges it had and knew we could tailor it to my needs. Isn’t IKEA great for that? My husband did a nice job of pulling the pieces together to look built-in, and he even added vintage hardware to customize it to my style. We decided to keep the shelving a crisp white, but I know there are all kinds of hacks out there that show how to paint the pieces for an even more custom look.
The Office Tour
I love how the office turned out. To me, it’s cute and is filled with personality and meaningful things. The space has two main areas, so here is a little tour of each:
The focal area is the desk/bookshelf that spans the entire wall. Right above my computer, I’ve got a great bulletin board that is my inspiration spot. I’m an event planner, so this is where I keep fabulous ideas for tablescapes, floral arrangements and an occasional quote that speaks to me. I reference it often. That’s the creative side of this spot…it’s also where I pay bills, manage my son’s senior year schedule and organize my business finances. You know, those “administrative tasks” I talked about earlier.
On the other side of the room, I created a seating nook that is full of very special pieces from our treasure hunting adventures. The green chair has quite a story. I found it at an estate sale in Orange, CA where I lived with my family for a few years. The lady that was running the sale quoted me $200 when I inquired about it at the start of the sale. Then when I was checking out with her a short time later, she said $1,200. I reminded her of her original quote and when she realized her mistake, she rang a bell that was sitting on the table, said “deal of the day” and sold it to me for $200. Not sure most dealers would’ve honored that, but I paid quickly and took that fabulous chair home with me!
And the two other treasures in this nook are from a trip Beckie and I took to Round Top, TX for Antiques Week a few years back. The map hanging above the chair depicts the life of Jesus from Mary learning she was with child to the ascension of Jesus after death. This is done through beautifully detailed drawings numbered 1-104. With each numbered illustration there is a description of the picture written in German. It’s dated from 1950 and is so special. The beautiful steer above the mirror also came from Roundtop, and she is my favorite Texan.
So that’s my office. Simple, yet inspiring to me and fully functional. And it proves that you really can pack a lot of style in a room for a very minimal budget.
~ Jill