Office/Guestroom Makeover- Stage 1

In the year we have lived in our new home, the office/guest room has undergone quite a bit of change. It started out housing our futon and lots of empty (and to-be-emptied) boxes and ended up becoming my favorite room in the house.

I say stage 1 because I still need to add curtains, streamline decor, etc.

A good room is never done. 

The office/guest room is located on the first floor of our home. It is considered the home’s fourth bedroom. I We knew right away that this room would be an office, and,eventually, as we expanded our family, a guest bedroom. Since I will now share the house with my husband, two sons, and dog (also male), I took it upon myself to declare the guest room/office, “my room.” I will now refer to the room in this manner…

I wanted my room to have a light, breezy feel that was feminine, but not over the top. I’ve always been drawn to the beachy, cottage style mixed with clean lines and girly details. In a sense, I felt the room should mimic the name of its paint color--serene breeze. It was also important that the room be functional and serve several purposes.

Wants (a totally random list of my desires)…

- desk and computer

- space for filing cabinet, office supplies, wrapping paper, scrapbooking materials, and other crafty items

- bed or pull out for guests

- space to spread out when working on projects

- storage for photos, yearbooks, and other mementos

- a creative space that doesn’t look cluttered

- room for two people to work, have a blog meeting, share ideas comfortably

- pretty, meaningful decorations that reflect my personal style, but retain a touch of masculinity. I like girly things, but don’t need a room of pink and white and kittens.

- a space that is personal, but also appealing to others

- an office that doesn’t feel like an office

Of course this list is completely scattered and goes from a brief, itemized list into slightly whimsy musings. Still, it gave me a place to start. I am not a professional decorator by any stretch of the imagination, but I do think I have good taste and I trust my instincts when it comes to design. I had a pretty much non-existent budget for this room as far as decor went since the funds spent in this room were almost exclusively spent on a new computer and printer/scanner/copier. The macbook I had for years was damaged, and at seven years old, it made more sense to buy a new computer rather than try to restore one that was almost obsolete. So, Dave and I made the choice to purchase a new computer and be as frugal as possible when it came to decorating the room.

One area of the room where I was able to save major money was furniture. I relied on cheap Walmart basics, pieces we already had, and free hand-me-downs. I knew that was going to require me to mix some styles, finishes, and colors, but I figured if I kept the room balanced and simple enough, the clashing might seem more like a tasteful mix and match. I used two black Walmart bookshelves and a vintage style shelf we already had to house my book collection. I went with a black finish for the bookshelves because the black matched the desk. Even though the shelves chip easily, black chips are super easy to cover up with a black sharpie. Plus, this room is not a high traffic area, so wear and tear is minimal. I used a piano bench we had in storage as an under window table. The bed and boxspring were a free hand-me-down from an awesome co-worker, and we had a spare bed frame to rest them on. The printer cabinet was a TV stand we snagged for free from another friend of a friend. The desk was a Walmart purchase. Not initially what I had planned on-- I was thinking wood or white-- the desk had the perfect dimensions for the space, and I couldn’t resist.

I view the room in four sections: reading, sleeping/relaxing, storage, and working. Each of these areas functions well for its purpose and is visually appealing to me (and hopefully others as well).

I didn’t want the black bookshelves to seem too overwhelming, so I used some leftover wall paint (Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore) and rolled the cardboard backings of the shelves. This created a better background for some books and accessories without being stark white. For fun, I organized the books by binding color. Black and white on the vintage style shelf, and color on the basic style. None of the books or accessories were store bought. The Longaberger baskets are a hand-me-down from my mom. The christening cup and flower girl basket are family heirlooms, and the picture frames were gifts. Dave’s guitar and case looked sort of cool resting in the middle, and it also helped to break up the dark furniture pattern. His flag box as a background for the American dolls tossed a little splash of Americana into the room as well as a splash of red-- a color that generally doesn’t mix well with my typical palette, but shows up in a few places within the room. On the vintage shelf, the sign and the galvanized pail that holds my coupons were items we already had. We also had the picture of the boat on the Andaman Sea, which I think it super pretty. “Let it Be” was a Hobby Lobby purchase that I was unsure about, but absolutely love. It’s young, and I tend to shy away from too much text in my decorating, but I’ve gotten lots of compliments on it as it’s the first thing a person sees when she walks in the door.

The sleep area consists of the bonsai, under window shelf, and the bed. The bonsai tree was a gift from one of Dave’s coworkers, and we actually loved how it looked in this room. Placing it in front of the window is crucial for sunlight, so I think its perfect on the piano bench. The map of Mount Desert Island is a souvenir from our honeymoon in Bar Harbor and the bedding was from my bedroom before I moved in with Dave.The afghans were handmade by my grandmother. Simply rearranging the pillows allows the bed to also be used as work space or a place to collaborate. I did have a large glass table in the room at one time that was a better surface for crafting/working, but once the bed took the place of the futon, it was just too crowded, I need to figure out something to anchor that dead space. I saw a really cute rug the other day that I might buy, proving no room is ever totally complete.

This bed is super comfy. 

While there are storage spaces throughout the room, the primary storage is in the closet and TV stand. The TV stand houses my printer, which by the grace of God fit inside. It also holds bath towels for guests, take-out menus, spare printer paper and spare paper towel rolls. We knew this closet would not be a clothes closet from the beginning, so we use it to house our filing cabinet, office/wrapping/scrapbooking supplies, photo albums and scrapbooks, and wall hangings/picture frames that still haven’t found their spot. The red gumball machine was a yard sale find that adds a bit of punch to the space. A painting of my wedding flower (blue hydrangeas), a gift from my friend Cathy, pretties it up.

The most used area of my room is the area that actually takes up the least amount of space-- the work space/computer station. My computer desk and computer both have a modern look to them, so I tried to add some more earthy, fun touches to the space. The distressed gray shelf was a Hobby Lobby purchase that I just loved. The accessories were all previously owned items or gifts. The cork board is functional, and the color of the frame plays well off of the framed hand-stitched peace lily that was a gift from my friend Cathy’s mother. The glass whale is a cute candy dish and was a gift from Marissa. I picked the chevron light cover because I just like chevron and thought it was cute. I got it at Hobby Lobby. One of mom’s hand-me-down Longabergers and a decorative gift box hold bills and spare cords.

A pic of my workstation in its early, early stages. 

I absolutely love my room. And what I love even more is that it is a reflection of my personal style that functions well for my life and repurposes tons of items that mean a lot to me. Sure, there are things I’m still trying to work out. A table top would be awesome, and I need some sort of a rug and the bookshelves could probably be staged a little bit better, but no room is ever fully complete, and this room is no exception. Still, I look back at my initial wish list and find myself able to cross out every item. Not too shabby.