Office/Craft room/School Room before + makeover plans

Today won’t be a super pretty post but I wanted to show the before till now and share with you what I hope to accomplish in my office in the next few weeks!

So when we moved in this house there was a room off the front foyer with french doors and a closet – technically could be considered a bedroom but would probably be used more as a office or formal living room.  It was absolutely perfect for me to use as an office!  In fact the french doors and the huge closet were major wish list items for me in an office.   So here’s how it looked when we moved in – coral/orange walls and nasty carpet.

The living room and hallway used to be that mustard yellow too!

As soon as we closed on our house we had new flooring installed – manufactured hardwood in all the main living areas  – which made a huge difference.

Then it was filled with boxes and pretty much neglected for the last 3 years.  Ok, completely neglected, I really have worked in here on and off a lot over the last 3 years.  First I painted the walls, then bought a big cube shelf from IKEA and worked on organizing that.  I also converted the closet from one hanging metal shelf to 5 long wood shelves (more on the closet in a later post) and unpacked, organized, purged and purged some more as I tried to get this room set up.  We had moved with this thrift store desk that I finally gave a makeover and I can’t wait to use it in this room! 

 

So want to see what it looks like currently?   It’s definitely not done or pretty but at least I can see the floor and the finish line for getting this room done!  So I’ll walk you through how it is currently and what I plan to work on and hopefully have done by August 15th.   This is the view when you walk in the room  – the desk isn’t in here yet but it will float in the room so you sit looking out the double doors.

The main reason I am putting a deadline on myself to get this done is because this little corner is going to be my daughter’s school desk/table!    I plan on homeschooling her and starting a very simple, 3 days a week, 3 year old preschool with her in late August.   I am not trying to rush her into school but she has asked about school, loves learning and wants to learn more, and I think will just really benefit from some structure/routine into our schedule.  I am thinking of making a big chalkboard for that back wall behind the table but not sure yet how I will set it up.

I still have several piles of things to deal with and decide if I am going to use.  That desk thing in the corner is actually a sewing machine desk and houses a sewing machine and serger.  I’d love to have time to work on that (or even get to the desk!) so maybe in the coming years I can do some sewing.  I’d love to make a quilt!

Since I have the 2 double french doors on the one side I honestly have debated moving the sewing machine desk over into this corner and blocking the door?? It’s such wasted space and with so many doors/windows in this room that doesn’t give much wall space at all.  But I’ll see once I get desk in here.  Some of those big decor pieces in floor I will use on walls in here or will need to either find another place to use or get rid of them. 

Love the big huge windows!  I look forward to sitting at the desk and having the view of the front porch and front yard out those windows!

I’ll save the closet for another post – I’m hoping I can find before/progress pictures of when I installed the new shelving but I’m not sure I remembered to take any. Another stack of empty bins and baskets in the corner that I need to either use (working on organizing 2 closets is happening in the next few weeks too) or I’ll get rid of.  And I plan to use that rolling cart as a craft/school cart filled with all kinds of supplies and then it will get tucked into that corner.

So it’s come a long way from this…

to this..

and from this…

to this!   But I am anxious to get it all completely cleaned out, set up, and finished!   And then get to enjoy using it as a office/craft room/school room in just a few weeks.  

So I am sharing all of this today to give you a peek into what a space looks like when it is in progress but also to keep me accountable/motivated to get this done in the next few weeks.  I plan to share at least weekly posts on my progress until it’s finished. 

Here’s my to do list in here:

• paint trim – I painted walls but never painted trim and doors
• switch out light fixture – I bought a pretty chandelier at a yard sale a few months ago for $10 I think will work in here.
• deal with all the piles of stuff I still need to use/go through/get rid of
• finish organizing closet
• hang curtains
• hang stuff on walls
• build chalkboard and/or cover bulletin board for school area
• set up and decorate school area
• fill up and arrange craft cart
• possibly add some open shelves?  above sewing desk area?
• move in rug and desk
• paint chair or find another desk chair
• finishing touches and decorating