Home Office/Guest Room Reveal

Happy hump day! Today, I am bringing you a little glimpse into one of our spare bedrooms. We have been working (a bit leisurely) throughout the past two months on updating this drab little space. Here's a look at what it looked like when we first moved in.

 
Here it is now.  Looking all like a mighty fine office space.

 

I need a work space to plug in and focus when I have to work from home and this space should suit me just fine.

 

I know what you're thinking... Dark walls?? Is that COLOR? I know. It's different for me. I think this is the darkest paint color I've ever used for a full room. This is definitely outside of my comfort zone.  But I love it!

I waited for inspiration to strike, and it finally did.  I came across this cozy space on Pinterest and I was hooked. I loved the idea of a dark, cozy room to work in.

 

(source)


We swapped out the light fixture, refinished the floors, painted the ceiling and walls, replaced all the trim, added crown molding, updated the light switches and outlets, painted a Craigslist'd desk, and built in two very fabulous Ikea-hacked drawers/bookshelves.
 

Want to know a secret? I bought that crystally chandelier for my last house three years ago. But it was backordered. By the time I actually received it in the mail we were discussing the idea of moving, and I wasn't ready to hand over my purty chandelier so I kept it in the box.

Let's just hope those crystals repel dust. I don't even want to think about having to clean that.

We wanted extra storage space in this room since we can expect this room to transition over the years - and we definitely got it! So many drawers! 

We added crown molding to amp up the glam factor a bit. This is only the second room in our house to have crown (the kitchen is the only other room). We plan to add it to most of our house...eventually.

I gotta tell ya, replacing trim throughout the entire house is a thankless job. Big impact, but oh, So.Much.Work.

Measure. Cut. Nail into place (the only fun part). Caulk. Fill nail holes. Fill nail holes again. Tape. Paint. Paint again. Maybe paint again. Remove tape. Touch up wall paint because painters tape sucks no matter how much it costs. And then do that to every door, window, closet, built in, etc.

Long story short. We're going to take our time adding crown molding.

Let's talk about them sexy built-ins, shall we? The bottom half of the shelves is an Ikea dresser (that came unfinished). I framed out the floor with 2x4's and set these on top (just like when framing kitchen cabinets). Then I anchored the dresser to the wall and we added our bookshelves (made from poplar boards) on top. We try to think ahead in our designs, so we designed the bottom shelf of one built-in to be removable.  Think future diaper changing station. No, this is not a pregnancy announcement.

Genius move.  I think. Do babies grow longer than 35 inches???

The distance between the two built-ins is 60", just enough to fit a queen bed; a full would fit more comfortably or maybe even a crib (now I'm just teasing you). We have a queen-sized inflatable mattress and a full-sized mattress with frame ready to go if the in-laws ever visit...*crickets*crickets*

Anyway, the space will transition to a guest room just by moving the desk down to the basement and hauling up the mattress. Or it can become a full-time room if we need it. That's a lot of function for an 11' x 10' room!

The best part of this room? Putting the finishing touches on it, of course! The vintage map of old Czechoslovakia is a something I made for Justin (his grandmother immigrated here from the Czech Republic). It was actually his Valentine's Day gift, I made it for $15 using a sheet of plywood, 1x2's for the frame, and the a free vintage print online. He loves it - probably because it reminds him of Kolaches!

Those fun mirrors are from Homegoods (about a month ago). I hung them by the rope using wooden cabinet knobs I stained and drilled into a stud.

I made these veneer spheres from embroidery hoops a few years ago and they've been found around my house since. One of the spheres found a home on the shelf.

And these little wooden printing blocks (I bought while at the Country Living Fair two years ago) are chillin' on a shelf.

Here's how much the office space/guest bedroom/future bedroom set us back:

• Ikea dressers - $299 x 2
• Poplar boards - $110
• Trim and crown molding - $120
• Wall paint - $35
• Craigslist desk - $75
• Outlets, covers and switch - $13
• Trim (and desk) paint - already owned
• Stain (for built-ins) - already owned
• Cowhide - already owned
• Chandelier - already owned
• Full-sized mattress and frame - already own (we keep it in the basement)
• Printer - already owned
• Homegoods mirrors - $55
• DIY vintage map - $15
• Chair (World Market) - $50
• Cabinet knobs (for hanging mirrors) - $4
• Total cost: $1,075

Not bad for a room that has so much versatility!

The office is amazing. But I'm pretty excited to tackle our next update...

Interior doors and closet bi-folds...throughout the whole house! Woohoo!!  I just need to suit up and spray them later this week.  Then hopefully they'll be ready to hang by the end of the weekend.  Have a great evening!

This post is linked up to the {Thrifty Thursday Link Party} at Living Well, Spending Less Blog. Click that link to head back to the party. Thanks for visiting!