Today’s the day I’m taking you on a before and after home tour of my home office nook. Whoop whoop!
Note: Since this post a lot has changed in this space. Take a look at my 2020 tour.
As you might already know, I started working from home in August, and have loved it. I needed a proper office setup, and that’s what I’ve been working on over the last month. It’s never actually completely done because I love to change things up on the regular, but this is as good as it gets for now. 🙂
So let’s start out with some BEFORE shots.
Looking back at these photos really makes me feel like we’ve gotten a lot done in this fixer upper even though it doesn’t seem like it some days.
Since these were taken some of the original (barfy brown) dining room walls have been removed, and painted a grey blue, and the trim has gone to white. We turned the room into a secondary living area (now that it opens up to our new kitchen), and the dining room has moved to the front room, which was our previous entryway living room.
The kitchen has been completely gutted and is still in the process of being finished. I’m hoping we can be finished with it in the next few months – DIY saves TONS of money, but takes foooorever.
We still need to paint the all the walls in the area the same creamy white as the office nook, but we’ll wait until the kitchen is finished before we do that.
And here are some later BEFORE photos of the nook.
I bought the affordable Sputnik
light knowing it would be the statement of the entire nook. I love how it turned out in the brushed brass finish. I didn’t hate the previous light, but it was very dim even maxed out in wattage, so I decided to replace it. I’m glad I did.
I also did the following updates
- Removed the wooden window valances, and painted the walls a shade of warmer white (Honeymilk by Valspar). The new paint really brightened up the area.
- Painted the fronts of a free mid-century dresser cabinet white
- Found a high-quality mid-century modern desk on a neighbors curb (another freebie!)
And here’s what the rest of the office nook looks like today…
As I mentioned we still need to paint the remaining blue grey walls the same white as the nook, and hang new crown moulding, but I figured I’d show you the in process look.
Here you can kinda see the flow from the kitchen, to the small living room, to the nook.
I just adore the mid-century desk I found in my neighbor’s trash. It’s the perfect size and amazing quality. I also really like the floor to ceiling IKEA curtains. The fresh white really helps to brighten the room even more and elongate the space. Some days I feel like I’m working in a cabana, haha!
I got the neutral with pops of color rug from IKEA as well. We had a decent gift card from our kitchen remodel, and I had some good fun spending it. 🙂
I’d love to add a Skruvsta Swivel Office Chair and Slipcover to the mix soon.
To the right you can see the TV and storage shelving, and to the far right is part of the dining room and the staircase to the attic/observatory/play rooms . I have this thing with globes as you might notice.
And here’s a little seating area to the left.
Just some small details. I love to burn candles while I work. It’s my thing.
I made these DIY cactus rocks for a previous TV segment, but have failed at blogging them. Maybe someday soon I’ll get on that.
And here’s a closer look behind my desk. The mid-century cabinet perfectly stores most of my crafty stuff, printers, and scanners. I love hiding all of those items to keep it more tidy.
I haven’t styled the top of the cabinet to my liking yet. There’s too much stuff at the moment, and I need to edit it down. I adore the lamp I recently got from Target (but can’t find online). It’s really tall, so I’m trying to find the best way to merge it in. For now I just placed one of my Bekah Ash pieces on it. I seriously have too many thoughts going on in my head about finessing the styling of the cabinet top…kinda lame, huh?
I enjoy this little plant corner. This thrift store plant stand has been painted many a color in it’s lifetime. At the moment it’s copper (and flaking off), but I can see that changing sometime soon.
This chair is where most of the magic happens. Modern chairs aren’t always the most comfy, but I’m usually prepared to sacrifice some comfort for style. I got this amazing 2′ x 3′ sheep skin throw from Hayneedle, and it is so cushy. It really makes the chair so much more comfortable. I have a handful of similar throws from other stores, and they’re not nearly as comfortable and soft. I highly recommend this one!
My view above.
And here’s my absolutely beautiful (and totally unfiltered) view into the kitchen that feels like it’ll never be finished. Just keepin’ it real over here. 🙂
So there you have it! My little office nook.
Thanks for taking the tour with me. I’ll report back when my view improves. 🙂
xoxo
Audrey