Mini Office Makeover

We gave my office a mini makeover last weekend.

A new arrangement, a new desk and new curtain panels made a world of difference.

First off, I should mention that I have never, ever shared a photo of my office with you guys. There's a good reason for it. It was in bad shape. Bad. But, I was ready for that to change. And I'm ready to come clean about the {what should have been on a Hoarders' episode} previous state of the office.

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A few other small changes included using this "fancier" chair from the living room, adding a homework center for my kids and a total reorganization {still in progress on that one}.

Against my better judgement...here's the old office:

Are you still with me? Whew.

My office is always the catch-all for room makeovers from the rest of the house. The china cabinet was moved in here when we redid the kitchen over the summer {including all the greenery on top of it...bleh}. I still loved the cabinet {it has a sentimental story}, so I wanted to repurpose it. But right now, I don't have a spot for it. 

Have you ever seen this amount of wall clutter in your life? 

Below all of that was my workspace...not really sure how I ever got anything done.

Couldn't even close the closet door.

And that pile in front of the closet was for a garage sale...which let's be honest, was just not going to happen right now. Or any time soon. So I made peace with it and donated more than one car load to Goodwill. Trying to store stuff for years for a future fictitious garage sale was just unrealistic. My husband loathes garage sales and I needed to just support that and be okay with the big heave-ho purge I did. Even if I didn't make a dime off of it. The way he sees it, a garage sale is much more time/work/aggravation compared to the amount of money you actually bring in. I get that. Really, I do. But, I'm pretty sure I could have made at least 500 big ones with the sheer amount of junk I had. And then I could have bought more junk with that moola. Sometimes it scares me how I process things. 

I did buy a table off of Craigslist to make into a new desk. It was only twenty bucks, y'all!

And then grabbed a can of Kermit-green paint to use on it. I did two coats of paint {with a primer in it} and three coats of satin polyurethane on this. Against my husband's advice, I decided not to use the leaf. It was all a part of a bigger plan, man. 

I also bought two 9"x6" drop cloths to hang as drapes {like my paint shirt up there?}. I folded them down about nine inches and used my clips to secure them. I love working with drop cloths for drapery. My method is to throw them in the wash to get rid of the funky smell, iron well, fold the top down, clip and hang. They just lay so well and look really nice.

I was so sick of those ridiculous "bubble" drapes that had been in there. Every time I looked at them I wanted to cry. Or rip them straight off the wall. They were so stupid. I have no idea where my brain was when I purchased them. Sometimes I need to learn that just because it's on clearance does not mean it's a wise purchase. Bubble drapes included. Sorry JCPenn-AYYYY, I just could take it anymore.  

I did the above to show you a couple of options. On the left drape I pulled the "pleats" forward to give a cleaner, more tailored look. On the right side, they're just hung as is...which looks fine, too. 

I took this photo to show why I didn't want to use the leaf that my husband was so sure I needed {smirk}. If I had kept the leaf in, the desk would have visually "chopped" the drapes in half since it would have to rest right in front of them. By not using the leaf, I can open the drapes to each side of the desk...letting them hang without interruption from rod to floor. There is a method to my madness. 

I'm super happy with how much cleaner the new design is. I truly only wanted the desk on that wall. But with the routers and all that mess, I had to put my printers in the corner there. If I feel like hiring Time Warner to come back out and rewire this room for the third time, I may rearrange. Frankly, I'm kind of tired of the glares they give me when they come. I think I'm that customer. 

Could that friggin' window be any brighter up there? I can't begin to tell you how much I struggled photographing this room with that glaring light...and the blinds are nearly closed here! 

I'm also completely smitten with the lamp I got on clearance at Target the other day.  

Acrylic lamps make me go weak in the knees. 

I was also able to group my smaller wall hangings on the wall above the printers. Hoping to add some art that I create on the other side of the room...still not sure what to make. Oh and I love the little cup hooks for organizing my schtuff...since I apparently have a lot of schtuff. Perfect to hang USB drives, cables and more. 

My younger son gave me the above subway art last year for my birthday. He gets me.

And here is the homework station I set up for my kids, using my old Ikea desk. It's revolutionizing the way we do homework. When I go pick my boys up in the afternoon, I undoubtedly still have a bit of work left to do when we get home. I felt bad because my younger son would drag his homework in here to be close to me...but since the place was such a wreck, he would end up doing it on the floor on a clipboard {hello, guilt, I've been waiting for you}. And then my older son would be in the kitchen on the other side of the house doing his work alone {honestly, he probably preferred it that way...he needs "alone" time...a kid after my own heart}. But this little spot is perfection. I set up a board with supplies {look for that tutorial next week...it has a funny little side story of what this started out as} and they have the laptop there for computer homework. 

I do plan to spray paint a couple of plain metal folding chairs that are somewhere in our garage. That just involves finding them and doing it first. But, I want to add a little color over here, so it will happen...one day! :)

Ben cracked me up with this photo. "Mom, mom...get a picture of me reaching into the pencil bucket. Your friends will love it." I won't tell you how many retakes this took. He's now in the "I don't like how I look in that one, let's redo it" phase. Bless him. I honestly can't even remember now if this is the photo he wanted. Rut-row. And he does read this blog...he's both my biggest fan and biggest critic all wrapped in one. Love him.

When the boys are at school, I can use this area for crafting...and hopefully avoid the craft-pocolypse mess that was my desk in the previous photos. I think I'll be better accountable at having to keep it tidy for someone else's use every day. Apparently, I can work in filth and haphazard, as evidenced from those before photos. But, I do want better for my kids.

There's still more to show you in this room...only these two walls are finished. I have to reload the closet and find spots for everything that is strewn across my dining room table right now. But for now, I really, really like it!

{i linky-party here}

and at Coastal Charm and Savvy Southern Style

Neglect your chores like me and don't miss a thing:

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