A new office

The office area of our house is located in the family room/play room. I like the set-up because it allows me to get work done while the kids are playing or it allows me to be part of family time even when I need to do some work.

However, while I love the location I loathe the set-up. It is so cluttered it drives me bonkers!

This is actually a view of the office on an organized day…imagine what it might look like when I'm busy with sewing projects, ugh.

Sewing supplies, fabric, sewing machine, computer, piggy banks,  books, kids puzzles and games, filing cabinet, craft supplies, random toys we want to keep out of the reach of children…all those things go together right? Oh boy it was a hot mess!

Several months ago I came up with a solution. I wanted to make the alcove area into a faux built-in cabinet. I scoured Craigslist and Habitat Restore for cabinets and shelves. It took a long time, but we eventually came across a set that worked perfectly. Then Kyle hung the shelves from our existing bookshelf for added storage up top. He also fashioned an L-shaped countertop (made from 2 doors) which is perfect for my needs. I have a place to store (out of sight) all my craft supplies, a cutting table, room for my computer and room to sew. And as an added bonus we gained more space in the room (my desk/table used to be U-shaped and now it's L-shaped so it doesn't come out into the room taking up precious play space).

Some shots of the construction in progress.

I had lots of fun shopping for a few new organizational pieces that actually coordinated. Last summer I purchased a new larger file cabinet at a garage sale but it sat in storage until this project. Kyle spray painted it to match my navy accessories (I simply couldn't have a black file cabinet and navy accessories :)

I love the functionality and the eye appeal! I am so happy with the transformation! The enclosed storage  of the cabinets/drawers house all of my craft supplies (scrapbooking, thread, ribbon, Etsy packaging items), the printer and the big cabinet is home to the kids games and puzzles.

The shelves house all of our books (separated by genre). The photo boxes hold scrap fabric and the wire baskets house my camera and projects that are in process.

On the desktop is everything I use daily: sewing machine, scale, computer, scissors/pens, inbox with mail that needs to be processed, and the large round basket holds my fabric stash.

There are a few items that need to be addressed…first and foremost a taller chair and we are going to mount a surge protector under the desktop to alleviate the mess of wires. I also want to get a matching frame and hang my diploma below Kyle's.

 This is the spray painted file cabinet that provides much more storage than our previous file cabinet. Plus it was only $15 at a garage sale. I Craigslisted the old one for $20 so we after the purchase of the new cabinet and 1 can of spray paint we came out even on the project.

Kyle fashioned the countertops from reclaimed solid wood doors. They would have looked great stained, but since the cabinets were wood  toned we decided to go with white counters.

I was worried that moving from a U-shaped to an L-shaped desk I would lose some functionality, but that was not the case. I actually have twice as much counter space now. The old desk set-up didn't have a counter along the back wall so I now have a dedicated cutting spot.

 The cabinets were purchased at an 2nd hand store (similar to Habitat ReStore)

The kids game/puzzle cabinet 

One of my craft drawers. I think the next thing on the to-do list is find or fashion some drawer organizers.

I LOVE my new space! It's so nice to work in an un-cluttered, functional, visually pleasing space!

We bought the cabinets, file cabinet and door/countertops second hand. I purchased the organizational items at various stores (Michaels, Joann's, Target and Marshall's). The shelves were constructed using the shelves from the previous white bookcase. Then we Craigslisted the old corner desk, file cabinet and table. So, while I didn't run the numbers I'm guessing this project was a wash on the budget. Crazy to think what you can transform for little to no investment by using what you have and buying 2nd hand.