The steps below follow the order of the work for this decor project.
When it comes to decorating your home, there are a lot of compromises to be made (and it’s more important to compromise and keep family relationships than to have a magazine-well fitted home!) But… it’s also really fun to have a space that can fully reflect just one personal style, like a craft room or office that’s all YOURS! Our guest today did a fun week-long $250 modest-cost home office makeover for her husband’s office while he was out of town, turning a blank nook off the master bedroom into this comfortable functional space —
Read below to get the details of this modest-cost-friendly room from Kristin, and get inspired with these other striking offices we’ve featured (click on each image to see more):
Now here’s Kristin to show you her solid modest-cost-friendly home office makeover!
$250 modest-cost Home Office Makeover
by Kristin from Postbox Designs
Hello Friends! This is Kristin from Postbox Designs, an interior designer/stay-at-home mama, who is always trying to find the right balance to both. My blog is meant to inspire you with real life projects, free design options, and let’s be honest, giving me the excuse to do some projects around my ever-changing home. This means I spend a LOT of time working after bedtime (possibly while eating dark chocolate and binge watching The Good Wife at the same time). Yep, hands down it’s the best job in the world!
I am also a firm believer that you can achieve striking design for ANY modest-cost. Need to see it to believe it? look at my Postbox Design Challenge using only items from Wal-Mart to design an entire living room. Not only would I totally put this in my house, it costs a mere $1265.02!
Or, what about a kitchen make-over with a modest-cost? This is a high-low project: mostly modest-cost items so you can splurge on a few choice goodies. look at this beauty of a kitchen and breakfast nook (I’m totally going to steal some options for my own kitchen from it!). It features a navy and blinged-out gold Handmade custom island walkthrough.
Or do you just want to have some fun with math? What?! Why are we talking about MATH on a design blog? No, I’m not talking about helping your kiddo with their algebra homework. I am talking about the most fun kind of math there is: look at my weekly post, where I feature “Designer Math Mondays”. I show you how to add together a few objects to create a mini project in your home every week. look at how to make a Mini Command Center here.
But today I’m going to feature a project from my own home. It is a home office make-over I created for $257. Yup, that will fit into most people’s budgets!
So it was mostly a present for my hubby. But a little bit of a present for me too.
When we moved into our house, The Husband immediately claimed the nook off our master bedroom as his home office. Which was fine by me. My only rule? Since I can see it from my bed, it had to look good. No mismatched, leftover office furniture. No golf trophies. We kissed on it, and the office was His.
But it took one of his week-long business trips out of town to kick me into gear. I thought I could do a mini-makeover and surprise the guy when he got home. So for weeks before his departure I scanned Craigslist, stashed items in the back of our garage, and mapped out my plan. Once he left on that jet plane I jumped into painting and staining. I’m an interior designer, so I always start with the infamous Mood Board.
Handmade Project #1: The File Storage
The back storage area was inspired by the (very striking) Pottery Barn Bedford office collection, but that would have put me back several thousand dollars. Instead, I used four file cabinets and had a plywood top cut for it. (Do you know at Lowes and Home Depot they will cut down your wood for you? FOR FREE. This has saved my marriage. No more pleading for the hubby to pull out his equipment Sunday evening when I have a project in mind). Then to finish off the rough plywood edge, I added a small 1/2″ molding to the front. To turn it into a rich dark shade, I spent $5 in stain and about 20 minutes of my time. I used the Miniwax oil stain in “Ebony” from Home Depot.
The file cabinets I scored from the sketchiest Craigslist location I’ve been to in my life. The seller ended up being a nice guy, but I had to dig through a small landfill in his backyard and grab these four cabinets. I peeled outta there pretty quickly after loading them up. Three were tan and one was black. But it was a pretty straightforward paint job. I used some leftover white paint from another project, and it took about three coats. I primed first, then used a small roller brush for a smooth finish. My original intent was to remove the hardware and add new. But that was easier said than done. So I moved on to “Plan B”. After really looking at it, I was thinking I could jazz up what was already there. I used some Dollar Store black craft paint and a tiny brush to cover up the industrial looking hardware. To give it a pop of color, I added turquoise craft paint right inside of the hardware. I loved the end product and soooo much easier!
Handmade Project #2: The Maps
The maps are my go-to part of the room! The rustic wood frames are from Hobby Lobby during a 50% off frame sale. If you are patient…the sale will come. I knew I wanted to use maps to decorate, so I used a map for every town where my hubby has lived. One is from his hometown, one from his college town, one from where we live now, and one from the beloved family cottage. It took a bit of searching, but I found the free maps online and simply printed them out on my home printer. It added the personal touch to his space.
Handmade Project #3: The Desk
The “desk” was actually a small dining room table that I used as his desk. Searching for “desks” online wasn’t coming up with the look I wanted. But if you try to think outside the box, you can find a wider selection on sites like Craigslist. I found this dining table listed for $50. I used a quart of charcoal gray trim paint (trim paint is easier to wipe up) for an straightforward update. I used Benjamin Moore “Steel Wool” (I’ve used this color so many times, including my little girl’s nursery!)
Handmade Project #4: The sign
Like many home offices, we have a mass of tangled cords, routers, etc. that I wanted NOT to be the focal point of the space. I literally found a scrap piece of wood in our garage (but you could also use a scrap left-over from cutting down the countertop!). I painted it using the same paint I used for the file cabinets. Then I hand painted a “B” for his monogram. I distressed it by wiping it down with the leftover stain from the file cabinet top. I sanded it down a bit…and done! It added a bit of personality to his space with $0 spent.
The rug is a Target find. It is the tan Threshold “Fretwork” rug in the 5’x7’ size. I have gotten more rugs from that store over the years, and it is hard to beat the price. There is carpet in the room, but I wanted to use a rug to ground the space and make it feel separate from the rest of the bedroom. I found it on sale for $79 on a “detour” down the home decor aisle at Target.
Going down those aisles gets me EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.
I added some office accessories that we already owned and moved in a lamp from another room. Sometimes a room can be rounded out by simply repurposing or taking a trip down to rummage through the basement. I popped in some family photos and the space was finished.
Here’s the Cost Breakdown:
- Desk: $50 off Craigslist
- Paint for the desk (quart): $15
- Maps: $0
- File cabinets: $40
- Paint for the file cabinets: $0**
- Frames: $46
- Craft Paint: $2
- Rug: $79
- Countertop: $20
- Stain for the top: $5
- “B” sign: $0
- Lamp: $0, moved from another room
TOTAL: $257
**I am the queeen of re-using existing paint I already have. Before going out and buying new, see what you already have. Or mix some existing colors to create a new color-that is how I painted my kiddo’s bathroom. Just label that new color so you can find it for touch-ups!
I hope you used some of these options to inspire your Handmade-wired brains too!
Come visit me on my blog to look at more freebie design options!
Kristin
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Kristin, thank you so much for sharing with us! You did a great job working with your modest-cost to create a wonderful workspace!
Bekob — hustle over to Postbox Designs to see more from Kristin and you will NOT want to miss her vivid mudroom! Floor to ceiling storage and a hand-painted floor, oh my!
