My Home Office (Part Two)

*Note: This post is about the process and idea behind the final remake of my office. It was a very long process, and part three will be linked here once the execution phase of this design is done.

The original version of my home office was always meant to be a temporary fix until the kitchen renovation was done for two main reasons:

1) We had so many other things that were more pressing- I'm the only one that uses this space, so it wasn't as high on the priority list as living rooms, etc.

2) I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to do with it yet, and I wanted to dive deep. I mean, it is a creative space, and it should reflect that.

Here's what I was sure of: • The carpet needed to come up. I want to paint, roll freely in desk chairs, and not accumulate dust in a way that's hard to clean up.

• The wood paneling had to go. Sure, it had a nice ambiance together, but it was an entire wall that could have a real purpose (more on that in a bit) I did think about painting it, or repurposing it that way, however, when I looked at it more closely it was damaged in a few areas.

• The ceiling tiles HAD to go. They were damaged in a few spots, and a few were threatening to drop down on their own. Also, they were a bit dated.

• The lighting needed to be adjusted. It was not centered, and didn't make sense on how it was laid out. Also, I want a dimmer so I can adjust the lights according to whatever I'm working on.

First step was moving everything out, and taking out the excess (panelling, carpet, ceiling tiles, etc.) and seeing what I could do myself once it was revealed what I was actually working with.

My brother came over and helped with the demo. We wore hazmat suits and masks, just to be safe, and ripped it all out.

A few things came to light after the demo:

1. The drywall under the wood paneling would need to be replaced. It had a few damaged areas on the base of it, and water damage along the bottom (it backs up to the mechanical room)

2. The drywall and electrical both felt out of my comfort zone, I'd be hiring out for that.

3. There was a patch of uneven concrete in the hallway, which is going to be a continuation of whatever floor I go with (likely an inexpensive linoleum) so the floor would need to be hired out too.

Our contractor came over and gave me an estimate, which was very reasonable, but it would take some time to save up for it, and a couple other home projects became more pressing... more waiting.

The waiting isn't a bad thing though, it allows me to think more about how I wanted to finish it out, and how I wanted the space to function.

The main things I needed in my office space were:

• An area for my work computers. This would be the desk I have in the same location I had it before. Easy.

• An area for my personal computers. Since work gave me a set on its own, I needed to find a place for my own computers.

• A spot for my drawing desk. I wanted to be able to pivot easily from being behind a computer to being able to put pen to paper. I have a drawing desk that tilts up, and works fine. I decided I'd repurpose that one and make a couple slight adjustments to make it work.

• Lots of storage for books. I love books, and having actual reference materials to flip through, so I want designated book shelves.

• A reading nook. Couch, chair, etc. I just needed a comfortable place to read in the space.

• Lots of storage and organization for art supplies, office supplies, electronics, etc.

• Areas to display some decor. I have some knick knacks that make me happy to look at, so I want to be able to see them.

• A wall to practice mural work. This is a big reason I wanted to swap the floor out, and remove the wood paneling. I really want to have a large space on a wall designated to just playing and experimenting with mural work. I like doing it, and it's a good change up from sitting all the time.

From here, I started sketching out where things would go in the space. How I could make the most out of every wall, what furniture I already had, what furniture I could swap out, and so on...

After some sketching and re-sketching, here's where I landed for each wall:

Wall 1 (where the wood paneling used to be) would be used for mural practice. New drywall, smooth texturing, and framed out for a painting section.

Wall 2 (The long back wall with two windows) would be home to lots of supply storage, and the drawing desk station as well as the personal computer storage.

Wall 3 (the short, far back wall) would be more specifically for reading

Wall 4 (the inner wall) would be where my work set-up goes. It was there before and I really liked it in that spot.

*I've got some sketches of this, but I'm likely going to save them for part 3

Next up, Thinking through the design I wanted.

I toyed with the idea of making my own shelving for the back wall, but after some thought, I'm not experienced with it, and for time, money, and sanity purposes I decided to try and hodgepodge a few pre-made pieces to make what I wanted work.

I did some measuring, and researching. IKEA has a few pieces that I think could work. I saved the links for later (needed to actually finish out the space first, but having it saved would help me further think through the design)

I knew I wanted the laminate floor to look like oak, and I liked the inexpensive one I used on my closet makeover.

I went back and forth about what color the furniture should be. I've always used black, but I've seen spaces with white furniture I liked... In the end I decided black would be great because of the idea of how I wanted to paint it (black on bases, white on top and ceiling... hard to explain, but in my mind, it's great...)

Then for the tops of the furniture, I wanted a continuous countertop, and butcher block would look great with the other elements, and we know it's easy to work with because we used it in the kitchen design.

As for decor, my brain was blocked for awhile on this. The rest of the house definitely has flavors of mid-century modern, and I didn't want my office to be an exact flow of the rest of the house, I did want it to fit while standing alone.

The original stuff I was noodling with was very sleek and modern. It felt sophisticated and polished. Yet, I want this space to be that AND friendly and open for creativity. After a lot of thought, I landed (and feel great about) painting the walls black and white, and having wood and metal tones throughout, but big pops of color brought in through decor.

I don't specifically know what wall decor will go up, but I have saved a lot of sites that I've found great stuff, and I'll dig deeper into that once the space is finished out and furnished.

I'm not sure on what the timeline will be for finishing this space out, as we do have a few other more pressing home things to take care of, but now that I've gotten this far down the rabbit hole of process, I'm very excited to see it all come together. Aiming for end of July, but with as impatient as I am, we shall see...