Hello friends! I’m a nearly a month behind on this post but better late than never. When I shared the reveal of my office makeover, I promised to give you a more detailed rundown of all the details. That’s what brings me here today.
This is going to be a long one so feel free to jump to the bottom where I’ve listed all my resources if you don’t care about the details.
This page includes affiliate links. If you click and purchase from any qualifying link, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend items I own or have vetted and I thank you for supporting this blog so I can continue to share and serve you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
If you saw the reveal, then you know that despite it not being the original plan, B and I redid my office almost entirely from repurposed materials. While there were a few things we needed to buy new, the majority of the entire office was put together from things we already had.
Where I started: http://twigandwhite.com/new-office-design-plan-and-progress/
The plan for the office was to create a built-in desk with plenty of workspace and even more storage for all my books and supplies, things that I don’t necessarily need or want in the main shop space.
I shared some inspiration on what I was inspired by and after taking measurements and putting together some sketches, I had B take a look at everything so we could determine how best to get started.
The Base Cabinets for the Office Makeover
After looking at my plans, he reminded me that we kept all of the upper cabinets from when we tore out the old kitchen and said they were stacked in the basement. We did some measuring and while they weren’t exactly the widths I’d planned, they were close enough that it seemed crazy to not use them.
Using upper cabinets as lowers is a trick we’ve done several times. 30 inch uppers are the same height as lower cabinets but they are only 12” deep instead of 24”. When space is tight or you don’t need a full two feet of depth, using uppers gives you the closed storage without taking up as much space. They also tend to look more like built-in cabinets rather than like you used kitchen cabinets for something else. (We used uppers as lowers in our dining room and for our coffee corner and pantry in our kitchen remodel).
Because upper cabinets don’t have a base, we built a base for them to sit on out of 2 x 3 lumber. This creates a riser so the cabinets aren’t all the way at the floor which gives you a kick plate so to speak.
B had the 2 x 3s in the garage left over from my garden shed project so those didn’t cost anything for this project.
Once the base platform was built, we installed the cabinets in place.
The cabinet under the window which is the side where my actual desk is was pulled out from the wall so that it allows for a 19” deep surface on top. Once the end panel is in place, you’ll never know that the cabinet doesn’t go all the way to the wall.
The Cabinet Color – Benjamin Moore Mopboard Black
The black paint for the cabinets was leftover from when I painted our bed platform at the beach house. It wasn’t the exact black I had picked for the office cabinetry but I had it so that’s what I started with. Because I had only purchased a quart for the bed platform, I ended up running out and did need to buy more paint. This allowed me to do a final top coat on everything in the black I had originally planned. The black is Benjamin Moore Mopboard Black and has a bit of a blue undertone. I really love it!
Because of the plan for the desktop, B used some scrap particle board plywood to create the base. This allowed us to move on to the shelving above without finishing the counters completely.
The Upper Shelving / Bookcases
The shelving on the end wall that goes all the way to the ceiling was the next part of the project. B is converting the second floor of our garage into his workshop. I’m a little jealous because I have always wanted to do something with this space but he needs it more than I do and in his conversion he took down a lot of old shelving that was built into the space. These large boards gave us more than enough to repurpose as the shelving above my desk.
They were old, greasy and dust covered so we brushed them off and then ran them through B’s planer to make them look almost like new.
We did buy a few 1 x 3 boards for the face trim to make the shelving look more built-in and finished. We also bought brackets under the bottom shelf for added stability and strength.
The Desk Top / Counter
For the desktop, B talked me into using some of the leftover scrap oak from our flooring. I didn’t want it to look like flooring so I convinced him to help me figure out how to make a herringbone pattern.
To do this we cut and planed the wood flooring scraps into tiles sort of like subway tile that’s ½” thick. This took a fair amount of time to prepare but it was so worth it. We then used construction adhesive to attach them to the plywood base cutting the end pieces to fit like a puzzle as we went.
Once the pieces were all in place, B gave the entire surface a good sanding and then filled in the cracks with matching oak filler.
To protect the wood and give the counter a smooth surface, we used leftover flooring sealer which has a non-glossy finish which is perfect. The only thing we purchased for the counter was the wood filler.
The Accent Wall:
Finally, as things started coming together, I felt like the wall under the shelves needed something. My original plan was to relocate my navy pin board but it ended up being a little too tall to fit. When I was cleaning out the office I found leftover peel and stick wallpaper from my black cabinet makeover a year or so ago and I had just enough to add a little accent.
It’s probably not something I would have purchased new for my office but it was a perfect solution because it used up leftover paper that would have been wasted and it ties together the original wall color, the gold hardware and the black cabinets. Really a perfect accent.
Other Details:
While I plan to buy a new office chair, for now I’m using one I already have. I did buy a new rug that has a lot of black in it which I love. It also has some blues which I think is where I’m going to go with the main studio / shop space.
The bookshelf behind my desk is repurposed from the shop. I swapped it with the tall cube shelves and gave it a fresh coat of paint to match the desk and I love how it works in my office now. For now, it’s where I keep a lot of my stock of envelopes for orders.
The other details including some of the accessories I’m using in the office are listed in the details below.
If you have any questions about my office, please leave a comment below or shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to answer as best I can.
Office Resources:
- Desk Lamp: old from Target (Similar from Wayfair, Similar from World Market, Similar from Amazon)
- Rug: From Amazon
- Cabinet Hardware: from Amazon
- Baskets: Lidded Savanah Baskets from Pottery Barn
- Wooden File Holder Boxes: from Target
- Peel and Stick Wallpaper: from Amazon
- Wood Filler: same via Amazon
- Desk Chair: old, Similar via Target, similar via wayfair, and here.
- Dome Pendant Light: Via Wayfair, similar here and here
- Pillow Cover: Via Etsy
- Art Work: My originals
- Upholstered Cork Board: DIY project here
Leave a Reply