Office Makeover-Part 1

Wow. Looking back through some photos of our office makes me chuckle. It's so funny to see things I thought looked good, or see how we first started off. Take this photo for instance.

Just look at those bookcases! Eek. All those frames turned catty-corner...yikes. And the stuffed animals? Joi, come on! Who was telling me that was a good choice? Lots of things would change in this room as we saved up our money. Slowly we painted all of the trim and window coverings, ligth fixture, and furniture.

The color scheme managed to pretty much stay the same for the entire time--shocking, right? Now we see I took some liberties to make the bookshelves pop as I thought I learned the art of arranging items. Not half bad, but still not totally loving it. Oh, and as you see we were on to rug #2!

Then, not too long ago, as DIY projects started luring me I changed out our rolly chair { and took it to school } for a reupholstered and painted antique chair. Also, another rug came into the picture as well as a cheapie chandelier spray paint makeover!

So, I think I'm about ready to bring you up to date. Why yet another makeover? Well, seeing as David and I have joined the new millennium and both have laptops, there really is no need for two desks. David volunteered to move his out and then I just knew that everything needed to be changed. David is an avid book reader and lover so those bookcases found a new home in the basement where they actually house books! A functional decision instead of a decor based decision! Who knew I was capable of such?

So with that minor change, ideas came pouring in!

New paint color-check!
New credenza-check!
New/old desk-check!
New rug-check!
New draperies that I just cannot wait to share-check!
Chandelier makeover-check!
New/old lamps-check!

Before

After {Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore} Sorry for the fuzzy pic!

Next came the sweet credenza I found at the Goodwill weeks ago! I had been checking on it weekly and decided to snatch it up when it was marked down to $17.50. And those lamps..they used to be a hideous brassy/black and I sprayed them with a Valspar teal color. They were a great little deal at only $12 for the set! The shades are uneven because I was trying to decide which one I liked better. I ended up going with the shade style on the right! I found the shades at Garden Ridge for $14.99-such a great price.

I finally admitted that the pink wasn't working and adapted the light to favor a more subdued white! Also, although I loved my $30 Walmart rug, I knew I needed something more substantial to anchor the room and went with a sisal choice from Home Depot purchased with a gift card! : )

Also, I adapted the desk seating and spray painted one of the three free chairs I found in my grandparents' neighborhood to a bright yellow. The fabric I chose was on sale for $13 a yard and I reupholstered it in a snap. If you recall, that same chair's twin is hanging out in our master bedroom, as well!

The old black desk headed downstairs to house our desktop computer and the repainted white one came up. The black just wasn't working with the new dark gray walls.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! I have a few more surprises for you in the rest of the reveal, so please come back to see more. My absolute favorite part of the office are the DIY drapes. They are fabulous-promise. I am so, so excited--just wait and I hope you'll agree!

xoxo