Office Transformation Before and After

It’s been one of those mornings. The kind where you pour Diet Coke into your cereal instead of milk. Yes. I did that. Luckily I realized it before I ate some. Who knows, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad?

Well, probably by now you all have seen the dresser to desk transformation that I did for my mom. I want to thank you all for all of your sweet comments! You guys are the best ever.

So, with little ado, here is the rest of her office’s transformation.

As you know, the office started out really drab. It was an unused front room that was dying to get some love. She attempted to turn it into an ‘office’ using an old card table and bookcase. I don’t know about you guys, but this room would NOT inspire me to work. I would sit down, look around, and then walk right back out.

You all probably know by now that I love bright cheery places and this room was totally calling for one! It had three wall length windows to the west, and a large sliding glass door walking off onto the patio on the east. I thought what a better place for a bright and airy office full of beachy hues.

Luckily, it saved some time and money just keeping the walls the tan and light peach they already were. The desk was transformed for under $50 and I painted the black dingy bookcase to match. Now they are all bright and white! I distressed the edges a little bit –okay, maybe a lot -using my small hand sander. I then used some dark walnut stain to finish it off. And of course, used some polycrylic on both the desk and bookcase. And on that note, I learned something during this process…I’m not sure if it’s right, so, if it’s not please tell me! But the difference between Polyurethane and Polycrylic is that you use Polyurethane on stains and Polycrylic on paint. Who know?

Before:

And After:

Next was the accessories and chairs. I found the chairs at Ikea. The striped ones were $79 each and the nice big arm chair was $120. The arm chair is the color of sand….love it!

All the other accessories either came from Ikea, Ross, or my moms house. Yes, I shopped her house. It’s fun to redisplay something that’s been long forgotten. Like the old sea grass (????) that’s on top of the bookcase. That was just hidden in an old hutch; once I saw how unique and beautiful it was, I knew it had to be the center of attention.

And yes, those mirrors are the ones I knocked-off from Ballard Designs. I love how it mimics the three windows on the west wall and just brings that much more light into the space.

The total for this office re-do was just under $600 for everything. Biggest cost was the chairs that took up half the budget.

I think it is safe to say that I want this as my office now. The really sad thing? The before picture of her office is hundred times better looking than the way my office looks right now. Lol. Sad…yes I know.

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And on different note! We separated the ducks from the chicks. It’s the saddest thing in the whole wide world. I didn’t get much sleep last night because of it, and that’s more than likely the reason I poured Diet Coke into my cereal.

I think the littlest of the ducks imprinted on the chicks or something. But they had to be separated cuz the chicks are just so dang mean! Good gravy…they wouldn’t let the ducks eat in peace nor sleep. They were always pecking at their eyes or bills. But now the little duck runs up and down his brooding box chirping like crazy. He’s even attempted to jump over the box and into the chick’s box more than a few times. It’s the cutest thing ever…but so sad!

And you all were not kidding….they grow sooo so fast! I can just stare at the ducks for a minute, and I swear I see them grow at least an inch in front of my very own eyes.

At least for now, Max is enjoying having them around! He’s the cutest little big brother J