Modern Home Office Makeover on a Budget

You can’t underestimate the impact that environment has on you.  A few weeks back I shared a photo on instagram of a new store that I had the chance to explore and it was like throwing energetic, creative fuel on my right brain.  Things like design, color, function, organization won’t always feel like a top priority when you’re going through the crazy of life. But let me tell you, a space that either energizes you with motivation or floods you with peace will do wonders for you psyche and your soul.

When I first started getting into design, it was for those exact reasons.  As I shared in one of my first posts aka the baby days of blogging 🙂

“When God started healing my heart from everything my hubs and I had walked through with infertility and stirring it with the idea of No Small Life, I started to see how the pain of our circumstances had affected every area of our lives, including our home.

Walking through infertility had left scars on my soul that produced insecurity in almost every facet.  I was indecisive, had lost hope, and had stopped dreaming along the way.  I wasn’t owning my life or the season of life I was in, I was too busy grieving what I thought would’ve been.

I’ll never forget watching a fav design show on HGTV one night when I had the thought, “maybe I could do that?” From that moment on, a passion for design started to stir in me.  It literally became a tangible way for me to dis-“mantle” (…see what I did there) the lies that had bombarded me and re-establish confidence and courage.

And that friend, is where the passion for design and bringing beauty into spaces started to bloom and as you know…I started spray painting all the things!

Back when I shared our Zero Dollar Gallery wall, I told you that I’d be doing a full office reveal soon and that day is here.

Yay. What started out as an innocent, “hey, let’s re-arrange our furniture,”  launched into a full-on, “hey, let’s see how much we can COMPLETELY REDO on a super tight budget.” #MyLoveLanguage.

I wanted to up the glam factor and make it work with the teal paint color that I still love after 8 years (which is nothing short of a miracle.) So, we nixed all the brown from our “we heart choc-aqua period” circa 2007 and decided to go with accents in black, white, gold and a pinch of coral for good measure.  Check out our Pinterest Board for inspiration here.

We made exactly 4 purchases for this room and the rest is all easy DIY’s. Ready to see??

First stop is this LOVE pic from Hobby Lobby on clearance for $19. I eyed it for a long time before I pulled the trigger, but I’m so glad I did.  Words are my most favorite love language and anytime I can have a fruit of the Spirit decorating my wall in a chic modern way, um yes please.  Plus, this winter I kind of went through a Studio 54 phase in my style, so it works 🙂

Next up meet desk. No, wait, you already met desk! He just got a makeover.

You first were introduced to my Salvation Army desk in my previous (READ-before we spontaneously moved around all our furniture) office here.   I spray painted the hardware gold with the same paint I used on our gallery wall.  I’m also toying with the idea of painting the drawer in-lays black, thoughts??

To give the desk a little extra pop I accented it with Black & White Stripe Washi Tape. God bless the person who invented Washi Tape. Desk accessories include: Home Goods frame, striped box from the DOLLAR SPOT #iwassoexcited, my favorite planner, and a vase reposed with spray paint.

Also, you should know that the palm branch in the vase is legit a palm branch…like from the Easter productions at our church…that I stole borrowed loaned to myself from our costume room.  #ConfessionsOfACreativeMinister.  Don’t worry, I have p-l-e-n-t-y of time before Palm Sunday rolls around. AND, moving on.

The lamp behind my desk is a “up-cycle” (READ: hand-me-down) from my mom.  And the art above my desk you first saw here and is from Hobby Lobby.

Our lamp got a quick makeover with, you guessed it, Washi Tape. Side note: Washi Tape and fabric lamp shades don’t play together well.  If you want to give it a try, have a few push pins to secure the tape and the seams and you’re good to go.

This quote is proof that ANYTHING can become art…even Christmas cards…from your insurance company. True Story.

You saw the gallery wall here, but you didn’t see what lived below the gallery wall because up until last week…it was BAD.

Our futon has migrated with us for the last 15 yrs.  He never had a cover and his frame was severely cracked. To add insult to injury, a horrific ink stain from the infamous “Rea exploding pen incident of 2011,” graced its cushion.

Can’t talk about it. Too painful.  Anyways, it was time for an upgrade and we found this gem on amazon!  Vegan leather, tufted, nail head Trim, all the things that make me swoon in one piece. AND, it’s a futon, so technically, still a guest room. Bam. And the price? Can’t beat it.

If you didn’t already know this about me, I have a serious love affair with stripes.  (Check out our striped entry way here.) So this $20 Striped Ikea blanket all but jumped into my cart, especially because at the time, it was desperately needed to cover the aforementioned stain.

But because blankets are not a one man show, he needed a tribe. So I introduced him to his new compadre’s, “pillows.” They are now inseparable. “Hello” pillow cover (hobby lobby & $7!!) Orange Pillow (Pier One) Teal Pillow (Pier One). (All pillows are older).

If you follow us over on Instagram, then this “light fixture” should look familiar.  It was a bad 80’s fan that I just removed the blades from. Not bad for free 😉 Now if I could just pull the trigger on some Edison bulbs, I think he would be complete.

Lastly, is our area rug I found on Amazon for $60.  It breaks a few design rules because it’s a little small, but any larger would’ve swallowed up this small room and rules were meant to be broken, so whatever man. 😉

Thanks for stopping by my office! What space would do you good to breathe a little life and hope and beauty life into? Remember, the way to initiate change, is just to take the first step.

Until next time,

Meg

Save

Save