It has been a long couple of weeks. Technically, this should be the week 3 update. Life got a little busy last week and I did not get even a moment to work on this project. This week was entirely different. I have a holiday to help me to catch up. Today I am sharing the details of my home office makeover and my week 2 update.
Let’s talk a little about where we left off last week…
WEEK ONE RECAP
This is how the room looked before the project started:
As of the end of week one, I had moved the dresser out into the living room. This turned out to be a great idea. We got a lot of rain. Working outside would have meant moving the dresser back and forth a few times. I might have even hurt my back or got a sun burn. Extra issues averted.
Moving the dresser meant that there was extra space behind my desk. The dogs enjoyed wheeling around in my office chair.
Because I was working in the living room, that meant that it was closed to relaxing. It was only a couple of weeks. Spoiler: we survived.
WEEK TWO UPDATE
The living room got worse before it could get better. I had to unpack each of the dresser drawers before I could sand them. That meant even more clutter in the living room. If I was smart, I would have used some of the packing boxes we have stored in the attic.
I then sanded, primed, and painted each drawer. This was a bit tedious of a task. I put on some Beach Boys records and went to work.
Between coats, I moved everything out of my office and cleaned the walls. It was an easy process with a Swiffer Duster. I used the long handle to rub all of the walls. The walls look much nicer as a result.
I started moving furniture back into the room on Saturday. I temporarily borrowed the lamps from the dining room for photos. I still haven’t picked out lamps for the room.
I added a basket that I had in the laundry room. I used it as a placeholder for the plant I am hoping to add to the room in the next week or two.
The dresser, overall, came out quite lovely. There are a couple of spots where the dark brown of the veneer is popping through. I will touch up those few spots before I call the project done.
I also moved the rug. Before it was in front of my desk. Now it is under my desk. It is going to be nice having a rug under my feet while I work!
I did have to remove everything that was sitting on the dresser. It needs to cure for about a week before I start using it.
I hung up an old bulletin board that we had laying around. I made a pom pom garland to hang around the top and left edge. Further decor includes some fabric scraps and ribbon from past projects, as well as an abstract painting I made.
A couple of weeks ago I got a new basil plant. It was an order error my husband made when scheduling a grocery delivery. He selected a basil plant instead of fresh basil leaves. I suppose they cost about the same and provide fresh basil leaves. The bonus is now I have a new plant!
I picked up a new clay pot at a local garden store. I added a little white paint to create a faux distressed look. I used this process.
Next, I moved all of my office supplies back into the room. I needed to get my desk all set up for work on Monday.
Although cute, this one didn’t do anything to help. Don’t listen to her if she tells you she did any of the painting or cleaning.
PROJECT OUTLINE
There are still a few remaining tasks to be completed.
I still need to wash the curtains. I did a considerable amount of cleaning this weekend, but the curtains were not one of them.
I need to order lamps. I have tried to talk myself out of purchasing new lamps for the room. I have tried really hard. The truth is that the extra light in the evening would be really nice. Also, they would add symmetry to the dresser top.
The set below are the lamps I nearly bought when we were making over our master bedroom. They are from Overstock.com and they are only $130 for the set.
I still need to organize. This weekend The Container Store had a lot of their organization bins on sale. I visited a store just to see what they had in stock. I found these clear acrylic bins. We know how much I love acrylic.
I picked up 11 bins in various sizes for about $40. Now I am looking forward to organizing all the drawers!
I still need to buy pulls for the drawers. I have six drawers on the dresser and two drawers on the bookshelf. I have to be careful or else this can become quite an expensive endeavor. You are going to be shocked, but I am thinking of using acrylic drawer pulls. I found some longer acrylic drawer pulls from an Etsy shop and they are quite affordable. (You can find these here.) This Etsy seller has 12.5″ pulls for only $19.50. This is much cheaper than most other places.
It has been an exciting week, but there is still so much to do. I plan to have another project update for you at the beginning of next week. I might even have lamps by then!
