Inspiration // BHG // Glitter Guide // Apartment Therapy // Style at Home
Hey everyone! I’m so excited to announce that I’m a guest participant in the Spring One Room Challenge once again. I hope you will follow my progress for the Office Overhaul over the next 6 weeks. This time I’m turning my office into my dream workspace. My hopes are to transform a somewhat sad space into a bright and inspiring one!
If you’ve been following the blog for awhile you know I did the Spring 2017 ORC last year in collaboration with Michelle Gage, who is (gasp) a featured designer this year. We made over my living room (the Palm Springs Project) together which turned out more amazing than I could have imagined. Check out our features here, here, here, and here. I also participated in the Fall 2017 ORC alone and made over a much-neglected space in my home, my hallway (the Hallway Refresh). I was featured on Apartment Therapy and have a print feature which I’m so excited to share with you all very soon.
Now let’s get down to business. Terrible and embarrassing before photos.
My main goal for the Office Overhaul is to take advantage of the great sunlight this room gets. I want to turn it into something colorful and a place where I will constantly be inspired to stay productive. Honestly, I work from other parts of my home before this one and that’s ridiculous because after all, it is my office. Right now I’m typing from the kitchen table, but a lot of the time I work in bed or on the couch. This leaves me open to SO much distraction. I’ll get sucked into a show or a movie and will fall behind on work. Also, I’d rather cuddle with my dog than pretty much anything else. Can you blame me?
I need a place that I WANT to be in and work in. Every morning I want to wake up and make a cup of coffee and say,
“I can’t wait to be in my office!”,
“Let’s get shit done!”,
“Get it, girl!”.
Okay, Okay. I think you get the picture. My other goal is to be organized, which is so hard for me. I’m one of those people that has an immaculately clean and beautiful home but underneath the beds, in the closets, and in every drawer is a complete and utter disaster. I’m a secret messy person. If no one can see it, it doesn’t exist, right? Wrong! This messy part of me gives me so much anxiety. Since the start of the new year, I have made it a point to keep drawers more organized and I even tackled a few closets.
I killed that yucca. Oops!
My solution to this is to add more open shelving which forces me to keep things organized and looking nice. I loved my current desk that was from IKEA. I bought it when I had a studio which was a pretty big open room. Once we moved into this house I dissolved my studio with the intentions of working from the kitchen (where I shoot) and my office.
My current desk is way too big for the size of this room though. I was holding onto it because I liked it so much but honestly, it wasn’t that functional. I loved how much surface area it had, but it had no storage which meant everything was out in the open. Which you think I would have kept neat and clean. In reality, I did but I have so much stuff it just looks like clutter. SO I found the desk of my dreams locally on craigslist and I’m going to give it a little makeover. I can not wait!
Lastly, I’m going to give the room a coat of fresh paint. Originally, I wanted to do wallpaper but then I decided I didn’t want to have wallpaper in every room. Also, I want to come up with a solution to the litterbox being in this room by disguising it somehow. These are all small changes but I think they will go a long way and make a huge impact.
Stay tuned for next week when I reveal all my picks for the Office Overhaul, order list, and budget. I hope you’ll tag along with me for this 6 week Office Overhaul ride. If you want to see some of my inspiration I have an Office Overhaul board going on Pinterest. I also have a Work Space Goals board that I’ve been pinning to for years. Hopefully, my office will be “pin-worthy” someday soon. Here’s to another successful One Room Challenge! Make sure to follow along on Instagram as well with #theofficeoverhaul
Your before photos are not bad! At least you have a whole room to work with. You can do this!
A tip on the cat litter, I followed an Ikea hack from BellaPop that I found on Apartment Therapy! https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ikea-hacks-for-cats-215022
It looks like the original blogger’s site isn’t up anymore, but it was super easy. I took an IKEA STUVA box, added doors and cut a hole in the back for a kitty entrance. I’ve had it for over 2 years now and it has been lovely! I even store the scoop and bags inside and out of sight. The trick was finding a litter box bottom that fit—I ended up using a Boots & Barkley one, but there are lots of options.
I totally hear you on the clutter! Have you checked out Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic Of Tidying Up? I’m in the process right now and it has helped a LOT. I am kinda dreading sorting through glassware though.
Good luck on your office and I can’t wait to see the big reveal!
Hey Laura! Thanks for the encouraging words. It’s not a terrible room at all. It just gets messy and needs a little refreshing. It’s not a huge transformation but I think paint, different furniture, and some new decor will go a LONG way. Check back tomorrow to see my picks for the room. I think it’s going to turn out great!
Thanks for the tip about the litter box. That’s a great DIY! Not sure if it will fit in the space intended but I’ll measure and let you know. I have to take a trip to IKEA for a few other items too. If it doesn’t work I think I might try to build something. I saw this simple DIY litter box cover on Sugar & Cloth. It doesn’t completely disguise it but it hides it and I like that I could use the top of it for something. What do you think?
xo Natalie
Love the bright yellow inspiration! I’m a sucker for citrus, sunshine, and anything that gives that warm, happy feeling. Can’t wait to see how you make this a space you love to work in.
Happy decorating!
Hey Kat! So do I which is exactly why I need to refresh this room and make it bright and happy! Can’t wait to work in the office when it’s finished. Thank you for the encouraging words!
xo Natalie
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