I am excited to share pictures from a client project that I finished up last month. Nikki contacted me because she had a problem that probably a lot of you can relate to…her expanding family is outgrowing their house. With a one-year-old and another baby on the way, they started to realize that it was time to reorganize the space in their home and make more room for the new baby as well as over-night guests. Especially those who would like to visit and help with the kids!! Nikki is a stay-at-home mom but also runs her own consulting business from the house so she had been using one of their three bedrooms as a home office. That left the master and her son’s bedroom. She and her husband had already decided that their kids would share the current nursery so the home office needed to become a duel space: office/guest room.
Like most people, Nikki had a room in the house that was the dumping ground for all things miscellaneous and it just happened to be the office. So the first order of business was for us to sort through everything and determined what stayed, what went, and what was stored away for now. Once we accomplished that it was time to create a space where she could work and guests could stay comfortably. Nikki had initially told me they had been looking at sleeper chairs but I suggested a daybed for more comfort. She also wanted to try to utilize as much as the current furniture as possible so this project became more of a re-purposing of the room versus a complete makeover. Either way I think things turned out great and the dual space really gives this room purpose now.
As always lets start with the “before’s”…
Like I said, dumping ground. This poor room got stuck housing all of the office stuff along with the fan gear from two sports fanatics (him, Bills her, Bama).
Brian is also in school so he is keeping all of his notebooks, etc. here.
These were the shelves after Phase 1. We did a preliminary purge of anything that didn’t belong in this room (i.e. only kept her work stuff, his school stuff, and things that guests may need).
Next we headed off to IKEA for some inexpensive storage solutions as well as some wall-mounted shelves to get things up and off the desk.
We also hired painters (after I convinced Brian to part with the original wood paneling). I suggested a pale grey for a neutral that would still have some personality. Slowly the color scheme became grey, white, and black. And I suggested a pop of teal or yellow when they purchase accessories down the road.
Here are the AFTER’S…
We mounted wall shelves to get everything off of Nikki’s workspace. We also chose matching containers for a uniform look. I love the linen/canvas texture of the boxes! We used her existing baskets to organize all office supplies. The tv even found a new home which works perfectly for guests that want to lounge and veg out.
Another crucial purchase was a new desk chair. The one she had was a huge unattractive black leather chair that looked as though it should be in a man’s office more than a beautiful office/guestroom!
The new one can slide flush under the desk unlike the old one which had big arm rests. Added bonus: it is a slipcover so it can be washed if little sticky hands find it.
We kept the original rug because it is a basic jute rug that is perfect for this high-traffic area. It also fit in nicely with the color scheme. We got rid of the cornice board and added some white panels, hung high for a nice, crisp, finished look.
We didn’t want to compete with the other bold colors in her home so we instead chose to stay with black and white. To spice it up a little we chose a mix of graphic prints. As I mentioned Nikki is pregnant and I witnessed first-hand the “nesting hormone” the day she texted me pictures of her pillow run. She had gone to HomeGoods and bought all of the pillows you see in the picture, ha!
We were able to incorporate another existing shelf for more storage, books, and some blank space for them to fill as they collect accessories for this room. We used the same storage containers as those over the desk. We also hung another shelf for up and out of the way storage.
An existing file cabinet removed from under the desk so now she has more leg room and a nightstand for guests.
The picture makes it hard to see but the daybed has a trundle and three extra drawers: a crucial detail for a house short on storage!
As with most projects I do, this was a collaboration. Nikki was involved every step and had fun purchasing little things for the room. It gave it all her personal touch as well and really made the space fit with the rest of their home.
Thanks Nikki and Brian for being such fun and easy clients! And thanks for allowing me to “share your clutter with the world” as Nikki put it. I am sure there are a ton of people out there who are now motivated to tackle their dumping ground! This project is a great example of working with what you’ve got. We repurposed most of the items in the room to make the space more functional.
If you would like assistance in re-purposing or re-decorating a room in your house contact me at, bethposton@hotmail.com. I can help with any project big or small!
Brandy says
I love this! What a difference the paint made, and the day bed is perfect 🙂
Lauren says
Amazing! What a transformation! If you lived closer to me we'd be in big trouble:)
desingpostinteriors@hotmail.com says
Nothing like a little paint to lighten up a room! Lauren- don't forget I offer online design boards and services so we can still find a way to get you in trouble 🙂
NikkiM says
It is ALL perfect and thanks for being so GREAT Beth! We LOVE IT!