How we managed to stay married by renovating our home office ourselves.
The first time I saw my house online, I'm going to get real- I knew it was the one. It took a little convincing for my husband to get on board, but there were a couple of those imaginary boxes each home should check to be considered a dream home.
While this house hits it out of the park with the master suite (you could do cartwheels in our shower, kids!), and it's got that gorgeous mix of entertaining space every obnoxious House Hunters couple demands, one category falls woefully short. The Dining Room.
This was a huge bummer for me because I go full on Downton Abbey when I entertain. China, crystal, fresh cut flowers, Carson would be so proud. And I only break out the velveeta shells and cheese for the most discriminating palates. I mean, doesn't a sloppy Joe taste so much better when you use a linen napkin? People in my small group will tell you - I have serving dishes out the wazoo and we use them!
Alas, it was not to be in this house. The dining room we wisely turned into our home office, and up until two weeks ago, it was a depository for all of the junk we didn't feel like organizing. That was especially shameful as it's the first room you see when you enter our home.
Today I'm glad to say that I'm not even remotely interested in hiding this glorious space. I might even use Windex on the regular to keep that glass all sparkly.
A few lessons learned from this journey:
Valspar paint is far inferior to Sherwin Williams paint. As an adult, I've only painted three rooms in my life. Granted, I did our old master bedroom three times, but I digress. Valspar is the Pepe Le Pew of paints, and I'm getting a contact high from the fumes nearly two weeks later. I think it's important to note that I have the worst sense of smell ever. I once had a bowl of cereal with spoiled milk. My husband is the Remy of Ratatouille in our marriage. If I can still smell the fresh paint, he must be in agony. I don't remember being this irritated with SW paints. Ever.
Coupons should be used for everything in life. I'm dead serious. When we went to get our paint, there was a rebate. When they were out of that particular formula, the sales clerk generously gave us the paint HALF OFF to compensate. YASSS. I regret sincerely not pulling the trigger on our furniture sooner. On our first visit to IKEA, our desks were $50 off, plus I had an additional 20% off coupon for our entire first order. Sure, I got some lamps, but man, looking back, we could have saved nearly $400 on the furniture with that coupon and sales!
With every home improvement project, you should have flexibility in your vision. I waffled on two different paint colors. I still hate the curtains. I was foolishly convinced three bookcases would fit along the main wall. I'm not in love with the chairs, but I think they look decent. The petite chairs I originally picked out were so uncomfortable, I had to switch them. If your vision ends up 55% realized, consider it a win!
If you're buying IKEA furniture, specifically bookcases, check out the specs. If the shelves hold 20 pounds, skip! Books are heavy, especially if you prefer hardbacks like me. Our Liatorp shelves are solid wood and hold 77 pounds each! As expected, they are heavy and weren't cheap.
So I wanted to make this post quasi-short, so you could marvel in my Joanna Gaines execution! I dare say some of my neighbors would possibly be convinced to let me loose on one of their rooms if Trading Spaces shows up. As long as Hildi isn't guiding us.
Here we go!
Starting first - the paint we got at Lowe's for $23 for one gallon. It was enough for the entire room plus reserve for touch-ups in the future. Basic supplies let's say another $25. I cannot remember the hue, but I wanted something Tiffany & Co.-inspired. Win-win!
Two Liatorp bookshelves came in at $249 each. Yes, there are much cheaper bookshelves at IKEA, including the best-selling Billy at $59 each, but we went for sturdy and stylish. We also bought the lights for the top of the shelves and will be installing them as soon as I can convince my husband he isn't tired.
The rug is my personal favorite. I bought it at Pier 1 Imports my very first semester of college. At the time, it represented the open floor space in my shared dorm room. #wku The cat really likes to puke on it, so thank goodness it's machine washable.
Oh Havsta, how I love thee. Originally, I just wanted a whole wall of these, but at $300 per cabinet, and the fact that they were short, I rethought that one. Yes, those are glass-front cabinets and the shelves have a glass center. Kids will not be permitted in this room.
This is where I store my autographed books, cookbooks, favorite books from my childhood, and let's get real, the greatest genre every created - Christmas stories!
The plaque on top is the exact location of where I met my husband. He held the door open for my my first day of college. Florence Schneider Hall holds such a sweet, sappy, vomit-inducing place in my heart. This is the piece I wanted prominently displayed in the room as it was this year's anniversary gift to my husband. Finding a dude something made with wood and linen is difficult to say the least. I consider this a win.
The hubby's workspace (he works from home 2-3 days a week) is complete with two monitors, wireless keyboard, and a wireless printer/scanner we share.
The Alex Desk is available at IKEA for $149 and the Alex filing cabinet sells for $99. The chair is an Office Depot special on sale for $149.
During this harrowing journey, he upgraded to a matching monitor and gave me the mismatched one. He took advance of Amazon Prime Day and got it for $100. After all the work he put into making this room possible, I told him he could have a 65" HDTV as his monitor with zero complaints from me.
Eventually I have some shelves for his wall for framed photos and his Dundee Award for Best Home Office Renovator/Hot Husband.
Here's where the magic happens. Er....or something like that.
Again, a matching Alex desk from IKEA at $149 and Office Depot chair for $149. I'm in the process of finding a suitable wireless keyboard and some of my desk accessories arrive tomorrow.
Yes, I hate the curtains and I'm going to change them.
I'm also not wild about the lighting fixtures and want to update them soon.
As soon as I get my hanging file folders up in the cabinet, the box of crap under my desk will be gone as well.
A small splurge - I got us matching trash cans (you can barely see next to the chair) at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, aka, The Slums, for $14.99 each. They're small circular cans in white and chrome to match the chairs.
Some finishing touches we've yet to realize but one of them is my favorite addition.
I snagged this print for $25 today. I figured if she was lounging on a sofa, she's probably the loose cow of the barnyard, so I've started calling her Blanche Devereaux. I bet she hits up the Rusty Anchor weekly. #goldengirlsforlife
She's going to hang on the blank wall to the right of my desk. And it's a subtle nod to all of my heifer friends around the world. ;)
So that's the big reveal. I hope it fills you with as much joy as it did when I finished and sat down. I definitely want to give it a few months before tackling our master bedroom, but I did buy paint for our laundry room and well, I'm not exactly doing anything next week.
In the meantime, imagine me sitting happily at my desk writing these wonderful posts you enjoy.
I'll probably not be wearing pants since its 800 degrees outside, but you didn't need to know that.
Thanks for reading!
~ Christy
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