Long Overdue Office Makeover

Do you know how it feels to spend money on electrical or plumbing issues when all you would rather do is buy something really pretty and fun for your house instead? That’s pretty much how I felt about this long overdue office makeover. It’s upstairs in what is considered a half story. It’s just one room and the entire space is Jerry T (my hubby’s) office. And because its his office, (is there a nice way to say that he has borderline hoarding issues?) I basically never go up there and never have to see it. Much like a plumbing or electrical issue.

We set this space up as his office about 20 years ago and we haven’t done much to it since. We did add a closet a few years ago so we could call it a “fourth bedroom”. This room was definitely in need of a long overdue office makeover. So that brings me to last December, when we were approached by a map company to do a collaboration. Abby passed it along to me and I was on board. I picked out two maps for the office and thought, well maybe this is a good opportunity to redo the entire space.

Wheels started turning and I started ordering everything to turn this room around. To make a very long story short, those maps never arrived, but I was deep in the game by the end of January. So, I was determined to carry on. Everything we replaced in this room had a major glitch. I won’t go into all the frustrating details, but this makeover was not complete until the end of August. I was redoing another room at the same time as the office that you can read about here. That room also had its own set of issues.

I have to say that I’m pretty happy with the way the office turned out. My goal was to keep it minimal, simple, and somewhat neutral, anticipating Jerry T adding his own personal touches in the days ahead 😱.

Links to several of the items from this room can be found throughout the text and below. Click on the pictures below or the highlighted text for details or to purchase.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

This office, being a finished attic space, has some really sharp angles. I thought about painting or wallpapering the space but with all the angles, keeping everything the same color seemed to be the best option and would make the room appear larger. This little nook was perfect for this narrow console table

He doesn’t think of himself as a “big deal”, but his family does. I found this sign at a shop in Sedona and had to have it.

BEFORE

 

DURING

After A LOT of discussion, we decided to paint the furniture rather than replace it. Our painter “Flo” brought it all of out the office and stored it in our garage. He then took each piece outside and sanded it down to the bare wood. This was during August and it was HOT. This guy’s amazing and a super hard worker.

After sanding each piece, he then stored the pieces in our guest house, until he could paint them. Then, back to the garage to dry. This entire process took about two weeks. In the meantime, I painted all the drawer handles gold – twice! Wasn’t happy with the first ‘gold’ color. Sometimes those spray paint caps can be misleading.

 

AFTER

I’m sooooo happy with the outcome. The paint we used for the furniture is Black Magic by Sherwin Williams. I chose it because it was the only oil base enamel paint with a satin sheen. Jerry T insisted we cover all the top surfaces with glass anticipating some chips and dings that will always happen when you paint furniture. We put that ugly ole printer into the closet to the right of this space and replaced it with his turntable from the 70’s. Now he can listen to all his old band music or whatever oldie goldie he wants to. He installed these sconces from Rejuvination and mounted the television. This freed up a lot of space on the desk. He insisted on keeping a ceiling fan 😳 so we updated it with this one from Build.com. The chair from World Market is on casters and we bought a glass floor mat that is a nice upgrade from the old plastic one that used to be there.

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

I kept this small loveseat that folds out to a twin size bed. You can never have enough sleeping space – even in an office. Added the cowhide rug, the wire coffee table and some new pillows. We changed out the stairwell light fixture for this modern one. The side table belonged to my grandmother. I bet it’s at least 75 years old. Love mixing the new with the old.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

Yes, that’s a trombone hanging on the wall. Let me explain. Jerry T started playing trombone in the 7th grade and continued to play through college. In fact, he has a Master Degree in music education and was a band director for ten years. After that, he continued to play in our church orchestra. Although he hasn’t played in years, it was a HUGE part of his life.

I was struggling with what to hang on this wall. It needed something. I tried several pictures, metal art, and even a large clock. Nothing looked good so my daughter Melinda came up with the idea of hanging his trombone on the wall. Actually, she suggested painting the trombone the color of the wall, but Jerry T wasn’t having that. Melinda thought I should hang other instruments along with the trombone, but Jerry T said “I didn’t play any other instruments” 🙄 So, the solo trombone won out. Two of the albums below the trombone were from his band directing days and one was from his days playing in the high school band. Would I have a trombone hanging anywhere else in my home? Absolutely not, but I think it’s fitting decor for his office/man cave.

All I can say is I am so glad this project is done. Let’s just hope it stays this lovely and clutter free for at least a little while!!