Office Space
We have a little office/mudroom in our house right when you enter from the garage that I have never really loved. I have given it a few makeovers since we moved in over the last five years and tried painting the cabinets, walls and counter tops, but was never sold on the outcome. When I decided to start this little blog I decided I also needed to give my “office” another makeover so I would have a great space do whatever it is that bloggers do. Now, FINALLY, I have made it into another space in our home that I am super happy with. Since it is a smaller hidden room in the house, budget friendly was a must. I DIY’d almost the whole room myself while spending very little money.
BEFORE AND AFTER
I started by painting the storage bench and walls. I modernized the bench by painting it with a black chalk paint and gave the walls a makeover with a few nice bright coats of Cloud White paint by Benjamin Moore. Next, I re-painted the cabinets to match the trim and get rid of the dated white with antique wash that I painted a few years ago during another makeover attempt. I am a big fan of chalk paint since it requires no sanding. I wanted to match the trim exactly so I followed a recipe I found online to make my actual trim paint into a chalk finish paint. After the paint was dry on both the cabinets and bench, I added the suggested clear wax coat on top. Then I found some fun gold drawer pulls from Amazon.
The counter tops have always been my LEAST favorite thing in the room so I started on them next. I have had it quoted in the past to replace it all together but couldn’t justify spending $1000+ dollars on counter tops that are rarely used and hidden!! In efforts to save money, I tried painting them which definitely helped a little and I left for a while, but still didn’t give me the ultimate outcome I wanted. That’s when I decided to try this black wood grained contact paper. I really like it and, so far, it has held up really well especially since there is no water in close range like in a kitchen or bathroom. I would suggest using a squidgy to smooth out any bubbles and exacto knife to make precise clean cuts. Take your time applying a few inches at a time, smooth out bubbles with squidgy and repeat until the roll is gone. Also, buy a little extra for backup if needed for any mistakes.
Then, for my last touch, I added the black and white polka dot peel and stick wall paper on the back wall. I LOVE it! I used the same technique for applying the walk paper as I did the counter top contact paper. I would also suggest picking a wall paper that doesn’t have a definite pattern so you don’t have to spend extra time and product matching it up perfectly. This gave the whole office kind of a funky, girly feel and I am seriously so pleased. To finish, I added a few new office supply accessories and called it a day.
We use this room as a mudroom/office/catch all so my real challenge will be keeping it organized and clean, but I feel it’s easier to do when you love the décor in a room.