Before and After: Functional Home-Office Makeover

Peggy Sellwood turns an empty space into a home office and guest room.

More from Decorating Cents
Filed under: Home Offices, Desks, Makeover, How To, Bedrooms, Furniture

After

Designer Peggy Sellwood is challenged to turn this sparse space into a functional home office for the father and guest room for when the homeowners' college-age son comes home to visit. Below are the design strategies she follows to create a sophisticated space:

Adds instant warmth by painting the walls a pine green color and the soffet a contrasting gold.
Creates a workstation out of salvaged wallpaper storage cubbies.
Covers the garage-sale hide-a-bed with slipcovers. The slipcovers are outfitted with zippers to accommodate the pull-out bed.
Dresses the window with a gold fabric panel secured with canvas belts.

Before

Accents the armoire doors with fabric attached with staples and finishes the edges with rope molding secured with finish nails.

Creates a photo / mirror gallery on a closet door with molding, mirrors, glass and photos.

Constructs a mantel out of scrap trim and molding.

Accessorizes with a vase, flowers on the mantel and accent pillows on the sofa bed.

Get organized with a wall-to-wall cubby storage unit.

How-to: Workstation

Steps:

Construct the workstation out of purchased lumber or use salvaged materials. Secure the top cubby to the wall with L-brackets for added stability.
Paint the back wall with chalkboard paint.
Add a bulletin board and frame with rope lights.
If needed, cover the desktop with marbleized shelf paper.

The open top allows you to frequently change out family photos.

How-to: Photo Gallery

Steps:

Cut and miter molding to fit an 8x10 photo.
Tack the molding into the door with finishing nails.
Fill holes with wood putty. Sand and paint.
Insert mirrors and / or photos and glass fronts.

Itemized Design Elements

$30.99 - paint (wall paint: Hirshfield's Wash & Wear Shipyard #8625; soffit paint: Wash & Wear Galena Gold #7776)
$34.26 - workstation
$8.51 - chalkboard paint (Hirshfield's: Blackboard Slate-Black paint, #24939115)
$25.00 - rope lights (The Home Depot)
$50- hide-a-bed
$140.86 - slipcover fabric (JoAnn Fabrics: Vineyard - Village Plaid, #4170866)
$45.25 - window treatment (camel-colored fabric: JoAnn Fabrics, St. Tropez #2917805)
$59.19 - armoire (fabric: JoAnn Fabrics, Design, Inc. Multicolored Tapestry, #2814671)
$20.00 - photo gallery (mirrors: The Home Depot, Stanley Monarch Mirror Decor 12x12 Plain Edgetiles #P1212NT)
$26.00 - mantel
$9.99 - vase
$1.49 - flowers
$5.29 - flower-pot bookends

$456.83 - Total Cost