Retro Home Office

Mary Ann La Russa's home office is a bit disorganized and under furnished. After two years, the space, like the rest of the home, is still like a blank canvas. With only a few pieces of furniture and no definitive style, the office is a bare-bones work environment.

Before

Before

The Dilemma

Sam Kivett outlines the issues in the empty space, which include an insufficient workspace, a lack of storage and proper lighting, as well as complete disorganization. Kivett, along with design coordinators Summer Baltzer and Charles Burbridge, plan to turn this white disorganized box into an exciting and functional office that fits La Russa's quirky retro style.

After

After

The Solution

Here's how the design team reworks the space with a fun 1950s retro theme:

• The walls are painted a bright aqua color to set the tone for the '50s theme.

• Burbridge finds an old metal desk and has it refinished at an auto body shop with a silver high-gloss urethane to make it look brand new. He also refurbishes the top of an old dental storage table with methyl ethyl ketone, a cleaning solvent specifically used to clean laminate tops. After painting and affixing the old drawer pulls, the new printer table is now ready for La Russa's office.

• Kivett creates a unique decorative accessory using old albums. He paints the centers silver and the rest of the album red (using a cut piece of sticky-backed paper to shield the silver). They're placed above the credenza that will house La Russa's old record player.
  
• The Victorian-style light fixture is replaced with a unique hubcap creation.

• The mini blinds are replaced with classic brushed aluminum Venetian blinds with red tape.

• Four matching bookshelves solve her storage dilemma.

The Cost

Furniture - $635

• bookcases: IKEA - Billy, #40043724
  
• credenza: IKEA - PS,#400351877 / white

Accessories and lighting - $106

• desk lamps: IKEA - Expressivo, 00050467 / white
  
• vintage hubcaps: Culver City Hub Cap

Paint and stains - $62

• wall paint: Behr - Water Dance, 1A47-3

Window treatments - $184

• vertical blinds: Just Blinds

Hardware and incidentals - $9

Project Total - $996
Resources
paint
Behr Process Corp.
Website: www.behr.com

decorative project materials
JustBlinds.com
10960 Millridge N. Dr.
Suite 204
Houston, TX 77070
Toll-Free: 800-959-9939
Website: www.justblinds.com

decorative project materials
Ikea
Website: www.ikea.com

vintage hubcaps
Culver City Hub Cap
4228 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90230
Phone: 310-559-1200
Fax: 310-397-2201 Also in this Episode

Design on a Dime : Episode DOD-209
•	Retro Home Office