HGTV Magazine Makes Over a Room
Navy Corpsman Micah Ambrose returned from Afghanistan with the goal of becoming a doctor. He needed a place at home to study, so HGTV Magazine turned a spare room into a comfy office.
By:
Coleen Sullivan
From:
HGTV Magazine
Related To:
One Couple's Story
Navy Corpsman Micah Ambrose met his would-be wife, Maryrose Pichkur, in New York City during Fleet Week 2010, but shortly after their engagement, he was deployed to Afghanistan. While there, Micah, a trained medic, assisted a Marine who lost both legs in a roadside bomb. This life-changing event helped Micah set the course for a career after the service. "I always knew I wanted to be an ER doctor, but that day sealed my plans," he says.
From:
HGTV Magazine
Room Redo for a Hero
When Micah returned home four months later, he and Maryrose began planning their wedding and bought their first home, a 1918 three-bedroom house in Floral Park, N.Y. Micah started prepping for school entrance exams, but he didn't have a convenient place to study. That's when HGTV Magazine stepped in.
From:
HGTV Magazine
The Makeover Details
A reclaimed pine desk has plenty of drawers, while a lamp made of a beaker is a nod to Micah's time in the lab (for the how-to, go to hgtv.com/beaker-lamp). The wall space above the desk includes a teak shelf, a pinboard covered in striped fabric and an antique pair of crutches found on Etsy. Micah's Navy cap — the one he wore the night he met Maryrose — rests on the shadow box that holds his military coins.
From:
HGTV Magazine
Rug
Maui houndstooth jute 7'6" x 9'5" rug in orange, rugsusa.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Chair
Leather chair, leeindustries.com for stores
From:
HGTV Magazine
Accessories
Desk supplies, poppin.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Desk
Hughes pine 64" x 30" desk, fourhands.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Wastebasket
Marché trash can, containerstore.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Learning in Comfort
Micah often studies late into the night, so a daybed for napping made sense. This one, covered in durable blue canvas, has a masculine, boxy shape. He can use the vintage bedside hospital table as a laptop stand. The nautical map of Manhattan — a reminder of where the couple met — was nabbed on Etsy for $79, and we made the wall shelves using reclaimed wood and copper pipes from The Home Depot.
From:
HGTV Magazine
Fan
Celino cherry and oil-brushed bronze fan, kichler.com for stores
From:
HGTV Magazine
Shade
Tropical Isle bamboo shade, selectblinds.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Pillow
Cross cotton 16" x 16" pillow, jonathanadler.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Lights
L'auto Extender sconces, gohomeltd.com for buying info
From:
HGTV Magazine
Daybed
New Canaan 37 1/2" x 90" daybed in Sunbrella canvas azure, ballarddesigns.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Storage Solutions
This backless bookcase, tucked between the room's entrance door and closet, is deep enough for thick medical books and binders, but narrow enough that it doesn't jut out into the room. For extra storage, we lined the inside of the closet walls with shelves for more textbooks, school supplies and shoes.
From:
HGTV Magazine
Shelving
Elfa custom storage, containerstore.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Binders
1" and 4" binders, poppin.com
From:
HGTV Magazine
Bookcase
Stairway 96" x 30" wall-mounted bookcase, cb2.com
From:
HGTV Magazine

Photo By: Zach Desart