Saturday, August 11, 2012

Closet to office nook

Since we live in a 1700sq ft. house, RN and I have to be creative as where we put our stuff, and how we can use (and maximize) our square footage.
Since we moved our master bedroom, we were able to create a "school room" for our children, on the main floor of the house.
Our oldest is starting pre-K this year, and next year she'll be starting Kindergarten...homeschool, that is for us.
Also, this room needs to be our office, so we created a space just for that.
...in the closet!
I has been almost a year since we put the desk in the closet, but I am just now finally organizing all the junk office stuff, in a way that is both functional and pretty.

First of all, we used things we already owned.
The "closet organizer" shelves serve as "legs" to support the desk. Two of them + a file cabinet
The main desk top is from RN's old college desk.
The cubes where cd's holders of mine...they now support the upper desk top. 
The paper organizer was free...a friend of mine had this in her trash pile...I rescue it from the landfill.
The white file organizers come from Ikea, but then I made some from...cereal boxes + chalkboard paint. This is an EASY project!
The look I am going for is basic, modern, simple and functional.
I found this lamp at a garage sale for $1...it had few stickers on it...a little goo-gone and this lamp is back in business.
I needed extra light, since the "office" is in a closet :) This works perfectly!
At the top I added some furring strips we had in our garage and a wood piece, to make a shelf, then covered four copy paper boxes (from RN's job) with textured wallpaper.
At the bottom I added a curtain rod...from a friend who was giving it away...free to a good home.
I am telling you, when I see "free to a good home" that's our home! You know I will take care of your unwanted stuff, and that I WILL find something to do with it! 
Add some drop cloth, and cover up the "uglys".

Chair is from Ikea (matching our dining room chairs) serving as double purpose office/kitchen when extra seating is needed.
And no office is complete without some family pictures! In my case, wedding pictures. 
Is it just me, or when you start having children and/or pets, wedding pictures end up in the closet? 

Here it is in all it's beauty and function.
I am considering painting the inside walls of the closet...but that requires me to take everything back out, paint and put everything back in...I think for now this will work just fine!
I am going to build some kind of doors, so I can close this space up as needed.

Now I can keep up with paying bills while the children play and do school work!
Oh happy day...

Stay Frugal,

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Daniela you are just so creative, this is such a wonderful example of redoing and reusing, well done!!!!
Oh and I think you're right, the wedding photos go in the closet and wait until the kids are having kids, then its grand kids all the way, believe me, this I know!!!!!

The Thriftiness Miss said...

Looks great! Love the wedding pics too. They really go great in there :)

NanaDiana said...

Great area you have created there, Daniela. How wonderful that you will be able to use it for keeping an eye on the home schoolers- xo Diana

Heidi@OneCreativeMommy.com said...

Great use of space! I hope you’ll link this up today (or anytime this weekend) at One Creative Weekend on OneCreativeMommy.com.

Kelly said...

I've seen that done before by putting a desk in the closet and think it is the neatest idea! It's like a built-in desk area to the house. I think you did a nice job of streamlining everything so it's organized and not cluttered. I like the drop cloth curtain hiding the electronics underneath too.

Libby said...

What a great nook. I love how you're using up every inch of space in such a creative way. And, I love the wedding photos. B&W photos are my fave!

Rob Hunt said...

Great mini office, very handy to have it in the new home schooling room.

I am following your blog. Enjoyed looking at several of your posts.

thistlewoodfarm said...

Great idea on the cereal boxes with the chalk paint. You are brilliant!

Have a blessed and wonderful day!
karianne

Unknown said...

looks excellent! What a great idea to save a little space :)

Unknown said...

Wow, you did an amazing job! I love your wedding pictures. :)

Debbiedoos said...

Looks great Daniela. Nice and organized too. Pretty wedding pics. Thanks for sharing with the newbie party.

Heidi@OneCreativeMommy.com said...

Fantastic makeover! I’m so glad you linked this up at One Creative Weekend! I love it! I’d love for you to join the party again on Friday.

Cristina Garay said...

Pretty neat job, Daniela! I love the curtain hiding stuff underneath the table and your lovely wedding pictures!

Katherine said...

Love it, especially the curtain! I am like you, whenever I see free to a good home, I know they are talking about me! Thanks for sharing your creative space with us this week!

Blake said...

I think you’re a very resourceful person to be able to come up with beautiful pieces from things that are supposed to be in the bin. Indeed, your office is simple and functional. Stuffing everything that you need in a nook is practical. However, it would be better if you paint your wall to add character to your office space. Perhaps a graffiti can do the trick.


Blake Mitchell