Transforming my office has been a labor of love over the past six weeks.
What started as a beige and white room filled with clapped-together Ikea furniture has now become a custom-built haven of productivity and style.
Here’s how I did it.
The Before
After five years in our home, it was time for a change. The office, which we thought looked great, now seemed outdated and cluttered. The old Ikea furniture, which I had cut to fit, was functional but far from ideal.
The Plan
My husband and I loved the previous layout, with two desks forming a “T” in the middle of the room. It worked well for our needs, so we decided to keep the same layout but make it custom and expanded. The goal was to create a space that was both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
Building the Desk Cabinets
I started with the desk side of the room. I designed and built new desk cabinets, getting rid of all the Ikea furniture. I built drawers for each side of the desk and a custom computer cabinet in the middle with doors featuring speaker mesh for ventilation. To ensure our electronics stayed cool, I also installed a cabinet fan.
I also duplicated the square Ikea box that helped form the “T” shape of the desk and doubled its size. The front now holds my photography books, and the back houses our printer and scanner, keeping them out of sight.
Choosing the Countertops
After building the cabinets, we decided on granite tops instead of wood. We found a remnant slab at a fraction of the price and had it fabricated and installed within a week. The granite yard was amazing to work with, and we’ll definitely be using them again.
Painting and Installing Upper Cabinets
While waiting for the countertops, I worked on the computer doors, upper cabinets, and upper bookshelf. I painted the walls a dark navy blue and the lower cabinets the same color.
Once the countertops were installed, I put up the upper cabinets and gave everything a fresh coat of paint.
I couldn’t resist starting to decorate, even though the office was still a work in progress.
Building the Bookshelves
Next, I turned my attention to the bookshelf side. I built a large custom built-in bookshelf that goes all the way to the ceiling, providing ample space for all our books. I “hacked” the bookshelves by using the original Ikea sides and building new plywood supports and shelves. This saved me a ton of time.
I added uppers, trimmed everything out with 1x2s, and made it look like three boxes stacked on each other.
I built two drawers for each side and doors for the middle section to hide the paper shredder and other office necessities.
Painting and Finishing Touches
Realizing that rolling paint was killing my back, I convinced my husband to let me buy a paint sprayer. It was a game-changer.
I prepped everything for paint, sprayed one coat of primer and two coats of paint, and built, edge-banded, and sprayed over 17 shelves for the bookcases.
After letting everything dry overnight, I couldn’t resist starting to decorate again.
This office makeover has been a rewarding experience. The custom cabinets, bookshelf, and desk area have transformed the space into a functional and beautiful office.
While the measurements are custom to my office, I hope this post inspires you to take on your own DIY projects.
Stay tuned for my next project: the kids’ playroom!
