Office update {part 2: almost done}

I can't believe that we are over halfway through April and I am finally getting around to posting the almost finished office.  Not everything is perfect. at. all.  I think that's why I am showing you this.  The reality is that life happens when you start a project and things always take longer than you think.  I'm okay with that, because it has been fun redoing the office.  It's been a lot of work, yes.  Lot's of purging, organizing, rethinking things.  It has been full of hunting for deals and saying goodbye to some things that we just don't use anymore.  There are still piles to be dealt with and solutions to be thought of, but we are getting there. 

When we started this project, the goal was to make it a place where Jon and I could both get work done and relax in.  After showing him lots of pins on white offices, I finally talked him into it and we agreed on a paint color for the walls (thanks HGTV magazine!).  It also worked well that we got to fit in an IKEA visit on a recent trip to Los Angeles.  It happened to be the first month the new Burbank location had opened.  It was HUGE.  It's probably the biggest one I have ever been in and we thought we would never make it to the bathrooms, once one kid said he had to pee. We made it and found what we wanted and it fit in the car, which was an added plus.  

We ordered two IKEA Alex drawer units and a Lack table top to make the table.  We are really happy with them so far.  Eventually, the table top will probably be replaced with something longer to span the width of closet to wall space that we were hoping for.  We also want to replace our fun folding chair with a more comfortable chair that can double as another place to turn and watch TV. 

 

We decided on the Ekby metal brackets with white shelves, however, in our exhaustion (it was the end of our fun adventure), we brought home the wrong shelves for the brackets.  They went with another Ekby bracket and are about a half inch thinner than the Ekby Bjarnum shelves we were supposed to get.  Of course, we didn't notice it until we had them up and noticed the gap.  And we are probably the only ones who really notice it.  These shelves are actually ending up to be a bit more sturdy. . . they are real wood as opposed to hollow.  So, I think we will keep them instead of trying to find the right pair on our next trip to IKEA, which probably won't be until we start the kid's bedroom re-do.   

We also bought some cute white pots and some of their fake plants to add a bit of color.  I haven't had much luck in keeping houseplants alive so, for now, we will just enjoy the fake ones.  The boxes and picture frames I found at Hobby Lobby and love the simplicity of them on the shelves.  

We bought a couple of IKEA Kallax bookcases to put around the room for storage and to put the TV on top of. We even found some cute crates and metal baskets to add some color and texture to the room to store things in the bookcases.  We will eventually put our diplomas on this wall along with some other art work . . . maybe a collage wall of some sort? 

And finally the couch.  I need to make some covers that will make the room pop a little more and I have just the right fabric for them.  That will probably happen when school gets out for the summer.   

Under the couch, in flat storage containers, is where I am hiding all of my fabric.  We found this couch at Cost Plus just after the new year (and on sale!) and we couldn't resist.  In fact, that's the whole thing that got us on this crazy adventure!  I found the curtains at Home Goods. . .they are my favorite place to find great curtains! 

Well, that's all for now.  The next step is to slowly add some color that makes the room pop.  I am still on the lookout for a fun rug and someday we will replace this ugly carpet (the bedrooms are the last rooms to have the floors updated).  And do a bit more purging and organizing to get rid of the random piles around.  I am on the lookout for maybe some narrow end tables for each side of the couch. . . not 100 percent sure about that one though.  

If you are curious about the before, click over here to see part 1 of this adventure.