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DIY Home Office!

Oh man guys! I am super excited about this one. For a lot of reasons. For starters, I’ve been wanting build in bookshelves in my Library/reading room/front living room area forever. I made do with three leaning shelves for quite a while. Ok make do is a stretch. I’ve been really happy with them actually, except for the wasted wall space at the top. I really wanted something that had a little more height.

Then when we hung our new bus scroll last week on the other side of the room, a whole new idea slowly formed in my mind about a new function for this space, and a way to get my shelves.

Maybe you guessed it with the picture of my tiny desk from that last post or that hint about my birthday weekend project? We have a new office people!

Here’s my thinking, and a project breakdown.

The only computer we’ve really had for a long time is my little Mac Book. It is awesome, one of my dearest possessions, and I love it, but I mostly use it in bed and Vera isn’t allowed to touch it. We’ve been toying with the idea of a ‘family computer’ for a while and wanted it in a family space (ie. not stowed away in the upstairs office where it would never get used). So when I had the opportunity to get quite the deal on this older used Mac that is still in great shape, I snapped it up. I brought it home, we set it up, and a lightbulb went off.

I immediately ran to Lowes and picked up a 2x12x12 board and had them cut it down for me into three 48″ sections. I’m quite proud that I did this all on my own, since usually I am slightly intimidated by asking store workers for help and make the hub do the dirty work for me. This time though, I ‘ran an errand’ and then came home and asked for muscle, to which Brett responded “What project are we doing now?” Haha! He knows me too well.

Anyway, once home and unloaded, I sanded those babies down and stained them with the leftover stain from my half china cabinet project.

Then I secured them to some inexpensive brackets (also picked up at Lowes). Finally I had the hub help me secure them to the wall. Screwed right into the studs of course, because these are heavy, solid-wood shelves and they need to be able to hold some weight on top of it.

One, two, three shelves later:

And we have office storage. The total cost for these DIY shelves was less than $50. Which was mostly the brackets. Buying one pre-made shelf of that size would have cost nearly that much, so I feel very good about the savings.

Do you spy some of the goods I picked up at HomeGoods during their grand opening? :) They love their new home. And I LOOOVE my new office. We still have some patch up to do on the wall from the picture that used to hang there (of course we didn’t get rid of it- I love that picture!), and clearly we still need to finish those darn baseboards (aka the bane of my existence). We are also looking around for a desk that fits the space a little better and will hopefully help hide some of the computer wires too, but it’s fair to say the new office space is getting used everyday- and this room never did before. Even Vera likes to sit in the chair and play nursery rhymes on YouTube, so it really is a family computer and family space now. Mission accomplished.

Have a great weekend!
dawn sig

P.S.~ This room has been updated a few times since I built the shelves. Check out the new carpet, desk and rug, and see my home tour here.

office

 

8 Comments

  • kshawphotography

    Hey! Love the shelves! But I was wondering what color blue paint you used on that room??

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thank you! I believe the paint color is Academy Gray by Valspar.

      Reply
  • Dawn's House: DIY Library Shelving • AD Aesthetic

    […] used the same Minwax Special Walnut (affiliate) stain as on the shelves above the desk. I still really like the rich, medium-toned color, and love how it brings out the grain of the […]

    Reply
  • ChristyP

    Hi again! I stopped that last comment short, because the hubby came in the office. Explanation, the main reason I was leaving a comment was to ask about your bus scroll. As I said, hubby is huge into urban “stuff” and he would love one of those, so I was thinking ahead for maybe a Christmas present. I went to the link attached, but only found the black and white ones. I really love how yours has more of the brown, vintage look . Were you just able to customize it?
    Thanks for the inspiration:)
    Christy
    PS, here’s the hubbs blog. We live in a smaller eclectic town off the VA coast. We’re in the middle of hurricane Sandy, cross your finger we don’t loose power!
    http://norfolklive.blogspot.com

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Ah, got it. Yes, they are all distressed, but mine is actually wood instead of canvas, so that’s why it has a more brown tone. I am sure if you message him through his etsy shop, Jamie will work with you to get they style you’re looking for. I know he’s done custom scrolls for several people and they always turn out beautifully.

      Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Oh my gosh I almost forgot to say good luck with the storm!! Hopefully you guys make it through unscathed. It looks scary!

      Reply
  • ChristyP

    Hi Dawn! I must congratulate you for making me a devoted follower of yours. My husband has a urban style blog for the goings-on in our city, (and I don’t even follow his!). We are in the TTC stage now, and I came across your nursery. LOVE doesn’t even begin to describe how much I enjoy everything about it!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Hi Christy! Thank you so much. What a great compliment and so nice to read on a Monday morning. :) Good luck with TTC! What an exciting time. Oh, and don’t feel bad, my husband rarely reads my blog either. He says he already knows what we’re doing so he doesn’t need to read about it. Haha.. I’d love to check out your husband’s blog though. Would you send me a link?

      Reply

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