Office Reveal – Renovation Diaries

I’m back again with another room reveal and it’s another one that I’m very excited about as it’s my office reveal. I’ve never really had a dedicated workspace but through a combination of my blog/ freelance work and the fact that working from home is going to be part of my ‘norm’, it’s an important space. The desk area was one space I was desperate to be ready when we moved in. I’d had enough with setting up my work station on the dining room table.

Having a separate workspace has been amazing for keeping work and leisure as two distinctly different things. When I’m sat in this room I’m working either in my full-time job or outside of that. And when I’m in the living room or the bedroom it’s leisure space. And I feel very thankful that I’m privileged enough to have the space to do this.

How it looked before the office reveal

Here is a little look at what the room looked like before this office reveal. The main difference is the double French doors which used to lead from the living room to the office space. When the house was first built the office didn’t exist and it was added as part of a single story extension. But when the extension was done rather than building a wall where the old French doors were they were left in. And two sets of people have moved in since and done nothing with them. To us, they were a waste as they’d never get used to walk through. And you’d lose the wall space in both the living room and the office.

So Luke and his dad ripped them out and built a new wall with insulation into the space. We decided to get a window put in the near the top to allow light to travel through from the garden next to the office into the living room. I’m so happy with our decision to do this as it’s made the rooms feel distinctly different as well.

The rest of the work done here was pretty much the same as everywhere else including new skirting boards, architrave, re-wiring, and a new radiator. And the original tiles were pulled up and we replaced it with wooden flooring which we have in our kitchen/diner.

Office reveal- Desk area

The room is actually quite wide when it comes to a desk area and we knew straight away that we wanted to put a desk in that was the width of the room. So we ended up getting this Grey Slate kitchen worktop from Worktop Express to repurpose as the desk. The sizing was the most important thing but it’s also sturdy and a lovely colour. Due to its weight, it has a leg on either side. But it’s also reinforced on a wooden frame the whole way round the wall.

Now the actual desk space is a bit of a mess and I’m still trying to work out the best way to make it work for me. As I use it for both full-time work and personal work I have items I switch out. So my work laptop and my personal laptop and certain notebooks and items I use for one or the other.

The right side is my self-care side where I have some beauty bits like lip balm, hand cream, and face spray. There’s also an aroma diffuser and candle spot as I love having a candle burning or scent spraying while I am working.

Then the left side and underneath are the bits I’m working on. It might not look too pretty at the moment but it does the job for me currently. Of course, it wouldn’t be a desk without my trusty Ikea Alex 5 Drawers. Although it’s such a shame that they don’t do the grey anymore.

Artwork and displays around the desk

Around my desk space, I have quite a lot going on. But it’s kind of what I wanted for the room. It’s my personal space and a room I could decorate my own way. On the left wall, I have all of my wristband frames which I love as it reminds me of all of the amazing festivals I’ve been to. Although I do think I want to re-frame them soon. Then on the right side, I have a diamond-shaped shelf which I got from Urban Outfitters a while back.

Behind my desk, on the wall, I have three of the Ikea picture ledges which are filled with photos, faux plants, and trinkets which make me happy whenever I look at them. They all centre around the Antlers of Eden Floral Decoration from Grindstore which I love. It gives such an amazing central point to the display wall and breaks up the shelves. These shelves are the newest addition to the room so I’m still playing around with the displays and how it looks. I’m sure these will evolve and change a lot over time. But for the moment I’m very happy with how they look.

Storage and the other side of the office

As you walk in on the left I have this Tall Storage cupboard which is actually designed for shoes. I needed something a specific size but I didn’t want anything which felt too commercial office-like. Plus I ideally wanted a walnut finish to match with the darker wood on the floor. Dwell doesn’t seem to do this version anymore which is a shame but it is exactly what I was looking for. I only used about half of the shelves but it’s given me the storage I need. It houses paperwork, photo albums, craft supplies, and my printer when it arrives.

Then on the far end, I have my Nevo Designer Radiator which makes such a difference in the room and doesn’t take up much space. I have some artwork on the walls here that showcase my love for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Tim Burton.

Display cabinets

I knew I wanted some pink in the house somewhere. So I opted for it on the wall behind my cabinets. It means you don’t see the pink from the communal kitchen/ diner. And because we painted by the window in grey you don’t see a contrasting colour when you look through the window in the living room.

So this cut in space is where the French doors used to sit. After measuring up we realised four of these Ikea display cabinets would fit here perfectly. If anyone saw photos of my old flat I had all of my Funko Pop Vinyls in their boxes. But I knew as we’d have the loft space to store the empty boxes that I wanted to unbox all of the ones I had. So these alongside my general Nightmare Before Christmas collectibles are housed in these cabinets. Every time I look at this space it fills me with such happiness and joy. It also reminds me that I have a little bit of an obsession but I’m okay with that.

What do you think of my office reveal?

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