I’ve been a busy bee around here lately, moving furniture, painting furniture and generally freshening things up at my house. After 2 1/2 years of living in this house, it was time to revisit some of my pieces and rooms and get them in better shape.
My office had gotten SO cluttered and full of stuff that I just didn’t want to be in there anymore, so for the last year, I’ve hardly walked in there except to print things on the printer. Not exactly a good use of space. I knew that I needed to declutter the Ballard shelves and the big bookcase was so crammed with stuff that I couldn’t find anything. Plus, it just looked bad. Nothing like clutter to keep you from enjoying a room.
At just over 10 x 10′, this room is not huge, but I packed a lot in here.
Wall color is Fennel by Pratt & Lambert, but Sherwin Williams can mix it too. Same color as my kitchen.
Stencil is Royal Designs and is the large Moorish. Here’s a tutorial I did at my sister’s house, using the same stencil.
Desk is from Target online, bought it about 7 or 8 years ago. Drapes are from Ikea.
Light fixture is a $5 thriftstore find. (love those deals!)
So, welcome to my new and improved office space. It feels so good in here now!
After living with all black furniture in here, I came to the conclusion that lightening up some of these pieces would make my room feel lighter. And it does! I painted the bookshelf and the wall shelves with Maison Blanche Oyster paint and I’ll show you that later on. Those wall shelves came from Ballard Designs and I have had them for years. They are great shelves!
I was more particular about what I brought back in here on the shelves too. A few storage pieces and framed family photos keep the shelves pretty, but not overly cluttered.
Here’s a Before shot when I first moved in the office and the shelves were black. I had way too much stuff on them.
AFTER painting the shelves.
In a small room, having shelves on the wall is a great use of space and keeps things up and out of the way. I can store things in the basket above and that little black and white drawer piece holds some small things too. This room just over 10×10′, not huge at all. So I tried to make the best use of space with the pieces I already have.
Fave pictures of my family. One of my sweet readers sent me that Haggai 2:9 sign before I moved in my house. When I read that verse, it brought tears to my eyes:
“The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty”.
This is a verse that truly speaks to my heart and is such a testimony to what God has done in my life. My house is a place of peace for me!
Pencils and knick-knacks.
The turquoise chevron chair came from Wayfair. Life is Beautiful pillow and clock from Joss and Main.
The Ikea Expedit wall unit in the closet hides away things I don’t need to be seen, like paint swatches, envelopes, files and more.
The closest was the perfect place to tuck away a storage piece like this and leaving off the closet doors made sense.
I still love my botanical prints from Saturated Color. They add a fun touch in the turquoise barn style frames.
A new addition in my office is this adorable aqua file cabinet that I found at Homegoods. I’m a Homegoods ambassador now and will be working with them through the year and they sent me a gift card to use. I love this little file cabinet on wheels. Perfect for filing away my every day clutter and I’m going to get it organized soon. I’ll be getting some colorful hanging folders and files and set up a system I can really use. No more clutter in here!
This pretty sign came from Wayfair awhile ago too.
Here’s a BEFORE when the bookshelf was black. I removed most of the stuff from the top and lots from the shelves. Now I can breathe!
I majorly decluttered the bookcase and after adding most of my decorating books on one shelf, brought back the storage baskets and a few other storage pieces that I can see easily and know what is there.
This bookcase was a yardsale find in Birmingham for $50 and this is its 2nd transformation. You can see the first painted black, back in 2008. I took the original backing off this piece and nailed on real beadboard. This time I painted it in Annie Sloan Florence, but had the paint mixed at Lowes in Valspar. It’s the same color I painted my front door, inside and out. I’ll share a post on how I painted it later. I love it so much better now!
A few baskets for storage and containers for corralling the clutter is all that is needed. I have a hole punch, stapler and tape dispenser handy.
And decorating books for easy reference.
This bulletin board has been with me for a long time too. It was a yardsale frame I found and painted, added foam core board with fabric and it serves me well as a bulletin board.
One more tiny sign that I found at a yardsale years ago too is inspirational to me. This duo is my favorite verses ever and I hold them near and dear to my heart.
So, that’s my new and improved office space. I can’t tell you how good it feels to declutter the room and get back in here again. I will enjoy looking out the window and enjoying the pretty view.
I’d love for you to check out my new guide on how we updated my 1970’s fireplace, by adding a rustic mantel and planked wall. I love it so much better now! Just click the photo!
I love these pics and your renewed room! I also love the Haggai scripture you have in there. I use that passage in my counseling ministry, but I now see that it would be great to use and meditate upon as I work on this barny old lake house! Thanks.
I’m a new reader of your blog and really enjoy your style and the projects you’ve done. Thanks for sharing your ideas!!
Thank you, Melise, glad you found me!
Wow! Now that’s an office you would want to work in! The color combinations are perfection!
What a nice office space, Rhoda. I like the pops of turquoise and aqua. Now if only that textured ceiling could be smoothed….right? Does it bother you???? I never understood popcorn/textured ceilings. Have a great week.
HI, Ron, thank you! Actually my ceilings don’t bother me at all. They are those swirly plaster and not popcorn and these are the ceilings I grew up with, so I kinda like them in my 70’s house.
I was actually going to do a search about your ceilings. I like them. I have popcorn and would kill to have the swirlys.
When I first saw your Saturated Color prints, I decided to order and bought 3 for my kitchen and love them.. Great suggestion!
Like the office, but then I liked the old office. I wish you’d shown the cluttered version, then we’d better apppreciate all the work you did. We need a “before” to go with the new shiny “after”.
Stuff does keep sneaking back in; creeping in when your back is turned and having clutter babies. You gradually get used to it or learn to close the door until you finally say “enough!”
Patricia, I did a post a couple of weeks ago talking about the changes and as I was in the process of clearing out and decluttering. You can get an idea of everything I took out of here from this post. And I took some things off the walls too. I added in a couple of BEFORE shots too.
http://southernhospitalityblog.com/office-organization-and-decluttering/
Thanks Rhoda. It does look so much better now.
I’ve been looking at office redo pictures. One thing I hate is that most of them show no “clutter” whatsoever. No computer unless it’s a laptop. No staplers. No pens and pencils. No files. Nothing. Sure they’re pretty but they are totally unrealistic!!! Yours is pretty but also an office that someone actually WORKS in and keeps their STUFF in. Very helpful! Thank you!
HI, Janine, thank you! Yes, my office is well used and has clutter.
Your office is so bright and cheery, love the colors! Seeing that you used the closest for your storage piece, is similar to what we did with one of our closets. We renovated our guest suite two years ago, and added a new walk in closest and bathroom. We used the original closest in the bedroom as a tv cabinet, but left the doors on though. Enjoy your new office!!
What a glorious space! I know you will enjoy it and I bet it will even make you more productive. Thanks for sharing Haggai 2:9. My recently divorced daughter has had to sell her house and will soon begin a new life in another. I’m going to share that verse with her, hopefully in a cute, clever way.!?!
Your office looks fabulous, what a transformation. You’ve inspired me to get on with the renovation of my office. After looking at cracked & peeling plasters walls for the last 6 years I just had new sheetrock installed. Now on to the fun stuff. Thanks again for the inspiration
Great job on your office, just beautiful. I always look forward to your posts your decorating style is so inspiring.
I liked your office before but the lighter brighter version is lovely. Love the aqua file cabinet on wheels too.
I liked it before, but this just look happier! A LOT of work, I’m sure, but worth it.
I agree about popcorn or textured ceilings. We can’t all go around undertaking the huge expense and mess of removing them. The next year they would be back in style! I don’t even notice ceilings in homes that much. Just like we can’t change every piece of hardware, hinges, switch plates, light fixtures. If we do, then that goes out of style.
It is much more important to watch your money for retirement, trips, normal expenses, etc. I hope people can learn to accept some of the architectural periods as they are. Griping about ceilings is snooty.
The white makes me feel like I’ve just taken a huge breath. It’s so alive and springy looking.
Rhoda,
I could soooo relate when you said you didn’t want to even be in your office because of clutter! Thank You – you helped me figure out WHY I never go in my craft /girl cave anymore! Will start fixing that ASAP !
Your office looks gorgeous! Isn’t it funny how we can love something, then change it up, then love the new look so much more and almost wonder how we ever liked the first look at all!! You have great style!
Great article! I am starting the process of redecorating my own office. It is about the same size so your ideas really helped me to picture my own office completed. Question: where did you get the file boxes & baskets that were on you Ikea wall unit? That entire set-up is what I was looking for. Thanks for you website/FB page. You are keeping me inspired!
HI, Deborah, all of those files and baskets came from Ikea. If you have one close by, they are a great source for office storage.
What paint did you use on the Ballard Shelves and was the finish as smooth as the original? Would like to paint my gray ones black.
Just noticed that you used the Maison Blanche Oyster paint. What is the finish like?
HI, Sherry, you can get a good smooth finish if you spray paint, so that’s what I’d recommend if you have a color in mind and you can find it. I did that the first time I painted them and it’s a lot easier than the chalk paint.
Thank you.