Monday, November 19, 2018

FULL HOUSE Renovation Before and After - Jeff's Office

I'm back with another post-renovation post - can you believe I'm not finished with them yet?  Truth is that we got busy living and enjoying the house without quite finishing the last little bits, all decorating-related, but we finally hung up all of the artwork in Jeff's office so I have something to show you.

That said, I don't actually have a before picture of his office, mostly because it was unremarkable and also really cluttered.  It used to be Sam's bedroom, but once we figured out that Sam wasn't moving back home, Jeff claimed it for a home office/computer gaming room, moved our old kitchen table in to use as a desk, and that's pretty much how it was for close to 10 years.  The only changes we made, renovation-wise, were new paint and carpet.  The rest was all decor.

When we decided to do the renovation and change up the furniture in the family room, we planned on moving the two cabinets that were in the family room into Jeff's office, and adding a third one, to give him plenty of room to display all of his knick knacks, plus hidden storage for photo and stamp albums, as well as books.  The cabinets were Billy bookcases with added doors, from Ikea - they've had this line for decades so that was an easy decision to repurpose what we had and add another unit.  Only Ikea had other ideas...they changed the system ever so slightly a couple of years ago, and the doors are a little different, as well as the finish.  We liked the new finish but it was definitely not a perfect match with what we owned, and because Jeff had waited so long to do his office, I gave him the option of getting all new cabinets - it would have added about $350 to the cost, but at that point with all that we were spending on the renovation, it was not a big deal, especially if he wanted it.

With that in mind, we went to Ikea where we hemmed and hawed, trying to decide what to do.  In the end, Jeff liked some narrow units that were actually for CD/DVD storage, and with those along with one new cabinet, we came up with this set up:
It works great for the plethora of mementos that he's saved over the years, and we like that it fills the entire wall with just a couple of inches to spare on each side.  I still am not opposed to replacing the other two cabinets to match the middle set, but he's fine with how it looks.  And in case you were wondering, we couldn't simply buy new doors because Ikea changed how they fit onto the bookcase, of course.

Jeff was ready for a nicer desk than our old pine kitchen table, and after considering all of the desks at Ikea (seriously, we were in the office area forever), he decided to get a butcher block desktop.  With that, you choose the style of leg for it - they ranged from $4 to $30 apiece, which made it quite reasonable because you know he chose the less expensive legs.  Once we attached the legs to the table top, we applied a coat of mineral oil to it and after it soaked in, he set up his desk:
Usually when he's sitting at his desk, Henry is laying on that empty corner spot.  

Jeff wanted a little side table for some storage but everything we looked at was either too wide and would have crowded him, or too high.  After an aha moment while putting his shoes away in his closet, we bought a couple of shoe organizers from Target that stacked together to make the side section that he was happy with.  Other Ikea purchases included a bar with hanging buckets for things like scissors, pens and pencils, and whatnot, and a new chair - it's the Markus, has a 10-year warranty, and is really comfortable.  I ended up getting one for myself after seeing how nice it was.

The hanging lamp was a neat find - we'd set up his office, and while the ceiling fan has nice bright LED lightbulbs, most of the time Jeff prefers a soft light.  We are complete opposites with this because I have all the bright lights on in my office - I can barely see anything otherwise.  We were making the rounds of furniture stores in town (all four of them), looking at couches, when we saw this lamp on display.  It had a price tag of $250 which was well beyond what we were interested in paying, but our saleswoman told us that they were having a huge sale on accessories, so we had her figure out the price, and when she came up with $50, Jeff said SOLD!  He really loves it and it adds some fun to the room:
The industrial look is pretty cool, plus the cleat reminds me of my sailing days.
 
 It came with an Edison bulb - seriously, this was a steal for $50!

We hung his framed record albums above the window, with the thought that he could add a couple on each side.  Believe me, we have plenty to choose from (and why did vinyl record albums make a comeback?  I thought we were in the digital age):
The window shade is as old as the house, 18 years, and while it still works perfectly, the ecru color doesn't look great with the gray walls.  I'm thinking about replacing it and a couple of other shades with white faux wood blinds.
View from his desk, with trusty dog lounging underneath.

You may be wondering why we hung the race mile marker underneath his medals, as it looks a little empty on top.  We have some framed race finisher pictures to hang above, but I wanted to wait to hang them until we have his marathon finisher picture, so this wall will be more complete in January.  Good things come to those who train, right?

Whew, only one more room to show and then the renovation update posts will finally be finished!

16 comments:

  1. I love that wall unit! I also like how you repurposed the shoe organizers. That's a great idea and it looks great! What a nice office for Jeff. Why does he use 2 computer monitors?

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    1. He prefers 2 monitors for gaming. I don't like it - I "lose" the mouse from one monitor to the other whenever I'm forced to be on his system.

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  2. Holy update! That's fantastic. And how nice that you each have your own office, although I suppose that also serves as Jeff's man cave?

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    1. It's as much as a man cave as he wants - no TV, but then he's not into sports.

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  3. Looks like a great place to get work done! I love your creativity.

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    1. Thanks! Although, he managed to write his Master's thesis in the junky old office...

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  4. I barely noticed that the new shelf is different. It mostly looks like a coloring difference when you glance at it. And of course IKEA changed it all out. Sigh.

    That is a total steal on that lamp! It's neat!

    It's so nice to have a space to display all your momentos like that. We use our office that way too.

    I am giggling at the comment asking why he has two monitors. I have three extra monitors at my desk. I need at least two to do my job. :)

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    1. My kadults have either three or four monitors - but with both of them doing programming, it helps. It looks like an air traffic control station at their desks, LOL.

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  5. Hmmm. Looks like Google isn't going to let me comment. I'll try one more time. I am very jealous of that great lamp and the price you got it for--I love it! And I love how useable the space is for Jeff. I also thought it was clever to use the shoe organizers for a side table--in fact, I am using a couple of those for my wool storage :)

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    1. Google has been doing that to me as well. I finally figured out the issue is really only with my iPad which I think is probably Apple and Google fighting ;)

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    2. Dang it, why can't Apple and Google get along!

      The shoe organizers are useful for a lot more than shoes, as you obviously know. :)

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  6. I think the wall unit turned out great...the whole room actually!!!

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  7. I gues I can only comment from my computer. Sucks because I'm only on it when I don't travel...rarely.

    Love ALL your renovations.

    This is your calling...a new career.

    I'll send your pics of my house and you can decorate it, ok?

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    1. I hate technical issues like what you're having!

      Glad you like my decorating so much - makes me feel good. :)

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