My No Cost Office Renovation

This office makes me all kinds of happy.

It's warm, it's organized and well merchandised.

A gal can dream.

My office has been a pin in my ass for twenty years.

I'm sorry to swear - I am - but in this situation, there is no other word for it.

A pin my friends.

It's always been half done - haphazard, piled.

It's the place to put something when there is no other place to put it.

One of the many joys of an old home is the lack of storage.

Guess what? I reckon they didn't need so much back then.

We could perhaps learn a lesson here.

My office is my pantry.

It's my utility room.

It's Aaron's school room.

It's my sewing room.

Here's a candid picture of it last week.

Nothing was removed to portray a blog fantasy world.

Not too shabby.

But wait - it gets better.

Here's what it looked like when you first walked in.

An old chimney cupboard I bought for $50 ages ago.

My vacuum, sewing machine and all of Aaron's schoolbooks are housed in here.

Landsakes, I really hate for you to see this.

But here it is.

Some built in shelves that were here when we moved in. They don''t look too bad until I go grocery shopping, and then it gets out of control. I try, most times to keep it tidy. Then I go through a spell where I don't care.

Obviously.

An old chair I picked up a month or so ago at a yard sale for $4.

Nice and sturdy.

There was just 'something about it' that I liked.

For about two days I thought - OK - I'm redoing this hole of a room. It's so uninspiring. It's so dark. I'm going to repaint and get a new desk. I'm going to make a desk. I'm going to cobble things and make a huge project out of all this.

Then I realized that I didn't want to spend any money.

Hmmm.

Then I realized that I'd decided in January not to buy anything new - 'member?

(there will be updates to my Quest for a Simple Life very soon)

So - I did my best and this is what I came up with.

I repurposed what I had.

Did I get you?

Any of you!?

Probably not.

This is the view going in the office now.

I moved the desk.

That is a story in and of itself.

Most people would disassemble the L shaped desk.

Most people would wait until they had help in the house to move the L shaped desk.

I ain't most people.

Bugs get up my butt and I can't wait for help or take the time to disassemble.

I'll spare you the details, but thankfully I had my cell phone on me, and my neighbor was home to help me. I got caught behind the desk, in the corner, in my nightgown.

Let's move on.

It was very hard for me to keep this desk.

I'm so over it.

But guess what? There's nothing wrong with it, other than my hormonal finicky fit.

I stole the rug off the front porch.

I didn't paint.

Again - I need to stop the madness.

I moved the cabinet over to the other side of the room. It's much easier to access it.

I'm not IN LOVE with all my white boxes, but it is what it is.

I feel whiney.

I brought up some stuff I had in the basement, and cozied it up a little.

I used to decorate very primitive, very 'clutterery'. I got away from that, and now I'm feeling the need for a little more clutter than usual.

I call it 'merchandising'.

Must be from my Pier One days.

I'm really not sure what I'm doing with hanging pictures under the map.

Really, I don't - not sure if that will stay, or I'll add to it. I got that picture for fifty cents at a yard sale, and my cousin painted the one sitting on the floor. I just like them.

I framed one of my old Woman's World magazines. I have one for each of the seasons, and I'll change them out accordingly.

I recovered the chair with fabric I had.

Another hard one.

I really wanted new fabric.

But I had this - but I wanted new - but I had this -

For some silly reason, the lamp is driving me crazy.

Loved it when I bought it - ten years ago - and now - not so in love with it - but I have it.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

That's my motto, and I'm sticking with it.

No, really. I am.

Really.