This post is sponsored by Tuesday Morning. All opinions are my own.
You know when you move into a new house and you dump everything in a room and live like that? Well, that was my office. Above was the before photo. And honestly, this wasn’t even the worst of it. While redoing our master bedroom, the empty spot behind my desk was FULL of boxes of furniture waiting to be put in the room. Toys were everywhere. It was awful to work in here.
Here’s the other side of the room. So yeah, it was bad. The closet has no doors. There’s clutter everywhere. This room just wasn’t working for me. The other thing that was tricky is that our playroom is under construction so this space is playroom meets office meets family room. Luckily its nice and big to accommodate all those needs!
I was living with the mess while we redid the master bedroom. But when it was complete, I knew I wanted to tackle this room. The catch? I didn’t want to spend a ton of money! Here’s how I did it.
step one- change the layout
The first thing I did was change the layout (note, these are process photos- the afters are at the bottom). When we got our new dining table, the old one came in here which really cramped everything. I LOVE having this table in here- I do crafts on it, open boxes, and this is where we have extra seating when family and friends come over. Now that I moved the sofa, it works much better.
Just spacing out the furniture out to make sense of the space made a huge difference! The desk moved to the back window- which I love looking out to the backyard while working (the desk used to be in front of the window to the garage). This room is shaped like a T which makes it tricky, but after pushing all of the furniture around, I was happy with this arrangement. The dresser that was in this room went into the closet to clear up even more space.
purchase items needed for the space
While moving the furniture around, I made a list of things I needed to make the room actually work for me. When I’m designing a room, I like to be intentional about what I put in the room- I like to include things are beautiful or functional (and hopefully both). The list included things like a garbage can, drapes to cover the closet, and a container to hold post it notes on my desk. I headed to Tuesday Morning to pick up the items to finish the space.
My goal was to design this room on a budget, so Tuesday morning was the perfect stop since they offer amazing savings while selling quality products! I even found a few name brand products like Heidi Swapp letter boards and the One Canoe Two globe!
Here’s a sampling of the items I bought for the room from Tuesday Morning! They had a big variety of products and it felt like a treasure hunt as I browsed the aisles finding the perfect pieces. Here’s a link to where you can find a store near you. They have new deals everyday, so its fun to pop in to see what’s new and on sale! Their clearance area was SO good while I was shopping! That marble geode container was on sale for $7.79!
decluttering
The last thing I did for this room was I decluttered the space. I hung art, went through piles of junk and put it away (or trashed or donated items). As I worked in the room I made sure my family used what was in the office. This step was key in redoing this room on a budget! I spent hours working on cleaning up the junk and arranging everything in a way that made sense. This didn’t cost any money, but made a world of difference!
after- table
I moved the rug into the center of the room. One day I’ll get a bigger rug to layer under this one. But for now, this works much better. The space feels much happier and lighter. Best of all, it works for our family!
For the table, I added some accessories for the table from Tuesday Morning. The blue and white jar was $29.99, the hydrangeas were found in the clearance section for $10.39 and the candle (which smells amazing!) was $9.99. I like having a pretty arrangement of accessories on tables so the whole thing doesn’t end up covered in mail or something. Making it feel special protects it (if that makes sense).
after- toys
On the other side of the room, I hung mint drapes ($19.99) over the closet. Not seeing the clothes inside it makes such a difference! I put down a rug we already had and this is now Don’s play area.
I found a gold cute shelf at Tuesday Morning for $49.99 and used it to corral Don’s toys. The rest of his toys are now inside the closet on the floor. Hint, if you organize toys, its the perfect time to donate a few. I made sure to hold onto them for at least a week to make sure I didn’t pick one to donate that my son loves and asked for.
I know this little shelf doesn’t seem like it would make a big difference, but it sure does! His toys are now off the floor and he can see what goes where. So clean up is easier and actually happens every night! Thank goodness!
after- sofa
I gave the sofa a good cleaning and moved it under the front window. This is where you’ll find my dogs sleeping all day long.
On the tray on the faux fur ottoman, I placed a $5.99 faux succulent on it. I love that I can’t kill this little plant! Plus the geometric shape and the gold accent are so fun!
after- desk
I spent a lot of time making the desk area work better for me! I used to just put sticky notes on the wall with my to do list. This looked horrible so I used a letter board and added $3.99 tassel paper clips to hold my to do list. I also moved my calendar over to this wall. Now I can see with a glance what I need to do for the day.
The left side of the desk are where I put my new globe ($9.99) and the marble geode container ($7.79). I love that the flower globe adds some whimsy and fun to this serious area. The geode container is pretty and holds white out, post it notes, and paper clips. Yay for pretty storage!
When we moved, I used the rest of my wrapping paper and didn’t replace it. I decided to make a gift wrap station for this house- which I think will be really nice for Christmas! Tuesday Morning has really cute wrapping paper! And its affordable too- $3.99 a roll! I also added paper bags ($3.99 a pack), tissue paper, and cards inside a tall basket ($9.99).
after- rest of the room
The door to the bathroom used to be wood (and really ugly) so I gave it a fresh coat of paint! Now it coordinates in nicely with the floral mural I installed here.
The door is right next to the DIY shelves I made here. This bookcase filled with my favorite books, pretty art, and accessories makes me so happy! And even more happy that I removed all the toys that were on here too ;).
Around the corner is my floral cabinet (that’s full of crafting supplies). I layered art with an abstract and a faux letter board with a message perfect for an office.
So there you have it! Push some furniture around, declutter, spend $250 in cute accessories and furniture from Tuesday Morning and here’s an office that I am super happy with! One day I’ll paint the walls and add in baseboards where there aren’t any (for 1/2 of the room). But for now, it is honestly so much better! We spend a lot of time in here and I am so grateful it is working better for my family now!Want to remember this post? Pin it!