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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Closet Office Progress

Jason  has made some serious progress on turning our hall closet into an office.  The major work is pretty much done.  All we have left to do are a few finishing touches and decorating.

A brief word about this space:  This closet is located under the stairs in our Cape Cod style home.  It has served many purposes.  When we first moved in, it served as a place for all of Imani's messy toys, like paints, crayons, games with a million pieces, moon sand etc. 

About a year ago, I moved all of her stuff out and re-claimed the space as storage for all of our miscellaneous belongings. 

Here is the mess we had going on.





When we started our guest room redesign, I decided I wanted to hide my office stuff, like the computer, printer and office accessories.  My solution was to move the office into the closet.  It took a bit of convincing, but I got Jason on board and, like always, he went to work to fulfill my wish.

The first order of business was to move all of the stuff out and find a new home for most of it.

Here is the closet when it was almost empty.



Notice that horrible cheap tiled ceiling and the strange recessed light on the wall?  Jason was convinced the light came out of a submarine.

Jason set to work, first installing beadboard up the wall and then painting it white.





He also ripped out those ugly panels on the ceiling and installed wooden planks, which he painted white.  The floor was in rough shape, so Jason sanded it and finished it with polyurethane.  Here's a picture of it just as he was finishing and I ran in with my camera to remind him he's not allowed to finish without first taking a picture!




He also added a board with sliding rails under the desk area for our keyboard to the computer.

Finally, he painted it and changed out the light fixture.  We got the lights at Overstock for $30 a piece.  I'm considering getting a table lamp to add more light to the space.  Check out these table lamps on Overstock  and let me know which one you think would look nice on the desk area.  I'm thinking maybe the Grandrich Paper Shade table lamp, but I'm still not sure.

Here's the progress.




Here is a before and after, just for fun.   Not bad for just under $125, right?

BEFORE



AFTER


We used "Cozy Cottage" by Valspar on the walls.  I wanted a light yellow on the walls and the idea is that I will also use this chair in there.




We still have to select what accessories we will put in here -- pictures of some sort on the wall, storage for office supplies, desk accessories, etc.  Any ideas you have to make this space beautiful would be greatly appreciated!


PS -- Notice my new header and button?  I am super thrilled that my good friend Ben hooked me up with these.    .  You might remember Cindy and Herb of Country Buzzins?  They are the cool folks who create antique-looking signs.  If you missed all of their great work and their cool house, no worries! I posted about them here.  Well, Ben is their incredibly talented son (who just happens to be married to one of my very close friends, Brittney . . . who I am trying to convince to start a blog.)   Ben is an artist, teacher, and an incredibly creative person, very much like his parents.  A big thank you to Ben.  If you get a chance, head on over and check out his art work!











25 comments:

  1. First, I like the new header. I noticed immediately! Second, I love what you are doing under the stairs and can't wait to see it with all the accessories, etc. I don't think you need a separate table lamp. I think you'll need all the surface space you can get. I'm really interested in seeing the final space because we have the same closet under our stairs!

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  2. What a great idea! I love that the closet is deep enough for you to do this. I LOVE those lights and the fact that your sweetie put in the beadboard and clapboard ceiling. So nice!

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  3. Your new header is fabulous, your new office is fabulous, your hubby is obviously fabulous and so are you and your ideas!! Well done you xx

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  4. the new office is beautiful!! We had a recessed storage area like that once, it would totally work for a computer room! Love your new header too, its very classy.

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  5. AWESOME! I love it! What a great use of space!

    You're hubby is SO cute and SO awesome, for doing that for you!

    Husbands like ours... RULE! lol. :)

    I can't wait to see the finished product!

    Shelley

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  6. OH... ps. I LOVE the new header! It's so classy and clean!
    TOTALLY my style!
    Shelley

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  7. The new office looks awesome...great job!!

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  8. I love the transformation in your office-in-a-closet. I don't think you will need any more light than that either, as computers give off their own glow. It's funny you posted this today as I have my office-in-a-closet post finished and ready to come out on Thursday. You will be able to see the I've used the closet for many years look with mine (haha). You are going to love your little office. I can't wait to see the little extras you add.

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  9. I love the transformation of your office/closet. It is amazing what you can do with a small place. I like your beadboard with the yellow walls. It really makes it bright and cheery.
    Joy

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  10. That area looks great and it's so light and cheerful!

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  11. Wow this is a great makeover. What a cozy space to work.

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  12. What a great transformation Stephenie! Your office is coming along so well! It will be so nice to have a space for the computer that is so well thought out. xx

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  13. Saw your blog from Girl Creative and I love the remodel!! What a sweet husband :) Can't wait to see the office space complete!

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  14. Stephenie,

    Great job on re-purposing the closet into a computer nook! Kudos to Jason! Question: Did he cover up a window? I think I see a window in the before photo but not in the after. Looking forward to you adding the Stephenie touch!

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

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  15. PS Forgot to mention how much I like your header!

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  16. What an amazing transformation. Love the beadboard and the lights are fabulous! Would love for you to stop by the Sunday Showcase Party if you get a chance. Hope you are enjoying your weekend!This is going to be a fabulous space!

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  17. Deborah,

    No, Jason didn't cover up a window. We would never, ever cover a window because we are natural light-loving people. What you see in that first picture is a very odd light that Jason thinks came from a submarine! We moved the light and changed the light fixture. It was hideous!

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  18. The blog looks amazing and so does your new closet space!! Wow, I am incredibly impressed!! We want to do a white beadboard with yellow walls for our guest bathroom and you completely proved that it's a winning combo. What is the name of the yellow you used? It's absolutely perfect!

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  19. Oops! Just realized you wrote the name in the post. I'll double check myself next time!

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  20. Stephenie,

    Thanks for responding. I was sure neither of you would remove or cover a window but I didn't realize that was the light fixture you were describing. No wonder you took it down! Again, great job!

    Deborah

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  21. The before and after photos look great in there. It's simply amazing that a simple closet can turn into that. We hired a contractor from eContractorBids.com to work on our entry way...maybe I should have him take a look at our extra closet in the hall as well...

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    & get inspired by something for your family/home. I hope you will follow me as well. We also are having a Mother’s Day Giveaway til Wed. hope you can join in. Nice to meet ya new friend!!!

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  23. Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing at the Sunday Showcase Party! I greatly appreciate it! This is stunning! Fabulous job! Hope you have a great week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

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