Writing Room Refresh

My house has kind of become a war zone lately with our newest business. Papercraft has claimed our dining room, the room next to the kitchen and our extra bedroom. Chores have begin to slip through the cracks, especially right before convention time, and I've gone a little insane. Because of all this, it has become nearly impossible to write in my own house. 

When I sit down to write, I really need a clear head but how can I get to that space when there are cut paper kits sitting next to me that need to get done and sweeping? So my husband and I agreed that I needed to carve out my own little section in the house for a writing room.

Over the last few weekends, every moment of my free time has gone toward remodeling our office area into a calming oasis to write. I wanted to chronicle this journey since I am so proud of it!

The Bookshelves

The first thing I knew I was going to need was storage. I have two other bookshelves that are weighed down with books but I knew I wanted something to keep all my other things on. After searching the local thrift shops, I found twin tall bookshelves that were perfect. They costs me $75 for the pair (though since I got the desk with them, the whole thing only cost me $100) but they were pretty ugly. You can see what the looked like on the top left picture.

My best friend helped me pick out a color to spray paint them and then we decided to try our hand at wallpapering the backs. The top right photo is a picture of me laying the first piece of wall paper and the bottom left are the bookshelves just as my friend finished spray painting them. We brought them into the room, stapled the backs on and completed the first piece for the new writing room.

It took us about a day to finish sanding, painting and papering the shelves and cost me about $150 total. However, I think they look incredible and I imagine they would retail for a lot more than $150 so I am really pleased.

The Desk

In searching for a desk, it quickly became clear that the type of desk I wanted would need to be made. So after searching thrift stores, I picked up that mess of a thing in the top right and left corners. I really hated the black paint but I thought we could make it work.

My friend and I decided on a metallic silver for the desk because we thought it would make the room appear brighter. After sanding and spray painting it, we realized that there was a really big split in the front. If I had wanted the desk to face a wall, it wouldn't of mattered but I wanted the desk out. In order to hide the crack, we found some fun printed bird fabric and using spray adhesive, we cut the fabric to fit the desk panels.

In all, the desk took about half a day to transform. I'm still planning on getting a cute lining for inside the drawers but for now, I am really pleased with it. I wanted something big with lots of storage and this really fits the ticket. 

In a few weeks, I will order this to go on top of the desk exactly as it appears in the picture with a cute vase!:

Book Ornaments by Meiorigami

The Rest

After snagging a lighting fixture I'd already ordered and purchasing a rug and two chairs, my writing room is mostly complete! I'm still looking for fun decorative things on Etsy to fill the room with my personality but I am so pleased with the way it is coming out. Check out my awesome before and after picture:

The top left is before, the top right is during and the bottom two are after. Here is a photo of all the fun things around the room including my light fixture:

And here are two close ups of the room and the desk with the fabric panel on it.

The only things left to do are to get my computer set up and find a chair for the desk. I want something comfy, compact and stylish so I have a feeling I'll have to do a little looking. There is still some clutter on the other side of the room that we need to ship off but it is only a few sweeps away from being perfect. I am so proud that I was actually able to make this vision come true with a combination of purchasing and re-purposing. The bookshelves and desk have become my favorite parts!

Do you have a place where you go to read or write?