Mini Office Makeover

This is where the other half of my blog takes place. We recently decided to give this room a mini makeover. We had a cherry wood desk in here with a black leather computer chair. It just wasn’t doing it for me. For as much time as I spend in this office in the evenings and on the weekends, I wanted to brighten it up. I’m thankful I had Jason’s support in this. I know it’s kind of a girly room, but he’s very supportive of my blog and he understood that the room definitely needed to be livened up. Plus, we get SO much natural light in here that it was natural to lean towards lighter furniture. Also, just a note: if I could change the ceiling fan (ew brass accents), I would. Maybe later. And the wall color was not our choice, it was the previous owners’ choice (it was their nursery) but it’s really grown on us so that’s why we never repainted it.

My favorite part of this mini makeover is the photo canvas gallery that showcases some of my favorite photos and dishes/desserts I’ve made for the blog.

I actually had bought the “cook” sign in November when Ali showed me the Etsy shop, OldNew Again. I initially bought it to put above my stove but then I saw Annie’s makeover and was inspired to do a smaller version in our office. I later bought the “love” sign to complete the gallery look. The owners of OldNew Again were so accommodating and were able to do a 1-week turnaround time for me instead of their standard 2-3 weeks.

This is the other side of our office. I wish that IKEA bookshelf were white, but we had gotten that a while ago so I didn’t want to replace it and waste money. Maybe once we finish furnishing our den area, I’ll bring this black shelf down and replace it with a white one :) P.S. do you spy Anderson Cooper? ;)

Ok – now you also might be wondering “why is the diploma on the left so much larger than the diploma on the right?” Let’s just say Michael’s ripped me off when I went to get my diploma framed. The lady at the store location I went to said they couldn’t go any smaller than what you see. Then, when I went to get Jason’s diploma framed at another Michael’s location, the lady told me it can be whatever size and I said, “whatever is cheapest but still looks good.” Ugh, so pissed. So lesson learned: don’t back down, fight back if it’s not what you want.

Here’s an up-close look at the photo canvas gallery. Yes, they’re canvassed, and yes, it was exceptionally great quality and super cheap (AND the backs are covered and they include hangers on the back for either vertical or horizontal hanging). I got all 6 prints for $122. Unreal, right? Totally real. Check out CGPro Prints for all the deets. I was EXTREMELY satisfied with my order. They say it takes about 3 business days to process and print then another 2-3 days, depending on where you live, to ship. Except, when it was the 3rd business day, I got a tracking info email that said my prints were “out for delivery.” Super nice surprise. Guess what I’ll be doing with all my wedding photos in May? Oh yeah, canvassing them ;)

I thought I’d show you the process of how I set up my photo gallery. I basically just found the sizes I wanted to print my prints on CGPro Prints and then cut out pieces of paper and taped them on the wall and assembled them in a nice collage. I left enough space for my “cook” sign and my “love” sign.

Here’s an up-close look at my new Pottery Barn desk. Seriously so in love with it. I scored it for $299, $100 off the original price! It was on sale during President’s Day weekend and it had free shipping! It’s still $299 now but I don’t believe the free shipping still applies (it’s like $35 shipping – pricey!)

The glass comes with the desk and the entire package, because of the large glass, was 109 pounds! Haha, it was so heavy. I felt bad for our UPS guy. The quality is great and it was super easy to put together. With our IKEA furniture building experience, I was worried this was somehow going to take all night.

I know you’re also probably thinking, “but Julie! There are no drawers!” yeah, there aren’t any. That was my initial hesitation with this desk but then I realized I didn’t really need the drawers and I can always just buy pretty baskets to put on the side of the desk or a little file cabinet. It keeps me more organized, too, to not have drawers. I’m not constantly shoving everything in the drawer just because I can. I now actually throw things away. Haha

Ok, this awesome find was at Home Goods. I initially just had our black computer chair but I really didn’t like how it was throwing off the entire theme of the room so I went to Home Goods (at the advise of my good friend Emily) and scored this awesome (and uber comfy & squishy) chair. I love that it goes so well with the “theme.”

I love the accent studs on the chair. It really brings the chair to life and I also adore the hexagonal pattern that the chair had. Pretty sweet buy, if I do say so myself! :)

Here’s a recap of where I got everything. If you see something else in the room that you’re like, “omg where’d you get that?!,” feel free to ask in the comments below.

• Cook and Love signs: OldNewAgain on Etsy
• Custom canvas prints: CGPro Prints
• Desk: Pottery Barn
• Chair: Home Goods
• Bookshelf: IKEA
• Pen mug: Anthropologie

Soooo, what do you think?! I’d love to hear what your thoughts!!