Planning My Office Space {inspiration board & the 'before'}

Back in May, I shared these plans for Bekah's room. At the time, I was a little over 7 months pregnant. I had no idea how we'd actually use her room. Would we play in there a lot? Would we use the guest bed much? We made some plans and put a bunch of them in place. Bekah is 7 months old now (it's hard to believe!) and we've learned a lot about that space. We put a twin guest bed in there around the time she was born, but we barely used it after the first couple weeks.

A few weeks ago, Luke mentioned that, for not being used much, the guest bed was taking up a lot of space. He got the wheels in my head spinning when he suggested that we turn that space into an office for me instead. I had some funny emotional connection to having a guest bed in our apartment, but once I moved on from that, I was excited! The bed is moved out now (thanks Mom and Dad!) and the space is ready to turn into something pretty and practical.

You can see in the picture that there's a lot of clutter right now. I think some of the possible updates, like putting a kallax shelf on the left wall, will solve that. The desk will probably stay in that spot, and the remaining space, that is currently filled with stuff, will become a pretty area for storage and play time. Want to take a look at my inspiration board for my new office? Here you go!


1. This picture is a big inspiration! I love how fun and creative the office space is, but the white and blue keep it so peaceful and happy feeling. Source
2. I saw this acrylic magazine holder at Target the other day. I like acrylic and glass pieces because they don't take up a lot of visual space... they just have a nice airy feel. Source (Target online doesn't seem to have these - but I found them in store in the office accessories section)
3. This picture melts my heart. I want this to be a baby friendly space where Bekah and I can play together, as well as a space where I can get some work done. Also, aren't those colors pretty? Source
4. This photograph is beautiful, peaceful, soft, and refreshing. Those are such inspiring words for creating a new space. Source 
5. Oh these colors. They are my favorites. Source
6. Infarrantly Creative did the coolest tutorial on making a huge cork board out of IKEA placemats. I don't think I'll do this exact project, but I'm definitely inspired and might pick up a few cork placemats on our next IKEA trip. Source

The budget for my office makeover is $100. Thanks to my very sweet husband for setting aside that money as a gift to me. We have a few of the pieces already and I'm excited to repurpose those things. I think I'll tackle the office part of this makeover first, then work on adding some finishing touches to make it a good play area. So how do I plan to use the $100?

Desk: $0 free from my parents - It was my mom's desk growing up - I plan to refinish it
Lamp: $0 thrifted last summer for around $2
Lamp Shade: $10?
Kallax Shelving: $65 Source - These shelves would be great storage for Bekah stuff and my stuff
Chair: $0 found last summer after it was thrown away, it needs a little work (pictured above)
Acrylic Magazine Bin: $9
Planner: $8 Source - I like this planner so far!
Something to make the chair comfier:  $3 maybe a blanket or little quilt

Estimated Total: about $95 (the extra five dollars might be used for ice cream)

I'm really excited to get working on this project. First up is painting the desk. How do you like to plan for projects? I love gathering inspiration from pinterest, making a budget, and thinking of things I already own that can be repurposed. Hope you're having a great start to the week!

Love,
Bonnie

p.s. The exercise is still going well! If you missed the post where I shared about the health journey I've been on lately, you can read that here. I'd love to hear your story, too. I'll have an update on week two up in the new couple days.