One Room Challenge Week 1 : Modern Office Mood Board

Follow along with us as we tackle this one-room challenge. We plan to remodel our office using a modern office mood board for inspiration and ideas that are sure to make a huge difference! Check out this renovation you won’t be disappointed!

Ahhh so excited to announce that we are participating in the One Room Challenge again and I can’t wait to show you this office mood board!!

This will be our third time taking part in the One Room Challenge and our first time at the new house!  If you missed our previous completed rooms (shared boys’ bedroom and master closet) you can check them out here.

If you’re not familiar with the One Room Challenge, it’s an amazing biannual event hosted by Linda at Calling it Home.  There are 20 featured designers plus anyone can participate as a guest and we all makeover a room in 6 weeks!  

It’s crazy and exhausting.  But, I love it.  Well, I love the end result 😉  Half the fun is following along with everyone else’s rooms!  Some people are actually crazy brave enough to do a bathroom or kitchen renovation in 6 weeks.

Current home update…

We moved into our new home about four months ago.  We’ve really just been enjoying the days and weekends without having obligations or feeling guilty about not getting something done.  

After living with beige on beige on beige walls, I’ve been itching to give the house some TLC and really make it our own.  

We’re in the midst of redoing the dining room. But, the room that’s really just been a dumping place for papers, boxes, plants, samples, etc has been the office.

With me starting the design business, having this blog to run, and the literal encyclopedia level of papers my kindergartener brings home daily (IT’S INSANE), the dumping ground of an “office” needs help.  

It was being used as a formal living room when we toured the home before buying. But, um, who needs a formal living room?  My name and formal don’t belong in the same sentence.

As I showed in our new home tour, the office is the room right when you walk into the house. It’s more of an open-concept office since we aren’t going to close it in with walls/doors.  It’s actually not bad to start out with!

Office space “before”

Let’s check the office space out!

We have a teeny little desk that did work perfectly in our old house.  Just, not for here.

There’s the GIANT window which I LOVE.  It gets full morning light and the sunrises from this house are nothing short of spectacular.  There are high ceilings and plenty of room for a larger desk area.

Removing the planked wood wall

Now to the controversy – the planked wall.

It’s fine.  Really, it’s fine.

And, I tried REALLY hard to come up with a design plan that kept it where it was.  But, I have my heart set on beautiful built-ins and open shelving that just takes away from the planked wall.  

I truly couldn’t visualize a way to keep it behind built-ins and open shelving. In the end, TJ told me it was okay to take it down.  So, blame it on him.

THE WOOD IS COMING DOWN. I posted about it on Instagram and thought I was going to get death threats HAHA!  I really did try and think of a way to keep it. But, it just isn’t in the cards.

Office renovation – inspiration

I know I want to do built-ins.  And I know we’re going to do a semi-custom DIY using IKEA Pax wardrobe products.  I love how Brittany Makes used the PAX system to make a built-in pantry.  Doesn’t it look amazing??

The builtins will house all of TJ’s our electronic junk {necessary} stuff.  And I’ll throw in all the other office stuff you don’t want people to see 😉

Then, I wanted to have open shelving because I seriously miss our old open shelves.  They look pretty, they hold pretty stuff.  I mean, what’s not to love?  

I want to have them be thick (as in the shelves themselves and the area surrounding the shelves).  Kinda like this from SF Girl by the Bay:

Planning with an office mood board

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1.  Art  2.  Paint  3.  Brass Pull  4.  Brass Knob  5.  Wall Sconces  6.  Desk Chair  7.  Rug (similar style)  8.  Ottoman

With the wood planks taken down (and hoping I get a Christmas miracle in October and the wall isn’t too damaged or doesn’t require a ton of fixing), I want to make that entire wall into a built-in desk.

I envision bookshelves on the left from floor to ceiling and then extending over the desk area (to the right of the open shelves), and built-in in cabinets (IKEA PAX) to the right of the desk.

The built-in cabinets I’m thinking will be a beautiful green (Caldwell Green by Benjamin Moore) with pretty brass pulls.

The desk itself is going to be a floating desk.  Still haven’t quite figured out how we’re pulling that one off.  We found some brackets that anchor into the actual studs (like you cut out the drywall to get to them).  But, we’ll see.

The room needs some painting (not sure what color yet) some new drapes and decor, and ART.  Always, always need art.

I’m not sure how I’m going to fill in the rest of the room quite yet.  I’m hoping to have enough room to add in a chair, side table, and lamp for a small seating area.

Altering a design with an office mood board

A last-minute decision I made (because I love to throw in more stuff to do) is to DIY a modern, geometrical room divider for right when you walk in the front door.  

It won’t be solid (as in won’t block light) but will provide just enough divide that the office will feel more defined.  I think I’m actually most excited about that part.

Here’s kinda what I’m thinking:

1. 1. Divider Shelves  2.  Floor Lamp  3.  Chair  4.  Side Table (similar style)  5.  Rug

The bulk of the work is going to be making the builtins.  That alone is going to take 6 weeks.  Hopefully, we finish in time!!

To Do:

• Remove wood plank wall and fix whatever it underneath it
  • Again, I’m sorry.  It’s pretty just not my style.
• Remove certain sections of moulding
• Paint
• Design and build built in cabinets
• Design and build open shelving
• Design and build floating desk
• Select art
• Find vintage rug
• Hunt for the perfect comfy chair, modern side table, and fun lamp for reading area
• Source new curtains
• Find desk chair
• DIY Room Separator
• Accessorize!!

I hope you’ll enjoy following along.  Remember to head over to the One Room Challenge website to see the other rooms the featured designers and guest participants are doing!