Before
Homeowner’s blog: Sypsie Designs
When you have square footage to spare, clutter just spreads unless there’s an organizational system in place. When Jodie and Matt Itami moved into their 1979 home in Rochester Hills, MI, they found they rarely used the small desk they shared in their office, an extra bedroom that quickly became a messy catchall. To lend the room some much-needed function, Jodie began by clearing it out and giving it a fresh coat of paint, using what she had on hand. The couple decided to do away with a typical desk—too small for sharing or spreading out their DIY projects—and built a scaled-down version of a farmhouse table instead. To add readily accessible storage (the room’s closet holds bulky items), they covered a wall that had an existing recess with built-in shelves for office and project supplies. They nailed up strips of ¼-inch plywood, sold as flooring underlayment, and stained them to look like rustic planks, then added four long shelves and a face frame. For finishing touches, Jodie sewed curtains to go with the existing rug and hung an industrial-style pendant. Jodie and Matt love the refreshed, customized space. Says Jodie, “We don’t close the door when company comes over now!”
After
Now, with a larger work surface and a place for craft supplies, the office is more conducive to the homeowners’ small-scale DIY projects.
$8 per yard fabric for drapes $112 for a pair of spindle chairs
The Project Tally
Painted the walls light gray and the trim white, using leftover paint $0 Lined one wall with plywood strips, stained them to look like rustic planking, then installed four pine shelves and an MDF face frame, painted white $165 Built a desk using pine 2x10s for the top and apron, and 4x4s for the legs $85 Bought three chairs for seating on either side of the table $212 Added overhead task lighting by hanging a new pendant $80 Kept the rug that was there, sewed curtains to go with it, and added decorative storage accessories $77
Total $619
