My office transformation
Oct 22, 2015
Have I mentioned I am disorganized? Illustrative example: I just filed my taxes. In September. One reason, ok excuse, is that I don't have an office. We don't have a room that we can use as an office (5 kids and all) so I have been making do on the kitchen table. "Making do" is a stretch.
Witness Exhibit A:
Just as an aside, I blame my parents for the state of things because this is clearly an example of genetics gone awry. My mom is one of the most organized people I know and my dad...is not. What I get out of this genetic mash-up is a sincere desire to be organized and a complete inability to do so without substantial effort and a lot of coffee.
So after finally submitting my taxes and lamenting the fact that it took me a good solid 24 hours to even figure out how much I had already paid in estimated taxes, I figured there just had to be a solution. A search on Google yielded filing systems and flow charts but not something that would magically add an additional room to my house. But then I hit paydirt: Pinterest. As a general rule, I think most projects on Pinterest are clearly designed by people who don't have kids or jobs because who the hell has time (or money) for this stuff??? But Pinterest had some pretty good suggestions for viable options.
Like this: and this:
:
I've uploaded a bunch of other ideas to my Pinterest page if you want to see them. I decided to give it a try. I didn't have much to lose.
I found a cheap oak armoire on Craigs List for $50. It was solid (and heavy!) but in good condition. I bought some Valspar Chalky Paint at Lowes
which seemed overpriced ($20 for a quart) but you didn't have to prime first.
The rope around the armoire was because the doors wouldn't close. I fixed that with some magnets and a hot glue gun. I applied two coats of the chalky paint (I love the color) then a sealing wax. They also have an antiquing finish but since my piece doesn't have any carving or texture it seemed unnecessary. I painted a chalkboard on the inside door, added a cute lamp and that was it! I am so happy with the results. I still have to work on organizing my files but it's a start. If all else fails, I can shut the doors and no one has to see my disaster!
Here's the finished project. I don't know how much I saved in terms of money but I'm really satisfied with myself.
