When we moved in to this house about 2 1/2 years ago, we used the small room on the main floor for my husband’s office. Then I had a craft room/office upstairs in a spare bedroom. The kids were always wanting to use my computer for games or to look up things. I didn’t like that I always had to go up the stairs to help them. My husband rarely used his office (since he doesn’t do work at home). He had a couch in there so he used his office every Sunday for a nap. We decided it was best for our family if we merge the two offices in to one. It was such a great idea. We love having a family office like this and spend so much time in it.
This is the before, right when we moved in. The walls were an olive color. There is no recessed lighting so I wanted to paint the room a brighter color. I chose Behr Polar Bear White for most of the walls and then an accent wall with Behr Dolphin Fin paint.
My house has a lot of “industrial farmhouse” elements so I wanted to carry that in to the office space. I chose a lot of galvanized steel items and wood. Below is my very simply DIY wall hanging and my new favorite chair from World Market.
I found this file cabinet from Craigslist and painted it so that it matched the grey metals in the room. I wanted a bookshelf but didn’t want it to be made from wood because it sits between the wooden door and the wooden chair, so I chose this one from World Market that is metal and makes for a more intersesting bookshelf.
The accent wall is full of things that make up our family. There are items from where my husband and I are from. Items from our missions to Brazil and Germany, our family rules, and some of our favorite quotes from church.
Below is a must have area, that three tiered rolling cart is where our kids charge their kindles and iPads. Before, they would find any outlet around the house so I was constantly collecting chargers and putting them back in a drawer. Now there is one designated charging station that the kids can charge their tablets. We also bought the kids their own laptop that stays in the office so that they and I can be working on something at the same time since we have our own computers.
We put the large DIY counter height table in here from my craft room as the desk. So it’s plenty of room to work on projects or homework. The kids use this room everyday and the best part is that when they are in this office, because of the wall hanging and accent wall gallery pieces, they can feel a sense of family. And it’s right off the family room and kitchen so I can easily talk to them or help them without walking all the way upstairs.
S O U R C E S F O R F A M I L Y H O M E O F F I C E M A K E O V E R
Arm Chair (World Market)
Wall Baskets/Bookshelf (World Market)
Three Tiered Rolling Cart (World Market)
DIY Counter Height Table (Tutorial)
DIY Industrial Wall Hanging (Tutorial)
How to Paint a Metal File Cabinet (Tutorial)
Accent Wall Paint (Behr Dolphin Fin)
White Paint (Behr Polar Bear)
Wooden Door (tutorial)
Tripod Floor Lamp (Tutorial)