DIY Spare Room Makeover into Office/Guest Room in 8 Weeks
The Spring 2024 One Room Challenge is back for another season and guess who is participating for the first time? You guessed it. It’s me! For the next 8 weeks I will be transforming what has embarrassingly become our hoarder/storage room into my home office/studio and guest room. This room has had different uses over the years but in the past 7-8 years, it has become just a glorified storage space. We attempted to clean it up before last Thanksgiving because we had enough family visiting to need the extra bedroom. (Now THAT is something to be thankful for!) It’s not as cluttered as it was then, but we still tend to toss things in there and shut the door so it’s pretty bad. I want a space that’s clean, tidy and functional.
Since cleaning it up enough to get an air mattress on the floor, I’ve been wanting to take it to the next level. I need a dedicated workspace to work on my blog and for when I’m working from home 3 days a week. Since I’ve been working this new schedule, I’ve mostly been set up on the kitchen island. When it’s time for a meal, I have to move all my work out of the way and well, it’s just not working.
What is the One Room Challenge?
For those of you that are not familiar with the One Room Challenge or the ORC as it is often referred to, it is a bi-annual event hosted by Linda at Calling it Home and media partner Apartment Therapy where bloggers, designers and content creators are challenged to make over a room in eight weeks and provide weekly updates.
I’m not going to lie, I’m both excited and extremely nervous about it. Fortunately, Doug is on board and willing to help. My plan is somewhat ambitious, and I will need Doug’s carpentry skills to pull it off! The great part about this project is that it is a stepping stone to another project that we are hoping to do this year.
DIY Home Office/Guest Room Plan
The biggest challenge in this room is that it’s small and there are two walls that are taken up by windows, the closet and a little built-in desk. We have one long wall that is available and the design idea that Doug and I agreed on immediately is that a Murphy bed would be perfect for this space. We prefer antiques and an antique Murphy bed would be amazing, but I want something that is going to function and solve some storage issues. And I don’t think an antique Murphy bed is going to fit the bill. I did some research and found the perfect solution, but it was going to be thousands of dollars and we do not want to spend that kind of money on this project. I’m hoping to do the entire makeover for around $1,000.
I want to build/install a Murphy bed on the long wall and have built in bookcases with drawers on either side to function as nightstands. I also want to have hidden storage at the top for extra blankets and pillows. I’m raising the level of difficulty a bit because I really want to incorporate an antique headboard that my great-grandfather made and hand carved that I have inherited. There is also a coordinating dresser that goes with this bed that I’m hoping to have in the room.
As far as my home office, I want to bring in a large rug to cover the carpet that I’m ready to say bye to but cannot afford to replace. For my desk, I want to find a large antique desk or table or maybe even a small dining table would work. What I want to keep in mind with the desk is that it needs to be lightweight enough that it can be moved when we need to use the room for a bedroom. This more than likely will not happen very often, but we want to be ready when it does.
For the little built in desk area that is currently in the room. I’d like to add pull-out file drawers with faux cabinet doors so we have a spot for our paperwork. Currently, I have a wooden file cabinet underneath the desk area and it is just not working.
I’d like to change out the current ceiling fan. We’ve had that ceiling fan for at least 10 years and I think it’s had a good run. I’ll replace it with another ceiling fan because I’m just one of those people that needs the air to move. And, I think it’s miserable to sleep at night without a little air movement. And, of course, the ceiling, trim and room will be painted. Right now, I’m planning to paint the Murphy bed and built-ins white and the walls a lovely shade of green. (subject to change as the mood strikes)
I’ll replace the curtains and curtain rods and add some character with our thrifted and vintage pieces. I’ll change out the hardware on all of the doors to an oil rubbed bronze like we’ve been using in the rest of the house. I’ll also change out all of the switches, switchplate covers, outlets and outlet covers for white ones. Currently, they are all a dingy beige and that will not do!
So, as you can see, this is an ambitious project to complete in just 8 weeks. We both work full time so we will need to be weekend warriors to bring this plan together!
There’s lots more exciting projects on the ORC Blog! Go check it out and check back next week for week 2 updates.
