My Home Office Reveal
Another room down – the third bedroom in our house is complete. I’ve turned this room into my home office and I have to say it has the best view in the house! Here’s how we transformed the space.
Photography Mark Zeidler
BEFORE
This room is the smallest bedroom in the house, measuring 2.95 x 2.78m. It was a blank canvas but it still needed a fair bit of work. First off, we replaced the daggy nana bulb light with two downlights and updated all of the powerpoints and light switch (we also needed to add an extra powerpoint and move the NBN outlet as its positioning didn’t work with the room’s new layout).
Next up we replaced one window with French Doors from DoorsPlus. They also took care of the installation for us and honestly it’s completely changed the feel of the room now. They not only transform the look of the entire internal space, but they also look amazing from the back of house. It gives our home so much more character now – from daggy 90s brick house to charming coastal cottage. DoorsPlus are so easy to deal with – we’ve hired them to do our master bedroom French doors and our sliding door in the living room too.
The other side window was also replaced with a new one from Brisbane-based Window Warehouse. Our old windows were super thin and the new ones are much thicker glass giving us greater sound proofing and also helping to keep the cold air out (this room used to be freezing, but it feels much more warmer now). Hot tip - if you’re replacing your window - sell your old one on gumtree or Facebook Marketplace - we sell ours for about $60. I know it’s not much but they’re hot in demand and you can use that money towards the window installation.
We hired a carpenter to install the Easycraft EasyVJ panels on one wall to tie in with the rest of the home (we have it in every single room in the house, minus the bathroom). It gives textural interest to the space and the panels are also super affordable. Then we painted the entire room to really freshen things up. We selected Dulux Wash & Wear in Vivid White (low-sheen) for the walls, and Dulux Ceiling White (flat) for the ceiling. We’ve used this combination throughout our entire house, so it was an easy decision for us. Never underestimate the effect of paint on a room. If you can only afford to do one thing – paint can really go a long way in transforming a home.
But we didn’t want to just stop there. No siree, that manky old carpet needed replacing. I dare say it’s been there since 1990 – the year our house was built and it was time to go! I selected a beautiful nylon carpet from Carpet Court called ‘Stoney River’ in shale colour. I absolutely love this carpet, soft underfoot, easy to clean and still looks good in our other rooms that have had a bit more wear over the past few months. I can definitely recommend it if you want something durable!
From there it was time to look at window furnishings. I wanted to see the beautiful view of our garden out the French doors and see the Heliconia Hot Rio Nights out of our side window. So for the side window I chose a blockout blind (in Serenity White) from Blinds Online. I can roll it up during the day to take in lots of natural light, and at night I can roll them down for privacy from our neighbour’s window. I mounted the S-fold sheers in Tahiti Voile Snow from Blinds Online to the ceiling to give the illusion of height. They really do make the room feel so much taller (and dreamier). Because the French doors face out to the backyard and no one needs to sleep in this room I didn’t need any privacy, so the sheers are just on their own.
Now on to the fun part - the furniture and styling! The vibe I was aiming for was ‘California Eclectic’ – some of my favourite designers are from California, it’s also a favourite travel destination for me.
I made my own woven cane sideboard using two IKEA ‘Ivar’ cabinets (I’ll do a separate blog post on this with steps). I painted it in Dulux Vivid White to match the walls for a seamless look. For the gallery wall, I selected a number of art prints from Juniper Print Shop (you can buy as digital downloads and print them yourself), an art print from local artist Sunday Lane, and a California wall flag from Small Branches etsy store.
DETAILS: White pot from The Balcony Garden, bowl from Target, vase from GlobeWest, swamp grass from White Grove House
DETAILS: EasyCraft EasyVJ panels painted in Dulux Wash & Wear Vivid White
The ‘Alex’ desk and ‘Fjallberget’ conference chair are both from IKEA. They’re affordably priced and honestly – you wouldn’t know the office chair is a cheapie from IKEA – it looks far more high-end and it’s reasonably comfortable for the price point. And well, the materials/colours worked so well with the rest of the room’s natural colour palette.
The rug is called ‘Saffron 44’ and is from Life Interiors. Honestly I love layering rugs onto carpet for that super cosy, soft feel. With it now being winter, it’s so nice to work in a room with a soft rug underfoot. It also helps to define the desk which I’ve centered in the room. I don’t like when desks are pushed up against the wall – why not make it the hero of the room! Plus I get the best view in the house - overlooking the back garden. It really is a dream come true home office and I’m so thrilled with how it looks.
SHOP THE LOOK >
EOS ASH PRINT / CANYON PRINT / PINES PRINT / BOTANICAL PRINT /
FLAG / VJ PANELS / CHAIR / POT / RUG / DESK / PLANT / CARPET