Tired of dull and uninspiring workspaces? This blue and white office makeover proves how a few design tweaks can completely refresh your productivity zone.
I may or may not have mentioned it before, but I’ve walked through the doors of this office more years than I can count.
Before the internet was a thing.
Before email and phones that snap photos.
Before online meetings.
Before blogs or websites or social media.
Life (and this office) was a little simpler then.
I remember sitting across this desk from my father and pouring out my heart and all of my teenage angst and listening as he righted my world with sage words of wisdom and a sympathetic ear.
And now?
All these years later the office looks like this.
Well…at least it did.
Because now?
The office looks like this.
CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT?
Please scroll up and then come back here.
This office is my new happy place.
Are you ready (as promised) for the 360-degree tour?
When you walk through the door you used to see this.
And now?
You see this.
If you turn slightly at the desk, you used to see this.
And now?
And now you see this.
If you continue turning around the room you used to see a fireplace that looked like this.
And now?
You see this.
Don’t worry.
We’ll get to the fireplace later. I have an entire tutorial on how we painted it.
When you continue around the room, you’ll pass the door and there’s a mini bay window on the other side that used to look like this.
And now?
It looks like this.
I’m also working on a tutorial on how to hang curtains in a small alcove like this. (We figured it out, but it definitely took a lot of math.)
And when you turn around from the bay window?
It brings you back to this.
Sigh.
Just taking a tour around the room again makes me so happy. There is so much storage now and tons of seating and the curtains are blackout curtains and the room is not only happier and brighter and full of joy and sunshine…
….but it’s SO FUNCTIONAL.
Let’s unpack the room a little bit and explain the entire design process.
PAINT
We painted the entire room Pure White SW 7005. Pure White is the prettiest white paint. It has a hint of warm white with a clear, pretty true white tone. I also love the Emerald® paint line from Sherwin-Williams. It goes on so smoothly and the coverage is amazing. When you are painting a room white, it can be a little challenging. I’ve used other paints before and sometimes you need three, even four coats to get complete coverage. Not with Emerald® paint. It glides on and makes the walls look like a professional painted them.
The ceiling was painted with a flat white Eminence® Ceiling Paint from Sherwin-Williams.
FIREPLACE
And this fireplace?
It was painted with Emerald® Urethane Trim Enamel in Naval SW 6244. We also used Loxon Concrete & Masonry Primer on the brick before painting it.
Then we added crown molding around the top of the fireplace to make it look more like a piece of furniture and help it stand out from the walls in the room. Lastly, we added quarter-round trim to the bottom of the fireplace to provide a clean line next to the floor.
STORAGE
On both sides of the room we added these bookcase sets from IKEA. There was an original built-in on this side of the room, but it was off-center.
So I designed these bookcases to just go in front of it.
The bookcases take up so much visual space, but the actual room feels bigger because they are so narrow (about 11” deep).
There is SO MUCH storage behind the doors at the bottom. Here are just a few things I’m storing in there:
- File folders
- Hole punch
- Computer paper
- Magazines
- Paperwork
- Records
- Office supplies
There’s also additional storage in this cabinet in the mini bay window.
Here I store vases and other styling props.
There’s also photography equipment and ring lights and stands in this cabinet.
RUG
The rug helps ground the room with a basic pattern in blue and white.
It’s an 8’ x 10’ rug with shades of blue.
It fits perfectly in the space with the bookcases, chairs and desks.
I also added two spindle chairs in white for extra seating in the space.
DESK
And then?
There’s the desk.
Remember the opinion I asked you for?
Should I paint it?
Should I stain it?
Over 350 of you chimed in with wonderful advice and helpful hints and the BEST opinions. So guess what I did?
Absolutely nothing.
You were right my wonderful, amazing, incredible friends.
When the design plan was finished? The desk was perfect just as it is.
I’ve walked through the doors of this office more years than I can count.
Oh, the stories this office could tell.
The feet that have walked on these floors.
The chapters that have unfolded between these four walls.
And now?
There’s a new chapter ready to be written.
And I’m here for every word.
Disclosure: this post was written in collaboration with Sherwin-Williams. All opinions are my own. Please see my disclosure page for more information.
From drab to fab—this transformation shows just how powerful color and layout changes can be. Ready to revamp your own workspace?”
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