My Office Redo!

We're only planning on living in this apartment for a few more months, but I really wanted to paint my workroom anyway.  I wrestled with whether I should or not for a couple of months...we made an agreement with our landlord that we'd repaint any non-neutral colors when we move out and I didn't want to add another room to that list.

BEFORE:

The office before we moved in.  Nice and clean (but a boring color)!

But the other day I was sitting here dreaming about all the colors the room could be when a sudden impulse came over me and I decided I couldn't work in a drab, boring room for one more second.  I told myself that if I could find a neutral color already in my paint arsenal I'd go for it.  Sure enough, I had a gallon of grey paint leftover from another project.  I got a brush, and started painting. 

After we moved in.  Messy!  As you see I couldn't decide which color to paint the bookcase wall!

Granted, it's not your typical office space.  After all, how many people have a miter box screwed into their desk?  Still, I love my workroom!  The best part of this project was that I was able to use paint leftover from previous projects so I didn't have to worry about spending money. The only thing I had to buy was a gallon of white paint which I already needed for touchups around the house. The grey and white brighten the room and the brightly painted furniture and accents add life and color. I like that this room is different from the 1970's color pallet I have throughout the rest of the house. It's such a fun place to work now!

AFTER:

White won for the accent wall! I used Ikea curtain fabric to hide my messy bookcase storage.

A new bright green shelf.

To add extra color, I painted the inset of the built-in bookcase pink...I can quickly paint it white when it's time to leave.

BEFORE:

This is the side of the room where I do all my work and store my tools and wood scraps so it's a little messy.

AFTER:

Still cluttered with my tools and whatnot but it's a little more organized and definitely prettier when painted bright colors!

Another easy color addition: painting the edge of the worktable yellow.

All the memorbelia I've collected over the years is now on the beam above my desk to make things even more fun.  I painted the beam and added cork to make it functional.

I decided to switch to a real mouse, but now I can't find my mouse pad so my Ikea catalog's doing double duty.

The trap door in the middle of the floor that leads to the backyard.  It makes arranging furniture difficult.