You may remember that last year, I gave my office a makeover…sort of. At the time, I wasn’t quite ready to completely overhaul the space, and was working with what I had on hand. That came a few years after replacing the old desk that was falling apart, with a couple of IKEA table tops. Recently, however, I decided to have a tag sale and once I made up my mind about that, I realized it was time to really re-do the office. I wanted to get rid of the big dresser/credenza that took up too much space, and so I needed to rework the office before the tag sale.

This was all preceded by me deciding to move furniture around in the office at least once a week, trying to put lipstick on the pig–but I was never quite happy. It was clear I needed to get rid of some big pieces, declutter, and come up with a more cohesive design (rather than just making the office the dumping ground for wayward furniture). When I decide to do something like this it pretty much takes over my life. I can’t stop thinking about it, and spend all my time combing through Pinterest for ideas. I started out with a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do.

First, I wanted to replace the dresser/credenza with a wall of shelves that look like this:

Track shelving isn’t always attractive, which is why it’s usually hidden in closets, but the combination of the black with the real wood shelves gives it an industrial/rustic look that I’m into. I ran out almost immediately to get the tracks, and also took a look at the lumber department, because I wanted to build a desk that was the length of the wall . You know, like this, only floating:

But things started going off the rails shortly after this. Somewhere along the way I decided it was smarter to keep one of my IKEA desktops instead of replacing the desk entirely–in part because I realized that a desk that big has a way of inviting clutter, and partly because of the construction involved. So, I went out in search of a) baskets to hold the office supplies formerly housed in the credenza b) a shelf to hold the printer (or something to hold my TV so I could use the book shelf its on for my printer stand). As it turned out, I couldn’t find anything I liked to put the TV on, but ended up finding an inexpensive shelf ($39.99) at the Christmas Tree Shoppes (thank goodness for college kids and their need for dorm furniture). After getting it home and assembled, I realized my old bookshelf on the other side of desk looked crappy now, and that if I went and got another one of the new shelves, I probably wouldn’t need the track shelving.

Suffice it to say, my whole design scheme did a 180, and I ended up with something very different than I originally pictured.

As nice as my original design would have been. I think what I ended up with works better for many reasons, not the least of which is that there is only one window in the room and it faces north so it tends to be dark. Going with white furniture, light wood, etc. helps lighten things up.

This futon has been in my office for a few years, and makes a great place to rest your eyes, but now I think it will be a good reading spot even in off hours. (Don’t mind Spencer Willie just lounging.)

The shelf wall seems like it needs something more — like there’s still too much empty wall space. So I’m on the lookout for some accessories, and I decided to make my own printable to hang on the wall. It brings together my love of Eleanor Roosevelt and tea!

Download: A woman is like a teabag