Home Office Makeover with a Colorful, Mid-Century Modern Inspired Look | Before + After

I'm so thrilled to finally have a home office space that inspires and motivates me.  Since it was originally a dumping ground for piles of unpacked boxes, I was relieved when we cobbled together a functioning space last spring, using my old DIY treadle desk and cast-offs from other rooms (like the teal drapes, the maple dresser, and the black arm chair).  We even tackled a few small office DIY projects, like turning the office closet into a little turquoise nook, plus hacking the new white Expedit and building magazine storage bins for it, but we really didn't give this room the attention it deserved - until now!

Here's a quick reminder of the "before(s)" (you can see more photos here):

After living with the space for awhile, Hubby and I devised a wishlist for the perfect home office:

• Desk for two
• Hidden cords and simplified tech (no more hulking printer sitting on the desk) 
• Minimal office clutter
• Space for Hubby's great-grandfather's trunk (there's NO room elsewhere and it's special)
• Comfy chair to curl up in and read
• Uplifting color palette 
• Design that feels cohesive with the rest of the lakehouse
• Room for a treadmill

Check, check, check!  Here's our home office today:



I can't even walk down the hall without peeking my head in and smiling, plus working in here is an absolute dream.  We still have a few small projects we'll tackle over the next few months, but I'm loving the new home office!  Here's a closer look at everything we chose:

The Turquoise Tweed Back Tab Drapes

I'm embarrassed to say that I ordered this turquoise tweed fabric in back in the spring of last year!  It's the perfect turquoise, shot with shimmering cream so it's a soft hue.  Using the same back tab curtain sewing tutorial we used for the original bedroom drapes (and my new green tweed curtains in the master bedroom), Mom and I whipped up a set for the office as well, so both bedrooms have the same style of window treatment now.

The DIY Solid Walnut Desk

With the curtains squared away, next we figured out the ideal desk proportions/measurements we wanted and built a solid walnut waterfall desk with Hubby's Dad, using solid walnut counter top from Craft-Art.   

Remember how I mentioned that the cords will be hidden with our simple desk design?  The magic is in that little inset panel of walnut wood we added to the back of the desk.  I pulled the desk away from the wall so you can see how we used some screws to affix our power bar back there and then used screw-in hooks to corral the wires.  It's such a simple cable management system, but everything is tucked behind the desk neatly, between the wall and the inset walnut panel, so not a single cord can be seen from the front or side - just the tiny tail of our laptop cords and the lamp cords disappearing behind the desk.

We ran the power bar cord down the leg of the desk and to the left where it plugs into the wall.  I have a woven storage basket tucked there so we can collect paper to recycle or burn, and it hides the outlet and plug.  As much as I enjoyed my DIY treadle sewing machine base desk, it was a challenge to corral all of the wires, so I just love how all of our cables and junk are completely hidden with this desk.

You might have noticed that I ditched my big monitor and keyboard.  I needed those to write a 300+ page dissertation, but I prefer just using my laptop these days.  I also no longer need to print hundreds of pages and scan dozens of book chapters, so we gave my old beast of a laser printer to my Dad and bought a sleek wireless color inkjet that I keep off my desk.
 
I thought about building a little desk organizer but find that I don't need it - pretty much everything is on my laptop and when I'm furiously making lists (a lot of which I make on my laptop now too), I'll grab a pretty pen and notebook, which I put away at the end of the day.  My brain cannot function with a messy desk, but I spent years with my desk piled high with exams to mark and illegible research notes written on receipts in the middle of the night.  A perpetual student until only a few years ago, I've dreamed of a clean, uncluttered desk like this for twenty years.

IT FEELS SO GOOD.

The Modern White Leather Desk Chairs

We gave my beloved desk chair to my Dad.  He bought it for me in high school and it was a custom fabric choice - don't ask me what I was thinking - so I was sad to see it go, but my Dad was using a really crummy chair in his office so I'm happy he can make use of it now.  I really wanted a matching pair for Hubby and I, so we ordered two soft white leather mid-back chairs by Meelano from Wayfair (they come in different colors and also a gold base finish). 

I LOVE these chairs so much!  They have a much smaller scale that suits the small size of the room.  The mid-century inspired design complements the look I'm going for in the lakehouse, plus they tie in the cream leather from the living room.  They are really, really comfy, but not as loungey as my old chair (which was comfy enough for me to lose hours watching videos or reading blogs).  These days I'm more focused on the task at hand and try to get in and get out of the office efficiently so I can spend less time sitting, which is a health objective of mine.  I kind of like that although this chair is fabulous, it doesn't beckon me to put my feet up and take a nap like my old chair did. 

Because they're light, I appreciate the brushed aluminum handle on the back so we're not always touching the leather.  I love clever design touches like this:

The Sculptural White Desk Lamps

Just in case I decided one day to bring back that ginormous monitor, I wanted really tall desk lamps - but they needed to have a small footprint because our desk is fairly compact.  I rounded up a bunch of gorgeous mid-century modern inspired table lamps and was almost ready to order one, but then I found the perfect Stilnovo lamps on Wayfair.  These lamps have such a sleek mid-century modern vibe, plus the slim, elegant design and cream finish complement the chairs so well.  I've always loved the Serge Mouille lamps and these have a similar look, but a much more realistic price.  The simple design allows the height to be adjusted quite dramatically:

The Reading Corner:

The office "nook" is going to be the new home of our treadmill and also some vertical storage, so Hubby's great-grandpa's trunk needed to find a new home in the office.  It's not my typical mid-century modern style, but it's super special to Hubby so I really wanted to make room for it.  It's also practical:  it houses my new wireless printer plus other office supplies.

Above the trunk I hung a soft abstract painting I made for a magazine feature.  When I'm hibernating in January, I might paint something new for that spot.

Beside the trunk I tucked the displaced velvet chair from the living room.  It needed a new home, we needed a cozy chair to curl up in...  It's deceptively comfy and I love that if I'm working, Hubby can read a magazine or book in here if he doesn't need to use his laptop.  We're spending more time together because of the office re-design and I love that.  Plus I feel so good that I could use furniture and art that we already had to decorate this corner - my only splurge was the planter! 

The corner needed something and when I added this giant, low light loving peace lily, the whole office came to life.  I already have one of these planters in the dining room so it helps contribute to that sense of flow and cohesiveness I want to create in the house.

The Ikea Expedit Bookcase

I am still smitten my white Ikea Expedit bookcase - our DIY plywood magazine storage bins and the turquoise Ikea hack are still going strong.  My collection of vintage Strawberry Hill Pottery has grown a little, but not much else has changed with the bookshelf.  I have a calendar I hang on the left, but I removed it for photos so you can't see what kind of trouble I get into.

Whew!  That's the tour of our refreshed home office.  I used a wide angle lens (so excuse the distorted proportions) to try to capture the room as a whole.  This is the view when you walk by the office:

SOURCES:

Waterfall Desk: DIY Project 
Chairs: Leather Mid-Back Chairs by Meelano from Wayfair
Lamps: Stilnovo from Wayfair
Artwork (above desk): Bert Weir
Artwork (above trunk): DIY Project
Curtains: DIY Project (fabric from U-fab)
Velvet Chair: Vintage Makeover Project
Pillow: BlueBelle Gray from Chapters Indigo
Walnut Planter: Modernica
Trunk: Antique
Bookcase: Ikea Expedit
Magazine Storage: DIY Project 
Turquoise Bookcase "Doors": DIY Project
Ceiling Fixture: Ikea Vanadin

GET THE LOOK:

I couldn't have put together such a beautiful space without the help of U-Fab, Craft-Art, Wayfair (and, of course, my father-in-law!), so I have to say a huge thank you!!  And thank YOU to everyone who reads Dans le Lakehouse, because you motivate and inspire me every day.  

DIY Solid Walnut Waterfall Desk for Two

We are finally tackling our home office!  I'm so excited to add more style and function to this workspace.  We want to cram a lot into this room (our second bedroom, technically): a desk for two, storage, a reading nook, and a treadmill - we miss our treadmill so much!  Floor space for Szuka is obviously a must-have.  But to make room for all of this, I had to say goodbye to my beloved, DIY sewing machine treadle desk (Hubby made the top for me way back in 2007).  Back when Hubby built the solid wood top for my desk, I was a graduate student and teaching assistant and I liked being able to spread out my marking and research.  These days my work is more contained, so I decided that I could get by with a smaller desk - which meant that we could carve out a space for Hubby to use his laptop when he needs to.  A space that is not the kitchen counter.  (We sold his DIY welded wood top desk when we moved from the townhouse).

We spent over a year sketching out and pondering DIY desk designs - I devoted a whole Pinterest board to workspace inspiration and desk ideas!  We were coming up with more and more complicated designs until one day we decided that we just wanted something simple: no drawers, no fancy welded legs, nothing motion activated - just a modern surface that would help hide cords.  A mid-century modern look was on my wishlist, too.

The desk design we loved most?  A simple solid walnut, DIY waterfall desk:
 

In order to get a desk to fit our wall perfectly (and not impede access to the room by jutting out into the doorway), we decided to make one so we could customize the height, length, and depth.  You'll see I left a little room to the left - that's just where I keep a basket to store papers we intend burn (in lieu of shredding sensitive documents).  I like keeping that basket handy, but more importantly, I didn't want the desk pushed right up against the drapes.  I'm using a wide-angle camera lens here, which distorts the proportions a bit and makes the desk to room ratio look larger than in reality.   



Let's chat about that DIY desk!

Full disclosure:  Hubby and I fully intended to build this desk ourselves (with the help of Craft-Art) at my father-in-law's woodworking studio, but once Hubby's Dad saw our plans - and the gorgeous slab of walnut we brought with us - he cleared his schedule and pretty much built this for us!  Isn't he the best?  Hubby helped him of course, but I mostly sat around the shop and played with the dogs all day, only stepping in for sanding (on the stroke sander!), some routing (which was fun!), and then hand sanding and finishing once we got the desk home.  I'm the finisher.

Want to make your own DIY waterfall desk?  Here's what you'll need, plus the step-by-step tutorial - in case a bottle of Scotch won't entice any woodworkers you know to make it for you.

Supplies:

• Solid wood plank (we ordered Black Walnut 1.5" plank from Craft-Art)
• Table saw
• Epoxy
• Wood glue
• Plate joiner (also known as a biscuit cutter)
• Wood biscuits (as large as practical for strength)
• Trim router
• Belt sander (we used a stroke sander)
• Large selection of bar clamps
• Four framing squares
• Watco Danish Oil
• Bottle of Scotch

Although Hubby and his Dad did a beautiful job building our solid maple kitchen counters from scratch, for this desk I wanted the tutorial to be a little simpler - and more doable - for blog readers, so I reached out to Craft-Art, a company that creates beautiful solid wood surfaces from different wood species.  Craft-Art sent me three pieces of solid black walnut (one 24"x72" length and two 24"x31" lengths, grains the long way on all three), in their "DIY" option, which required a little bit of sanding and finish - perfect for our use.  It arrived carefully wrapped in a really substantial shipping crate, so we skipped a lot of steps and started with this:

The first step was to fill the knots with epoxy.  Hubby's Dad explained that this adds strength to the knot and fills the holes.  Because the epoxy will sink a little into a hole before it sets, fill them in so the top is a bit higher than the wood surface.  Larger holes might require multiple applications.  You can also use wood filler, but epoxy dries in five minutes.  Once the epoxy dried, we just sanded it smooth and now there's no hole, although the beauty of the knot hasn't been obscured.

Next, Hubby and his Dad cut the mitred edges on the table saw, at 45 degrees.  It was tricky to keep the longest length of walnut level, so as to not distort the mitered edge, but they did an amazing job - it turned out perfectly.

Here's what the finished cut for the mitred corner looked like:

To add strength to the joint Hubby and his Dad used wood biscuits in the joint.

Here is the bottom of the biscuit cutter when cutting the grooves.  Hubby and his Dad worked carefully to ensure that the holes matched up with the corresponding piece in the finished mitered corner.

After that it was time to put the pieces on the stroke sander and make them nice and smooth.  Hubby's Dad tackled this because it was very important that the edges were not rounded because we needed a nice straight, sharp corner for the assembly so the joint would be tight.

Before gluing, Hubby and his Dad spent a long time carefully dry fitting everything together to make sure it all fit and that they had all the proper clamps in place.  It took awhile to figure out what clamp would go where and how to keep such a huge piece clamped tightly.  Once the wood glue is applied you pretty much have one shot because the biscuits start swelling and will not want to be removed.

The framing squares were clamped in place and used as reference to make sure the legs were square to the top, which was placed upside down in the photo below.  We put painters tape all around the glue joints to keep most of the glue that squishes out from going on the wood.  Once we were ready it was simply a case of gluing the biscuits, putting it together and clamping it.

Even though Hubby and his Dad worked quickly, they still needed to persuade the joints together.

Whew!  Everything was clamped together with a million clamps and then we went inside to have dinner.  Later in the evening, once the glue was dried, Hubby routed the edges of the desk.

I even did a little bit of the routing!  I'd never used a router before - I'm always stuck with hand sanding edges instead.  I love a sharp, squared off edge but rounding it the tiniest bit not only strengthens the edge and prevent chipping, but it also makes it less sharp.  The edges now are comfortable and smooth - great for when I'm tap-tap-tapping away on my computer...like right now!

The final step of construction was to add the support piece at the back, which may be optional but we all decided that a little bit of extra hold is never a bad idea - plus this piece helps hide cords!  We picked up a solid black walnut plank at the lumber yard and planed and sanded it before cutting it to length.  It too was installed using biscuits and wood glue, and held with clamps. 

  
In the photo below you can see the bracing piece we added for support more clearly.  It's inset, so we plan to affix our surge arrest power bar there and contain all of the cords between this channel we've created and the wall - completely unseen, but easily accessible.



Here's a look a the completed desk, before it was finished with Danish Oil:

Now came my part: a morning of hand sanding (moving from a 100 grit to a finer 220 grit) and then giving the walnut a coat of oil.

I've used different Danish/teak oils before, but this time I tried the Watco brand Danish Oil - in natural (although I'm curious about the different color finishes).  It's an oil and varnish in one, so it was a quick process with no laborious burnishing or hand-rubbing required - although it gives the look of a hand-rubbed surface.  The application was so simple: apply generously (watch for any areas that soak it up and apply more there right away), wait half an hour, apply another coat, wait fifteen minutes and wipe off.  That's all!  It penetrated into the walnut wood and created a rich finish from within.  I will keep you posted on how durable it is, but so far the wood has been protected and looks great (it's been a few weeks).  I love the velvety feel - it's SO smooth.

A quick note:  I do not believe that this is food safe so while it's great for a desk, I would not recommend this for counters.  For counters, please refer to Craft-Art's suggestions or look for a wood oil that specifies it is food safe.         

There are few things in life more satisfying than oiling walnut...

Look at the beautiful walnut grain!  The finish brought out the lustrous beauty of natural walnut and made me so loopy with heart eyes that I use words like "lustrous".

You can see my epoxy filled knots, too:

 

After the Danish Oil had cured, we added some felt feet underneath to protect our floors and that was it!  Done!  All told, this took about a day and a half to build, sand, and finish. 

We love our new walnut waterfall desk!  Now we're on the hunt for a pair of mid-century modern inspired desk chairs and a pair of lamps - I am just using Hubby's former desk chair and a Lotte lamp stolen back from my Mom for the time being.  When I share more details of the office makeover, I'll show you how our computers fit too! 

From the doorway, the look is clean and simple  - thanks to the waterfall style.  I prefer this to legs for the location of our desk because everything is hidden and when you walk past, the room doesn't feel "office-y," which is nice because you can pretty much see in here from the front door (small house problems). 

In these photos you're getting a peek at our new aqua tweed curtains (I talked about the fabric choice soooo long ago) and the art placement... More updates soon!

A HUGE thanks to Craft-Art for providing the gorgeous black walnut for this project.  The quality of construction was met with approval by my father-in-law, who has really high standards!  The walnut was packed more carefully than any item I've ever been shipped (the pallet was so insanely study, to call it a mere "pallet" doesn't do it justice).  I highly recommend them! 

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