My home office desk revamp

The home office desk story

With home working becoming the norm since Covid the home office is becoming a necessity rather than a luxury.  As I’m now full time working from home it was important that I had a good ergonomic functional home office, that was nice to be in.  Being on a tight budget meant we had to make use of what we already had but make it work in the new space.

We were lucky to have had a dedicated home office in our last home and had purchased a good office desk and cabinets when we first moved into it, c20 years ago.

It was a flat pack set with a big corner desk from MFI (remember them?) and it proved to be pretty robust when we renovated and moved it into a different room in our last home.

We also brought the office desk with us to the home we lived in temporarily during the build.  This turned out to be the best decision ever as I ended up working full time from home due to Covid while we were building.

Fast forward to moving into the new house and yes, the office desk and furniture came with us.

The office furniture how it looked before the revamp

Now, as we got the furniture in 2005, it was due an overhaul. Plus a corner desk set up in the new home office would be too bulky. 

The new layout

The first thing we did was plan the new layout.  We ended up stretching the cabinets out across one wall and filled in the gaps with pieces of MDF.  We then needed a replacement for the corner desk so got a piece of oak laminate kitchen worktop and used this for the desktop adding supports to one of the tall cabinets to take its weight.

Fitting the office furniture to make best use of the space in the new home office

The Revamp

As we were trying to bring an industrial vintage interiors style to our home I had to do something with the out of date maple veneer.  So, out came the paintbrushes and my favourite Frenchic Al Fresco paint in Black Jack.  Three coats later and the office furniture was transformed.  I was even able to add an industrial touch by using black electrical tape on the glass door as a nod to a crittal door.

The office furniture after it’s three coats of Frenchic Al Fresco Paint in Black Jack

As the home office was to also be used as a guest room our sofa bed was also in this room.  It had been in the kids playroom so was covered in stains and also a duck egg blue colour.  I found a black sofa cover on Amazon and although it shows up every hair, fibre, crumb etc it is still better than the stained duck egg blue sofa.

 Hubby sourced on Gumtree a black Billy bookcase for extra storage and I managed to revamp my existing ergonomic office chair.  There was no way I was not having this chair – it is so comfy – so I removed the worn faux leather cover and recovered it with fabric from an old pair of curtains.

Oh, and how could I forget my other chair upcycle – painting a fabric office chair with Frenchic paint.  Yes, you read that right – I painted a fabric chair and it turned out really well.  Would I do it again? Probably not, or if I did, I would choose a darker colour as I must have done about 6 coats trying to get the yellow paint I’d chosen to cover the grey fabric of the chair.

Bookshelves and the painted chair are in one corner of the home office with sofa bed for guests

My new job meant new computer equipment so I needed a computer desk in the office.  At that stage there were so many basic desks being given away and I managed to get hold of one for nothing. A quick upcycle using a piece of sticky back vinyl, in oak to match the existing  desktop, was all it took to make it work in my home office.

That was the home office/guest room functionally up and running and it worked a treat for home working, it just needed some character. 

As we were still on a very tight budget I was delighted to get a gorgeous mural gifted to me by Belarte Studio.  I even managed to put it up myself!  Took me all day but I did it and yes it’s not perfect but for a first attempt I was delighted.

What I’m most chuffed about is the cork board behind the computer desk.  I fell in love with cork wallpaper ages ago and at £200 a metre there was no way I could justify that.  Instead I got a pack of cork self adhesive tiles for £7 and a couple of Sharpies and spent months drawing out a design across 8 tiles.  Once it was completed I painted a border and stuck the tiles straight onto the wall – I didn’t use any other adhesive other than what was on the tiles and so far it’s stayed put.

I still need to add some more artwork but I think I’m happy with the end result and this is the first room in the house that feels finished!  If I was to add up what we spent (excluding the office furniture which we already owned) it has cost less than £200 and none of our existing furniture had to go to landfill.

I hope this has inspired you to reuse what you already own or what friends or family no longer need.  It’s good for the pocket and the planet. I’d love to hear about what you do so please leave a note in the comments or email me :)

Nicky x