Home Office Furniture Makeover – Decor to the Door

Let’s take a look at the beautiful home office furniture makeover.  The first thing that stands out is the bright and inviting color palette. The walls have been painted a warm, inviting shade of yellow with white accents. The furniture has been updated with a modern style and bright colors. The desk is a sleek, white piece with a wood-grain finish. The chairs have been updated with a bold pattern in shades of blue and yellow. The filing cabinets have been updated with a stylish black finish. The room also features a cozy armchair and a bright, multi-colored rug. The overall effect is a modern, inviting home office that is perfect for working from home.

Home Office Furniture Makeover

When we moved into our home seven years ago we had some office furniture that I thought would work but once we got settled the reality was it was too small for the space.  Furniture we had used in our loft which was a much smaller are so it didn’t work in the larger office.   It looked like doll furniture in an actual house.

I got busy looking for something new.  We didn’t have the funds to purchase something new so I looked at Goodwill, Antique Stores and OfferUp.  I got lucky and found a beautiful piece that was well made and a good price on OfferUp.  To make it even better it was only a few miles away so a win, win.  I was so happy with the purchase.  A great quality piece that fit the space perfectly.  We had seen this exact piece in a furniture store for thousands of dollars, I felt really lucky to find this beautiful piece.

Wanting Something New

A few months ago I started imagining something different, less traditional and more modern.  It would have been easier to purchase something different but way more expensive.  Replacing a desk and a hutch is not inexpensive even if I sold what we had for a few hundred dollars.  I spent a lot of time thinking, looking and planning what I hoped was possible.  There were a lot of unknowns but we have done a lot of DIY projects so I had faith in our abilities and knew or hoped we could figure it out as we went.  Also knowing there would be surprises, hopefully nothing we couldn’t figure out.

To begin I wanted to create a free standing desk.  Then take off all the traditional additions to the hutch and make it more modern and simple.  Because it is a mostly solid wood piece the plan was to stain the desk.  Then paint the hutch, toying with the idea of staining the top of the base cabinets.

Our office is home to a beautiful bookcase that we built ourselves. It is one of my favorite pieces in the office and it will look stunning when paired with our desk and hutch makeover. The bookcase is a perfect addition to any space and is sure to impress. It’s a great way to add some character and style to the office and is sure to be a conversation starter. If you’d like to see it for yourself, take a look at the bookcase here.

Taking it Apart

My husband works from home, so when our office space needed to become a non-working room, I wasn’t sure how to make the desk free-standing without it looking out of place. I decided to purchase some black iron legs and hoped that they would do the trick. Because the desk was attached to one wall, I had to figure out how to make it work with the legs. After some trial and error, we were able to make it work and the desk looks great in the middle of the room.

I started by taking corbels and trim off the hutch.  There were a lot of layers to the demolition.  The more I took off the more I wanted to take off.  I had a vision and to get it to where I wanted I needed to strip it down to the bare bones.

All the rod iron additions, arches, trim and anything that made it look tradition was taken off.  Some came off easier than others.  Pieces like the corbels were screwed on so that was easy but a little time consuming because there were so many.  The rod iron pieces were also screwed on.  Because it was going to be painted I wasn’t too worried about screw holes in the wood.  It could be filled, sanded and painted.

There were some decorative pieces that were glued on, which was harder to remove.  Thankfully my husband gave me a hand, I wouldn’t have physically been strong enough to do it.  Removing the rope type trim was not easy but thankfully we were able to pull it off without too much damage.

Home Office Makeover Desk

On a long weekend, we got busy making the desk free-standing. After carefully detaching it from the wall, we had to make sure that the newly-freed side of the desk matched the rest of the desk. We sanded it down and gave it a fresh coat of paint to make it look as good as new, and then finally got it set up in the room. It was a tedious but worthwhile project and now we have a functional and beautiful desk to enjoy.

Thankfully pieces that were pulled off the hutch were used to finish off the trim on the desk.  Which was nice because it would sand and stain the same.

We had to step back and process what we had and how we were going to make it work.  With some trial and error.  For the new metal legs we needed to extend the under pieces just a little.  Thankfully we made it work and the end result was amazing.

After it was all put together I got busy sanding it down to the raw wood then cleaning and staining.

Sanding the wood was really fun.  I love seeing the raw wood appear it is so pretty when sanded down.

When it was sanded I used the air tank to blow off the saw dust.  I then wiped it off with a damp blue shop towel.   Brush it with a wire brush to clean out any saw dust in the grain of the wood, then wipe it with another blue shop towel.

Desk Stain

The desk is now ready to be stained.  Here is the three stain combination that I love to use.  Creating a modern, subtle and beautiful finish.

Before starting my project, I took the time to apply a pre-stain wood conditioner to the wood. Applying it with a foam brush and wiping off with shop towels, I made sure to wear a latex glove so that my hands wouldn’t get stained. I worked in sections, brushing the pre-stain on, then wiping off the excess. This helped create a consistent finish on the piece. My project was easier to finish because I was able to use wood from the hutch, which saved me time and money.

Once the special walnut stain is dry, the key to achieving a soft and smooth finish is to lightly sand off the raised wood fibers with an ultra fine sanding sponge. Afterwards, apply an antique white stain over the wood. This will soften the look of the special walnut stain, creating a beautiful finish. To ensure that the stain does not dry too quickly, it is best to work in small sections.

After it is dry use the ultra fine sanding sponge again.  The final step is adding the special walnut stain.  Working in sections and wiping it off quickly.

Trust me the key to getting a beautiful finish is a light sanding between each coat of stain.  Whenever you stain or paint wood it brings up small wood fibers.  Lightly sanding those off gives you a soft smooth finish. I love these ultra fine sanding sponge.

Adding the New Metal Legs

We were now ready to add the new metal legs to the gorgeous desk top. The black iron legs are a beautiful addition to the gorgeous updated desk.

After we added the extensions to the underside of the desk for the legs we were able to screw them into place.  Because a couple of the predrilled holes were too close to the side we drilled a couple new holes for screws.  Had we screwed on the edge we risked splitting the wood.  Thankfully drilling our own holes wasn’t too tough.

It is all starting to take shape.  I’m so happy with the way things are looking.  The desk is the first step in changing the look in our office.

The next blog post will take you through the steps to makeover the hutch.  Taking it from traditional to a beautiful on point modern piece.

To make your DIY projects more fun check out all the adorable t-shirts at Decor to the Door.  Perfect for all projects or a trip to Home Depot.  You can check out all the diy t-shirts here.

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