Short Story Long

My office is getting a makeover.

Okay, so first of all, "office" is pushing it.  To the point of laughing out loud.  My computer sits in a tiny cubby that's about 2 feet deep by 3 feet wide.  Remember the shortcut?  When we were drawing up the plans for the master bedroom/bathroom, we were trying to figure out where in the heck we could set up a desk.

Off topic side-note:  Prior to children, the office was in the room that is now the master bedroom.  Obviously, we had to give that up when it was time to make a nursery.  No more office.  When The Kid was 3 months old, like most mom's, I went back to work.  Horrible day by the way.  It was only 20 hours a week, but it was still five days of getting up and leaving the house in the morning.  Luckily for me, my mom was the one taking over baby duty.  I honestly can't for the life of me remember how long that lasted.  I do, however, remember feeling sick over not being home with him and guilty about my mom having to 'babysit' for me.  I knew in my heart from day one that it wasn't gonna last.  So for the sake of the story, let's say it was two weeks.  I called a meeting with my boss and two of the guys I did work for and told them I couldn't stay.  Two out of the three had wives that were SAHM's.  It took less than 10 minutes for them to offer me the chance to work from home three days a week.  SOLD!!!  So we set up shop in the garage.  The Dad built a wall to divide my office area from the tool area and that's where I worked Monday, Wednesday and Friday, until I quit permanently when I was seven months pregnant with The Girl. I wish I had a picture of my "work" outfits in the winter.  The garage is not insulated.  There are gaping holes that the wind blows through.  It was FREEZING out there three seasons out of the year.  To put it bluntly, it frickin' sucked.  So on with the original post....

We wanted to move the computer back into the house.  This cubby was the only square footage we could think to steal from.  So here I am.  In the cubby.

I've got big plans for this hole!  I'm trying to be funny again.  But really, I do have a vision.  I just need some more free time.  So don't judge the space yet.  It looks completely cluttered and chaotic, but it's in the "serving it's purpose" stage.  Before the room was even done, I was dreaming of wallpaper for the space.  I even poured through books searching for the perfect one.  Do you have any idea how many patterns of wallpaper are out there?  Good Lord!  But I did have it narrowed down to botanical.  Preferably with birds.  Of course.  But then it got to the "hurry up and get it done" point and the wallpaper plan got stomped.  Plus, I have a fear.  What if I hate it in a year?  That's way more work than a paint color change.  So, again, short story long, the computer hole was painted the same beige as the rest of the room.  Here's the "before" (don't judge):

Left Side

Right Side

Middle

Now you understand why I call it a hole, right?  My desk chair was the first thing to get the makeover.  I don't even know where it came from.  Probably a roadside rescue from my mom.  It didn't even have a seat when I first got it, but we cut a piece of plywood to fit.  I've had it for years.  This is what it looked like:

Fancy, right?

This is what happens when The Mom goes to Home Depot and has to wait for her bedroom paint samples to be mixed:

Spray paint aisle.

I love me some green.

So the dingy roadside chair finally has some color.  Now for some new fabric on the seat.  Nothin' a staple gun can't handle:

Leftover fabric from my dining room chair seats.  It's outdoor fabric and cleans up like a dream.

The Green Queen.  Ain't she purdy?

And while I had the rattle can out:

Green tray becomes greener!

So to make a long story even longer, on the same day I bought the green spray paint, I had wandered over into the carpet department and came across a shelf liner display.  There was a green botanical one.  I picked it up, set it down.  Picked it up, set it down.  Asked myself what in the world I was going to do with a roll of $4 contact paper and walked away.  Jump forward......I hit up the Dollar Store this weekend for some early Easter shopping.  What did I find in the very last aisle?  Green botanical contact paper!  For $1!!!  I brought home two.  What could I do, it jumped into my basket!  And this time, I had a plan:

$2!!!

Boring white Formica slab....GONE!!!  (Don't mind the weird cut in the floor - it's the access to the crawlspace.)

Best part, if when I get tired of it, it peels off!

 And as these things tend to snowball, I just couldn't stop cutting.  I ended up putting it in the back of the cubby shelf too:

Dungeon room takes horrible pictures.  Sorry.

I don't hate the shelf as much anymore!  P.S.  That softball is signed by my little league softball team.  Priceless.

Aside from a new wall color, I've got a plan that involves corks.  A lot of corks.  I have access to a bag that weighs a ton.  (I refuse to take credit for consuming all the bottles.)  The cork project will be taking place here:

Yes, these are homemade cork boards as well, but they aren't pullin' their weight anymore.

Can't wait for the "after"!