A home office renovation was not on my 2023 To-Do List two weeks ago.
But two weeks ago, I didn’t have a fabulous leopard print chaise lounge that I was gifted from my local Buy Nothing Group. And, unfortunately, that fabulous leopard print chaise lounge didn’t fit through the doorway to my basement steps where I was originally planning to put it.
Yes! We tried it the other way, but I needed two hands to hold it and couldn’t take the photo that way. 🙂 And yes, we turned it over and around and tried it every which way using all the little tips and tricks we’ve learned over 10 years of professional furniture painting (and delivering).
It. Just. Doesn’t. Fit.
Ideally, we would unscrew the legs which would give us the few inches of clearance we need to get through the doorway. But they appear to be nailed and glued in place. That was not a project either one of us wanted to start on a Friday night at dinnertime.
So after about 30 minutes of turning and twisting, squeezing and swearing trying to force the lounger to fit through the too-small basement doorway, we moved it out-of-the way and into the office where it did fit through the door.
Then we sat down and looked around.
Home Office Renovation Time
The room is a mess. Beyond the piles of papers, clutter and a stack of stuff to go to Goodwill, it’s a little shabby too. We completed a major home office renovation after we moved here about 12 years ago. We removed the 1970’s wood paneling that came with the house, installed recessed lighting and replaced the nasty old carpet with a new hardwood floor.
This room was done!
And up until two weeks ago, I still thought it was done. But sitting there on that fabulous leopard print chaise lounge, we realized it might be time for another change.
The bookcases are one of the first things I ever chalk-painted. To my untrained eye, they looked amazing at the time.
Now? I can see all kinds of flaws.
When school abruptly shut down at the start of the pandemic, we quickly transformed a corner of the office into my son’s online school workspace. It looks cool (when it’s cleaned up!), but he doesn’t use it anymore.
Now the space just serves to collect junk nobody feels like walking upstairs to put away.
How Plans Get Made
Back to the lounger. Sitting there we realized it is not only fabulous, it is very comfy. Which made me even more determined to figure out a way to get it downstairs into my art studio.
“You know … we could just leave it in here,” my husband suggested hopefully.
What? No! It doesn’t fit! It takes up too much space.
“Not if you got rid of that desk and scooted it over,” he replied. “It would fit this wall. And it matches the giant frame nicely.”
It would fit that wall, I reluctantly agreed. I was still set on figuring out a way to get it downstairs into my art studio. But he had a point. It did look really nice next to the giant frame I got for free on Craig’s List several years ago that purportedly once hung in the Smithsonian. (That’s a story for another day.)
Then I realized … both the lounger and the giant frame would look even better on that wall as the focal point of the room. But then the bookcases would need to be moved over to the other side of the room.
Also there’s the little matter that hanging the giant frame was a major ordeal and removing it will surely mean holes to patch in the drywall. Not to mention the chalkboard paint I applied extra thick so we could use the wall as a chalkboard. That will need to be sanded away once the frame is removed.
So after re-arranging all the furniture in our heads, we started talking about new paint colors to brighten up the drab gray walls — and a home office renovation was suddenly on our 2023 To-Do List. Just like that!
Re-evaluating the Space
The only problem is … there are many other items higher up on the 2023 To-Do List, like a Mini Kitchen Renovation we were planning to start after the holidays were over. (Which technically is now, but we took an impromptu getaway to Great Wolf Lodge with my sister’s family last weekend instead. Priorities!)
The 2023 Home Office Renovation will have to wait a month or two. Even though it wasn’t originally part of the plan, it is needed. I think it is important to look around your home and re-evaluate the space every once in awhile. This office has served us well in many different iterations over the years. But it has been over 10 years. (Yikes! That went by fast!)
It is time for something new again. Something that reflects our needs, interests and our style now–not 10 years ago.
There’s also one other little problem…
I can’t really blame him. It is comfy!