Corner Office - ORC Week1

I was so close to skipping this fall’s edition of the One Room Challenge (ORC) hosted by Calling It Home. I literally decided a day ago as I was taking these “Before” photos. If you’ve never heard of the ORC, you can read all the details here. In a nutshell, 20 official design bloggers take this bi-annual challenge, sharing their progress every Wednesday for 6 weeks. Guest participants like myself can also participate during this same 6 week period. This year’s reveal will take place the week of November 5th! Time is already ticking…ORC Guest Participant

Before I get into the details of the space I’m making over, I’d like to share the 5 makeovers I’ve completed during the past several years! I’m still so pleased with the results…hence, the reason it is always difficult not to participate in the ORC. You really hold yourself accountable to finishing a project within a timeframe!

You can visit “reveal posts” here: Master Bedroom // Guest Bath // Girl’s Bedroom // Outdoor Patio // Girls’ Shared Bedroom

Let’s get to the space I’m making over!

Every time I make over a space in our home, I’m always stating the obvious detail … the small space. This makeover takes the cake when it comes to space constraints! It’s not even a whole room… it’s our living room corner. This is the area I’ve decided to create my very own “CORNER OFFICE.” Actually, it’s more like a Corner Multi-Purpose Area. 😉

Bookcase corner before

We have a large bookcase that I’ve been using to store a variety of things. You name it, it’s being stored there.

Living room corner before

We purchased this Ikea bookcase over 10 years ago. It’s still in great condition … surprisingly. Like most of my recent makeovers, I’m looking to lighten the color palette of this piece of furniture.

Book case corner before

My first plan of action is to “purge and organize” this bookcase.

Espresso Book case

The most time-consuming project during this challenge involves repainting this massive bookcase. I don’t even want to think about where I’ll be painting it. I’m sure it’ll be in the living room since moving it elsewhere will be such a pain!

Book case close up

Alongside our bookcase, we are currently using this garage-sale find as a side table. Inside those drawers, you’ll find my 10 year old’s supply of Nerf guns and darts. I…kid…you…not! 😉

For this makeover, I will be removing the side table and replacing it with a writing desk. The challenge is to find a desk that looks more like a console table rather than an office table. After all, this is a space in our living room. I don’t want this area to look cluttered with office-like details. Am I making sense? 🙂

Book case corner

Do you see the hair brushes on the table? Well, it’s one of the reasons why I want this to serve as my corner office/ multipurpose area. Not only will I place my laptop on my writing desk, I plan to store my daughters’ hair ties and brushes there too. Why?

I style my 2 daughters’ hair in our living room every day. Side note: They are almost 8 and 11. Should I still be doing their hair??

Living room corner before


My To Do list for this 6 week challenge:

  1. Purge and organize bookcase items
  2. Clean, Sand and Prime bookcase
  3. Repaint bookcase
  4. Purchase and assemble writing desk
  5. Repurpose vintage armchair or buy new one
  6. Purchase small accent rug
  7. Purchase organization files/cubes for bookcase
  8. Paint and install wall storage shelves
  9. Create small wall art decor
  10. Style corner office for reveal post

Next week, I’ll be sharing some “Inspirational Photos” for my corner office makeover.

As with my previous One Room Challenge makeovers, I’m doing this challenge in Real Time. For additonal content and sneak peeks, please be sure to follow along my Instagram and Facebook  accounts. I’m excited to be sharing the progress of my first ever “Corner Office!” 😀 Thanks for following along, lovely readers! Before you go, please check out Week 1’s posts from the 20 designers here and the guest participants here. Thank you Linda (Calling It Home) and Better Home and Garden for co-hosting this challenge!

What do you think about my corner office makeover? Would you have an office area in your living room? I’d love to hear your thoughts! ?