An Office and a Budget

Home Office Inspiration

If you are anything like my family or me, I watch HGTV almost every afternoon or evening at home. I love seeing how Joanna Gaines can just transform any space into something specifically for her clients, or watching how the Property Brothers turn dreams into reality. What about a home office remodel?

Now that my daughters have moved out, I became my own Joanna Gaines or Jonathan Scott by transforming a room in my house to my home office!

This room has a lot of history in my family; it’s been a bedroom for my oldest daughter, then a guest room for my mother, and now it’s finally my turn to make a mark.

I Needed My Own Space

Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but I definitely need my own space to let my dreams and business grow.

My favorite assistant-my husband, Ralph-helped me tremendously throughout the transformation!

He helped move the 20-year-old bookshelves, my daughter’s childhood bedframe, mattress, and all of the junk that had collected in the room.

Home Office Budget

I also didn’t have a big budget. I re-purposed a lot of things from around the house: bookshelves from my daughter’s room, books I stuffed in the attic, tables, and lamps from our living room, etc.

The things I DID spend money on:

  1. Teal Chair – $110 from Wayfair

  2. Curtains – $60 from Walmart.com

  3. 1 Bookcase – $75 from local vendor

  4. Whiteboard – $15 from Walmart

  5. Paint – $50 from Lowe’s

  6. Interior designer, Robin O’Nan – $155

Total = $465.00

Be A Smart Shopper

Choosing the few things that I did want to splurge on is what I found to be the key. Having an interior decorator is key. She helped me select the paint color and was able to put all of the items in their place to create an elegant work space. Finding a local interior decorator can be easy by asking friends on social media for recommendations.

Re-purposing old things from around the house not only saved me money, but it also gave a new sense of purpose to things I had forgotten were even there. I did not think that I could create a beautiful space with only $500. One of the bookcases came from my daughter’s room, the lamp was in my bedroom and the table was in the living room.

You do not have to spend a fortune to have an office that looks like it belongs on HGTV!

Talk to you soon,

Kathleen Olivieri