Forty Young: Dining Room to Glam Home Office Reveal
“We Needed a Space to Work from Home”
Written from the perspective of Blog Owner, Kelly Ruth:
I’ve wanted to build a home office space for a few years now. Even before I launched “Forty Young” I thought it’d be a good idea. We do have a “locker room” (kid’s lockers for coats, backpacks etc.) that has a small area with some filing cabinets and some cubbies for mail. So there was some space for items but no desk, no door, no place to write the bills. So when I did write bills, I would use the kitchen island.
Once I started working on this site, I would work from my laptop in the same place. The kitchen is the busiest room in the house, and my kids are like moths to a flame. If they can see me, they need to be near me and they need to make their presence known. But only when I don’t want them to, like when I’m working. Any other time I’m like a leper.
Another reason why we wanted to create an office at home was that our office supplies were littered throughout the house. Bills, envelopes and stamps were in the locker room. The hall closet had mailers and other shipping supplies. The drawer by the pantry had the shipping tape, and our printer was in the family room.
From Dining Room to Home Office
So, we decided to turn our dining room into an office. We have lived in our home for 9.5 years and we’ve used the dining room twice: years ago when I hosted Christmas Day dinner and once when I used it as a buffet table for one of Gianna’s birthdays. We finished our basement after those two events and we haven’t used the dining room since (at least five years).
Must-Haves for Home Office Furniture
We knew that we wanted not just one home office desk, but two. Rob thinks one day he’ll be able to work from home. I think he’s dreaming but hey, one can dream. We wanted the room closed off, which meant adding doors at both openings that were already existing. We needed storage, so we wanted a wall of cabinets or built-ins and to add a new light fixture.
The Perfect Piece Of Art
Right when I started thinking of home office design ideas, I reached out to the artist Jeff Lange about a collaboration. He does amazing work; you can check him out on Instagram. This entire piece of inspirational artwork was hand-painted by him. The details are insane. The gold and black fit the room perfectly.
Home Office Design Ideas and Furniture
We decided to put our two desks up against the windows. One of the most important things about home office design is creating a space that sparks inspiration. Plus, I can’t stand the thought of facing a wall while I work; it’d drive me crazy. I love the simplicity of the sawhorse legs done in gold for some glam. And the office chairs go so well with the rug (most amazing rug I’ve ever bought). My fantastic interior designer, Nicole from Refreshology picked out the perfect light fixture. I absolutely love it.
Rob and I wanted a round table for meetings and to record a podcast we are launching in the coming months with another couple. It has a marble top and a gold accented pedestal. The cow hide print chairs (I love the nail heads) were another great find (and a great cost, you get a set of two for around $300) by my interior designer and they go perfectly with the home office desk chairs and the rug.
The last piece of the office decor puzzle was adding the cabinets. There was already a “cut out” in the wall from when we originally built the house, so it was the perfect spot for some custom cabinetry. I’m a huge fan of grey because I think it’s one of the best neutral paint colors and I especially love it with gold accents. It’s traditional but with a touch of glam. We also put a small quartz countertop, which resembles marble, on it for accessories.
Another big thanks to Jeff Lange who gifted me the amazing piece of artwork I featured. He is an artist in every sense of the word. Nicole from Refreshology is really great to work with, too! She found my amazing light fixture and the cow hide print chairs, and she did all the accessory shopping for me. The finishing touches she made really finished the room!
I loved this home office design project and couldn’t be happier with how everything came together. It is so incredibly nice to have my own little spot to work, write and focus on my blog.
