This post is in partnership with Lowe’s Home Improvement.
More and more, homes are seeing a need for a home office. “Virtual learning” and “working from home” and phrases that come up in every conversation these days. I have worked from home for almost 7 years now and have never had an official home office. My office has consisted of a basement corner, the dining room table, and most recently, the guest bedroom closet.
Our house was built around 20 years ago, and like most houses built around that time, we have had a formal dining room that rarely gets used other than for holidays and special occasions. We renovated our kitchen and great room last year and in the process turned our sunroom into the main dining room with plans to eventually turn this unused space into a formal home office.
It’s gone through several phases and I thought it would be fun to show you all of them! Here is the dining room shortly after we moved in 6+ years ago. Notice the awesome greek wallpaper and maple laminate flooring that matched nothing in the rest of the house!
I updated the space slowly by slowly and found this photo from when we switched out the laminate, painted and upgraded some lighting fixtures.
And here is is with just a little more TLC. That arched doorway leads to a hallway that then leads to the kitchen. Not exactly the most convenient dining room, but it worked!
Most recently, I actually moved my desk into this space to test it out (although I never snapped a photo!). Here it also has updated white walls to match the rest of the house.
One thing I can tell you immediately from working in this space for a few months is that natural light in a home office is an absolute must! The other spaces never quite worked for me and I can honestly say it was the lack of really great natural light that kept me from feeling my most productive. Something to consider if you’re planning on renovating your own home office!
The first step to making this space (right off the front door) a great home office was to close in the archways- closing off the passageway completely and adding french doors in the main archway.
Closing off this arch was actually easier than I thought it would be… I cut out the sheetrock and framed it as I normally would for a wall. I bought simple affordable unfinished French Doors and plan to stain them black!
Bye Bye walkway to kitchen… hello privacy and noise free room for Zoom calls!
Okay so now that all the hard part is done… time to transform this space and pick all the finishing touches. Lowe’s had so many options so I decided to create 3 mood boards so I could truly decide which vibe I was going for. This part was so fun!
MOOD BOARD #1 – Moody Transitional
I love the classic elegance this mood board creates. Neutral furnishings, some moody dark walls, and brass fixtures really elevate a basic space.
chandelier // sconce // chair // rug // knob // pull // plant
MOOD BOARD #2 – Moody Modern
Subtle differences in this mood board include a darker rug, and edgy black chandelier, and some fun sconces. I also think this faux olive tree reads a little more modern.
chandelier // sconce // chair // rug // knob
MOOD BOARD #3 – Modern Coastal
I think the subtle differences in this board read modern coastal! That rattan chandelier is everything and such a reasonable price. Add in a faux palm tree and it instantly has a different feel.
chandelier // sconce // chair // rug // knob // plant
Can you believe everything here is from Lowe’s?! They have am amazing selection for home decor and I am here for it!
I hope this project is something that you can relate to in even a small way. Creating a space in your home that can help bring a sense of peace and organization is something that we ALL need – and it doesn’t have a be a full-blown room renovation. We talk a lot about DIY over here but this is truly a project of “DIFY”… Do-It-For-Yourself! It might not be an office but I’m guessing that every one of you has something that you’ve been wanting to do to your home – not just to have something look nicer or more updated… but to truly help live our real lives better. My challenge is for you to come up with a project in your home that could make a big impact on your real-life… big or small – let me know in the comments!
So are you ready to see which mood board I went with and how I’ll transform this space? I am! Head over to stories to see all the action.
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