Progress has been made- out of order.
Hey there and welcome to my Home Office Makeover for the One Room Challenge! I am currently in the middle of a big disaster zone. You can check out my Before photos and the plan to tackle the home office makeover in my Week 1 post. So yes, progress has been made, but the middle ground is messy. Here’s my home office update and the breakdown of the current situation.

Week 2: Plan A Proper Layout
The plan for week 2 was to figure out a functional layout for the small office space. The setup going on in the Before photos was accessible but left no room to actually work in my home office. It was basically a storage room. I knew the room had a lot more potential.
Step 1: Empty The Room
I cleared out the room! Into the hallway. And now no one can move around in the hallway outside my office. Which has made my son quite sad and he normally loves to play in the area outside the office.

As I was clearing out the room, I noticed a few tiny flies periodically. Which set off a warning in my head.
Sure enough, I found a group of little flies in my window!

So Step 1 turned into
Step 1.5: Spray For Bugs!
I picked up some Wilson One Shot bug spray and took care of that problem stat. I then had to vacate the room for a few days.

Step 2: Move Around Furniture
Once the fly problem was a thing of the past I could move on. I knew I was keeping the heavy-duty shelving and had to work with their large size. This is not something I was planning to replace at this time. They work great and offer a lot of storage while fitting underneath my lowered ceiling bulkhead in the middle of the room.
Instead of being on the left wall, I moved them over to the right wall. There was just enough room between the brown bookcase and the closet for them to fit. And I mean they fit perfectly!

Which completely opened up the left wall for new opportunities.
The brown bookcase is staying put because there’s a funny angle wall at the corner behind the door. It’s hard to see but believe me, it’s there. The bookcase is just the right depth to fit snug against the wall without the angled wall interfering. Optimal spatial use.

Reusing Furniture
For this makeover, I am trying to really repurpose the furniture that I already have and the materials I already have. There are some things I will need to purchase new, but the ultimate focus is on creating a big makeover using organization and shopping my own home for solutions. A home office update, or really any room in your home, doesn’t have to require new furniture to make it feel fresh.
Shop My Own Home? What Does that Mean?
Shopping your home is a common term in the budget-friendly design world or reusing your own home decor and furniture in new ways. It could be as simple as moving a vase that no longer works for your bathroom decor into your living room as a new focal point. It teaches you to look at the items you already own and see how you could use them elsewhere for a new life.
Step 3: DIY A Desk?!
Okay, so this step kinda snuck up on me! I was planning on purging this week. But once that left wall opened up I found myself dreaming about wall-to-wall workstations. One day I started talking about my idea out loud in front of my husband.
“Well, let’s just go look at some wood while we’re on this side of town,” he said.
So we did.

We left the store with 2 pine boards, some anchors, and a bag of screws. We He then spent the next 3 days configuring and building a workstation to fit this niche. My full tutorial will be up soon in a dedicated post. This was a wonderful gift from my husband. He loves woodwork projects and finds them therapeutic. Especially if they are simple ones such as this.
So while the workstation was not initially on the plan, I am so glad this detour happened. It makes a big difference in the room.
Step 4: Purge and Organize
So the new plan for Week 3 is to do the purging and DIY projects. I want to paint an accent wall, hang some art, and figure out some DIY organization ideas for my DIY supplies.
We will see if I get distracted again or not.
I’m being very fluid with this project and seeing where things lead me. As ideas pop up, I’ll try them out.
My friend Junette is also tackling her Home Office, but with a more strategic approach. Go check out her project next and give her some love.
You can also see the other ORC projects from my fellow guest participants and the featured designers. There are some brilliant projects on the go! It’s such a supportive community too.
Thanks for following along with my home office update!



Junette says
I love your progress! Just goes to show how much a functional layout and purging can accomplish. I love that you have a drafting table! And I agree 100% that you don’t always need new furniture and that you can shop your own home.
Sara-Lynn Houk says
I really think people overlook what they already own and repurposing it better when they are trying to organize their own homes. Thanks Junette!