Coronavirus has unexpectedly turned many kitchen tables into cubicles. Millions of people who typically worked outside of the home were thrown into the WFH world without a clue where to begin. When I worked in Corporate America, I worked from home once a week, so transitioning to full-time WFH wasn’t really a culture shock for me. It did, however, open my eyes to my less-than-acceptable “home office” situation, especially after I moved. You see, I used to work at the kitchen table with no issue, but once we relocated, we had no kitchen table. And actually, we still have no kitchen table. But that’s a story for another day.
The Before
In the absence of a table, I used my bedroom vanity as a pseudo work station. For the most part, it did the job, except for the extremely uncomfortable (and very broken) stool that went with it. I switched out the stool for an old office chair, but set it to the side for later. Stay tuned for how I re-purpose the vanity stool!
Even after the seating change, it still felt like a vanity- definitely not a space inspiring productivity and greatness. I needed inspiration even more once I was laid off from my 9-5 and started pursuing Creatively Corin again, so some things had to change.
The Process
To start, I removed the mirror from the vanity to give the appearance of a real desk. It was as simple as removing a few screws, and saved me the money I would’ve spent purchasing a brand new desk.
Next, I organized all my crap. This is a major key to creating a worry-free workspace. I sorted through my paperwork and decided what I needed and what I didn’t. And of those documents I needed, I scanned most of them into my phone and shredded afterwards. Did you know you could scan documents with your iPhone using the Notes App? I discovered this a few months ago and it’s changed my life. All you do is open a new note in the app and click on the little camera icon at the bottom of the screen. Position your documents in frame and boom! Scanned document in seconds.
The Details
I found cute and affordable storage solutions for my office supplies at my local Walmart. The gold wire basket, pen holder, and cardboard desk drawer system (linked in photos below) together were under $20! I ended up pulling out the drawers and sliding them under the desk’s glass top because the entire system was too tall to fit. It still worked out perfectly. I’m obsessed with the faux pulls on the drawers, and from far away no one would know they are cardboard!
Another major accessory in my bedroom workspace is my new plant baby! I’ve been decorating with faux flowers and plants a lot lately, but I have really been wanting some real greenery in my space. I haven’t named her yet, but I’m working on it! She is a Majesty Palm, and cost just $20 at my local Lowe’s store.
To put a pretty bow on the desk, I styled it! I purchased a marble dry erase board from Five Below. I love how it subtly ties in the pattern of my throw blanket! (Click here to read all about it in Part I). My faux flower box and sassy name plate were right at home here as well. I even hauled out the old iMac for editing photos! I still use a Dell laptop to write, but I thought my new and improved desk would be the perfect spot for the desktop computer.
Lastly, I needed wall art. Affirmations always help me to feel more centered, so I made all my own inspirational wall prints and threw them into Dollar Tree document frames. This DIY cost me just a few bucks. If you like these prints, I can save you even more money. Just download them on my freebies page and print at home!
The Finished Product
And that’s it! I turned a makeup vanity into an attractive and functional bedroom workspace within 24 hours for under $60! It was all a matter of re-purposing, re-organizing, and re-styling. With a workspace like this, I may be “out of office” indefinitely!
Productively,
