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Hello Spring! Yup, we finally made it to spring but technically not until 4:58pm in our neck of the woods. Did y’all ever wonder if the snow would stop? I know it officially has not stopped yet but the end is near, right! But seriously, I love the 4 seasons we are blessed with here in Wisconsin. Some more than others but I do look forward to the changes. Just shakes things up a bit instead of the same ol’ thing everyday, right, lol!

The “before” of the home office project

Talking about shaking things up a bit….I am at it again needing change in our home office. Now, give me an applause….the built in desk and wall cabinets have been in here since 2000. So you have to agree 19 years is long enough and updates are needed, right?

Hubs doesn’t always agree and thinks things are just fine but he forgets I usually know whats best in the decorating of our home. lol I mean you need to love the space you live in and when it no longer brings you joy its time for change, right! Isn’t that the Marie Kondo philosophy that everything you own needs to bring you joy? lol. Well this desk and space no longer brings me joy!

Here are some BEFORE PHOTOS.

Maple colored cabinets were good for all these years until last year when we painted our kitchen cabinets and put in a new floor. Now, I do not want these anymore.

This whole unit served its purpose so well when all the kids lived at home and we needed it for storage. Since they left home hubs and I kept everything in the cabinets and never used any of it. So why have them, right? The storage is great for bigger families but I am trying to do away with so much clutter in those cabinets.

Plans for this room…

This will be a long process! All because time is against me since I need to do everything myself. Hubs has been working so much overtime and he has other car projects he is working on in his garage so this one is all up to me.

Here are the plans I have for the room:

1.) Take the wall cabinets down and pass onto my son-in-law that can use them in his workshop.

2.) Redo the fireplace. Thoughts are to get rid of the gold trim on it and paint that black. Next maybe build a wood top for it since it is just so blah right now. I would love whitewash brick on the other parts of it but that is a hub’s job and that is not going to be happening.

3.) Do something with the desk. If I had my way it would be sold. I mean it is still in great condition but I am so over it and it takes up so much space. BUUUTTTT, hubs is NOT on board. So that means I need to paint it like my kitchen cabinets since it is basically in the same room being open concept. How do I feel about painting it you ask? NOT happy at all! I mean it will be alot of tedious work and yes, will look so much better than it does but I just don’t want the big desk anymore. Sadly, I will be painting it as soon as this weekend. Wish me luck!

4.) Change out the brown leather chairs. I have been eyeing some new ones up on Wayfair for months now and will pull the trigger once I get these sold. Just a matter of getting them listed on the buy sell trade sites.

5.) Paint the little brown table next to the chair.

6.) Stain the window to match the baseboard. We really were suppose to do that when we put the new floor in and stained the baseboards but never got around to it and its been forgotten. But I see it everyday and its on my mind so I just need to do it!

So that is my list which seems to be minimal but really every step takes so much time.

Changes made so far!

A couple weeks ago I got the upper cabinets all emptied (as seen in the next photo) and my son-in-law came over and helped my hubby take them down.

Once they were down it was so open and I was excited to get that wall decorated.

But first it needed paint since behind the cabinets was still the old color from 19 years ago. Out came the paint and I rolled it on. This photo shows it still wet but it did blend in perfectly with the rest of it, once dried. The color is Classic Silver by Behr. That is the color I have in most of the rooms on the first level. A nice classic grey color.

Time for decorating…

The next thing I did was made this 5 ft long shelf. Hubs helped me hang it and I then pulled stuff I already had in my house to decorate it.

That is the cheapest way to decorate with things you already have. So always be sure to look around your own space before buying new. Plus when you switch things around it always feels like a new space.

I really liked the hardware I used on the shelf so I thought this rod with the olive tins hanging from it was the perfect combination to match the shelf.

Topped off the whole grouping with this fabulous antique truck picture I picked up for just $15 from Hobby Lobby. SCORE! I mean is this adorable or what! Hubs is a car guy but not exactly the rusty, antique kind, lol But he was fine with it. Brings back some great memories of my grandpas truck on the farm that was just like that.

This whole grouping was screaming farmhouse to me which was the intent, so of course, I needed to bring in a barn and a cow, right?! lol. I purchased these prints below for a few bucks from an Etsy shop and printed them on my printer. The frames I already had and oh my goodness that cow, Bessie, (yes I named her) is the BEST! lol.

Fun fact about me…I grew up on a dairy farm in Shiocton, WI that my parents owned, so this is really getting back to my roots! (smile)

Now that is CHEAP…or shall I say “inexpensive” decorating, hey!

It is so fun to watch it all come together. Live plants always add such nice color to a neutral space and this little stool plant stand fit perfectly!

Just like that I had it decorated and loving everything about it.

This floor is still my favorite since we put it in over a year ago but gosh it looks terrible with this desk now. My daughter has a desk I would absolutely love. It’s on wayfair here and she paid much less than it is now. So you do need to watch their prices because they totally change, daily. But seriously, look at how beautiful it is and wouldn’t it look perfect here?! A girl can dream, right! (smile)

For my new followers you can read all about those photo frames shown below on this post here. I am in need of changing the photos out since I now have another grandson to add to them.

Also, that little table on the left is going to be painted. I just need a brighter color like an off white. It is such a cute table but needs a face lift.

Now, I only wish it was all done. (smile) I feel it is looking better already but still, sooooo much to do. Can someone come paint the desk for me or buy it and get it out of here? lol

Alrighty friends, I will give you updates as it all gets finished. But I hope the styling of the wall gave you some decorating ideas for your own space.

Happy Spring and have a great rest of your week!

xoxo