Home Office Before & After

When COVID hit Alex and I for the first time began working from home. I would work in my bedroom or living room and Alex would work at the kitchen table. After almost 2 years of this setup we had enough and decided to add an office. Here's a look at the before & after and our process.

BEFORE

When we began researching additional office space, we considered moving but that's when house prices went through the roof. We realized moving to get a couple hundred extra square feet would cost us an additional $500k (we bought our home in 2019). We looked at turning part of our attic in to an office. That quote was $90k. That's when we considered closing in the back part of our 3 car tandem garage and the quote was around $18k. We ended up refinancing and using part of that money to hire a contractor for this addition. It's crazy to think this room was part of our garage before because it flows so nicely with our home. You would never know it wasn't always here. It took about 2 months to complete.

Things we did:

- Closed in the back part of our 3 car tandem garage

- Leveled the floor and added the same tile from the rest of the home

- Added a large window

- Ran AC/Heat

- Added paneling to give more depth

- Added built-in shelving

AFTER

When it came to decor inspiration I wanted the space to be peaceful and minimal. I started with choosing a couch and began collecting items such as the thrifted horse painting and zebra rug. I have two additional prints on the wall from a trip to London and one of Nurnberg Germany, one of my favorite cities in Europe.

I love having a dedicated space to get into a work mindset. I'm able to shut the door and separate myself from the work which can be hard to do when you work from home. It's also a great additional space for the kids to watch TV because they are always fighting over who watches what. Overall I'm extremely grateful for this dedicated office space we were able to add to our home, and believe it was definitely worth the investment.

Sources:

Couch, Standing Desk, Dog Bed, Curtain Rod, Curtains, Rug (gifted from a friend - linking similar), Paintings (thrifted), Sconces, Picture Light (above horse painting), Faux Hanging Plant