Well, this is how it all started. My husband started a business and someone hired him to write blogs for them. He asked me to do it. For the last (almost) 10 years, I’ve been homeschooling our son, so I didn’t have a workspace, per se. I thought, no problemo. I love working from the couch/dining room table/bed/park/coffee shop/beach…and for the last 2 years, that’s exactly what I’ve done. However, recently I’ve noticed…something I’m not especially proud of. I’m getting more irritated when I’m interrupted 😬 So instead of getting annoyed with my family, I decided to make a dedicated workspace where I could lock the door if necessary. Does that sound funny? (I’m giggling)

The first thing you need to know is I’m cheap frugal (kind of). Brian wanted me just to order a desk on Wayfair or somewhere, but I wanted to upcycle something. I want to save as much money as possible to spend on travel or eating out or plants. So to the thrift stores we went!

I know people say not to work in your bedroom, but it’s my only option (remember about the door that locks?) Plus, I don’t work that much, and my work isn’t stressful, and I’m not the type that thinks about work when I’m not actually working. (Clearly, I’m a driven and highly productive business woman.) For a minute I considered working in my closet, since it has more space than I need, being the non-shopper that I am (edit: Clearly, I’m a driven and well-dressed highly productive business woman…) but I could not get past thinking about being locked in a dim, windowless closet. This corner is perfect! Bright sunshine streaming in, with plants all around. Bliss.

I know it doesn’t look like much yet…but {drumroll} I spent $11! $8 for the desk and $3 for the chair, which I was obsessed with immediately. I have since learned that it’s probably a dining room chair from a 1970’s dining set, but I don’t care. It’s my party and I’ll sit in a dining room chair if I want.

It did not take much to get this desk exactly like I wanted it. A sheet on the living room floor, two episodes of The Office, and voila! Are you ready for the after picture?

I used a little chalk paint to put a distressed cream coat on the desk so it kind of blends in with the walls. Then I used peel and stick wallpaper I found on Amazon for the top. I was skeptical about the paper sticking well for the long haul, so I priced covering the top with glass or plexiglass, but it would have been about $35 for plexi, more than all the rest of the project put together! I decided to take a chance on it as-is, and cover it later if necessary, since I have lots of the wallpaper left if it comes off. It’s been a month and it hasn’t curled or lifted anywhere, which seems like a good sign!

My total cost breakdown:

Desk $11 Chair $3 Wallpaper $10.98 Waverly Chalk Paint in Ivory $9.47

Total: $34.45 (with most of the paint and wallpaper left) If you’re looking to do a project like this, and want to spend even less, skip the wallpaper and paint a design on the top of the desk or decoupage with scrapbook paper or sheet music. I usually paint furniture with matte wall paint, but I didn’t have any of the color I wanted, and there were no appealing colors in the “oops” area at Lowe’s. If you’re really patient and wait for a great deal on a desk and chair, you could have a new workspace for next to nothing! Thanks for reading! Have a beautiful day

♥️ ~S