The Multipurpose Office: A space for the whole family!

Turning One Room into a Creative Space for All

The Multipurpose Office

Sometimes we have to get real creative with our spaces. Have you ever found yourself with the lack of space in your home or maybe even an extra room in the house that wasn't being used for much of anything. except a space to collect things? If you were like me, my office became a dumping ground for just about everything; furniture that wouldn't go in any other room, crafts, mucial instruments, etc. In fact it was such a mess that I didn't even want to work in there at all! I would pull my laptop out and work at the dining table most days. I knew I needed to make some changes. I decided to paint the wall where my desk was located with a chalk board paint. (Yes, it's a black wall!) gasp! But I needed some character and organization in the room and it started there! Previously, I showed you part one of the office makeover and if you haven't seen it or would like to see it again you can check it out here @ The Chalkboard Office!

We imagined the room for it's seperate uses/needs in the design; an office space, a craft/workspace, and a music room. That's a lot of stuff in one room but we decided to divide it up by sections or in this case; walls. One wall would be the chalkboard office space, another wall an organized craft space, the third wall would be a work table for arts, crafts and homework for my daughter, and the fourth wall would be the designated music space for her keyboard. Here's how it all came together!

An Office Space:

After the space was cleared out and the wall painted, I organized my desk and my daughter Emily drew some chalkboard frames on the wall to display some of her favorite artwork! The artwork was a nice creative element that made the space personal. After this was done, the chalkboard wall office space was complete.

Chalkboard Office-Multipurpose Room-Maison Designs Home

Work Table Space:

Next, we pulled the bar table that Garrett and I previously built from the kitchen space to use as a art/homework table for Emily and I. She loves working at the table and it takes up most of the partial east wall of the room. We added a touch of color with the handmade DIY Chalkboard wall art, painted in light blue, which hangs above the work table that reads:

"If You can dream it, You can do it!" by Mr. Walt Disney

(it's one of my favorites)

Organized Craft Space:

On the north wall we repainted a bookcase that Garrett & I built for my daughter when she was little. We painted it a light blue to compliment the black and cream walls of the room. We also created canvas artwork, painted it in light blue and hung it above the bookcase. This quote by Albert Einstein reads:

"Creativity is Intelligence having Fun!"

Music Wall Space:

After the other three spaces were complete, we designated the south wall as the music space. My daughter's keyboard and gray stool were placed along this wall. We found vinyl lettering at Target that I thought would be perfect for the blank wall above the keyboard. My idea was to create a musical bar line and cleft out of black washi tape. The great part about using washi tape is that it can be peeled off later without leaving a residue or marks. My son happened to be home during this project so he and Emily worked together placing the vinyl lettering above the music bar. It reads: "SING....like no one is listening!

Underneath this quote, we placed another vinyl quote that reads: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain"! Emily is also a dancer, so it fits with all of her artistic talents! :)

This multipurpose space became "fun"ctional after organizing for all it's uses. I use this space now and Emily can use it with me; yet we still have our own areas to work and create. It's the best of both worlds!

Another fun project I did this week was to repaint and update this Midnight Desk. My husband was using this upstairs in his office but we decided to upcycle it and sell it at our booth space @ Daisies & Olives. I repainted it with a black semi-gloss spray paint and updated the bottom drawer hardware by replacing them with these drawer pulls.

I used spray paint rather than chalk paint because the piece was not real wood (although it is hard to tell after it was painted) and it had a high sheen factory finish. When I'm lazy and don't want to sand, I use the paint & primer by Rustoleum and call it good. After painting, I heavily sanded the piece to give it a more rustic look. I wanted to see the wood grain underneath to show through the black paint. I'm still working on the wooden office chair that I will also spray paint black to match the desk!

I started a crazy project that was not planned and may or may not work out! It started with the fact that I have loathe my red couch and have for quite some time. (and yes.... I'm the one that bought it 8 years ago and I now find myselft wondering what was I thinking?) Well, on Wednesday evening I was ready to haul it away! I seriously need it out of my house to redecorate my living room! But I got a wild hair and thought if I cut down the back I could get it upstairs to use in the bonus/home theater. As is, it would not fit through the doorway and believe me I tried! (imagine me and heavy couch up a flight of stairs and not measuring to make sure it fit through the doorway) So, I decided to alter it rather than throw it out, thanks of course goes to my ever frugal mind set! The couch sits now disassembled in my living room which I'm hoping to finish in the next few days! Say prayers!!!! I'll keep you posted on that!