The Hardest Working Room in the House…
Several years before we bought our current home, I prayed for a small house with some acreage for our boys to run and have space to be boys. I didn’t want a large home because, for one, I knew we wouldn’t be able to afford that along with a decent sized outside space, but I also didn't want to spend all of my time maintaining it. We have 3 boys and they touch every single part of our house every single day. The less there is for them to touch, the less there is for me to clean. I’m just being real.
When we toured our home for the first time before purchasing it, I was drawn to the open floor plan and the large space to have gatherings. Unfortunately, that limits our ability to knock out walls and rethink our spaces… or does it? We are a family of 5, and because of this, we have to be really smart in the use of our rooms. Technically, we only have 2 bedrooms… WHAAT?
Normally when I use my computer or do “offic-ey” things, I sit on the couch, in my bed or at the kitchen table. That’s not ideal, but it works most of the time. However, it does make me ask the question, “where do I store my computer, printer, bills to be paid, among other things AND have a quiet environment to work?” Now, in the grand scheme of things, that is definitely a first-world problem. But, what if we could take our existing space and somehow reconfigure it to make it work more effectively? How could we create a room that was able to serve two very different purposes and do both well? Perhaps the biggest question was, “how do we do those things on a budget?”.
As I sat on our bed - with my computer - and really concentrated on these questions, I sent Matt a text that basically said, “what if we reconfigured our laundry room to include a small office space?”. Like any good husband, he said, “maybe that would work. Let’s talk about it when I get home.” He was probably hoping that by the time he got home, I would have moved on to something else, but that didn’t happen - this time anyway. That was on a Tuesday. By Sunday, we had picked out tile to replace the existing linoleum, as well as removed everything in the room and ripped up the flooring and laid backer board in preparation for the tile. I’m not sure we have ever jumped on a project that quickly. However, I will say that Matt was excited about the renovation because he really wanted me to have a space of my own that was beautiful, functional and conducive to concentration. It’s just one of the ways he shows me he loves me.
Before (no judging- it was terrible):
Tearing down walls wasn’t an option, so we had 60 square feet to work with. This 60 square feet had to hold a washer, a dryer and a large cabinet for storage of cleaning supplies and other random things. Those were non-negotiables. We also wanted to do it as inexpensively as we possibly could. Thankfully, Matt is skilled in a lot of areas and also loves to learn new things. We had to hire no outside labor, but had a good friend who was willing to walk him through and help with the very beginning of the tile process, which he had never done before. By the time the tile was finished, Matt had learned how to do it himself and our two oldest boys had been heavily involved - Will, 15, had done almost every single tile cut, as well as almost all of the grout work. Nicholas, 12, was in charge of the cleaning during the last stage. #homeschoolingatitsfinest
The tile work was the most involved part of the process. Once that was finished, we were able to add a fresh coat of paint to everything. We had a lot of leftover paint from a previous project, so we kept the same colors.
Matt built the desk area to fit our specifications. I wanted plenty of room to keep it organized and not piled. I also needed a place for a printer. We still needed to be able to do laundry comfortably, so it couldn't take up too much space. All of the wood used in the desk is poplar and was purchased from a local lumber yard. The shelves were built out of oak from the same place.
After:
The tile was our main expense, but it was a project we had wanted to do since we moved in. We felt like this was the best time to do it. Otherwise, this project was budget friendly, which is what we like around here. There are other things we would like to do with this room, but everything is a process. Matt has plans to built a cabinet to replace the mammoth one behind the door and I would like to possibly add a runner to absorb some of the sound.
Tile (Kentucky Tile Closeouts- We bought enough to tile another room which allowed us to buy at a huge discount - $.50 sq/ft) - approx $35
Tile underlayment, grout, etc (Lowe’s) - $100
Desk/Shelves (AgWood / Lowe’s) - $46
Shelf Brackets (Amazon) - $20
Desk Chair (HomeGoods) - $80
Desk Lamp (TJMaxx) - $20
Wall Board w/clips (HomeGoods) - $20
Gray Laundry Basket (HomeGoods) - $25
Miscellaneous Decor/Accessories (Burkes, HomeGoods, TJMaxx, At Home) - $50
Paint/Stain (already had) - $0
TOTAL (approx): $400
This project has made a huge difference in our home. It allows me to have a beautiful space to work and if I turn on the dryer, it drowns out all the noise from the rest of the house. Now all I need is a lock on the door. ;) There is enough space for the little one to work a puzzle or color beside me on the floor during school and today I caught both boys (at separate times) doing their reading in here. It was definitely time, money and energy well-spent.