...to reveal the office

...this has been a much awaited post I think (well only for my father-in-law; he just wanted to know how I was going to cover up the mess of a wall we made!)

As I have mentioned before, this is a great military house.  It's not a house we would want to buy because in ten years it will have fallen apart due to cheap materials and the use of the 'low bid government contractor'.  Having said that, certainly a lot of thought was put into the lay-out of the home.

Except for the office.

It is a small room (about 5 X 8) set right next to the mudroom and just off of the kitchen.  There is no door.  Although, I don't necessarily find that problematic.

My beef is that some designer thought it would be a good idea to put in a countertop and two random cupboards in the space.  Great if you don't have a desk...

It is that low countertop that I really disliked!  And much to Fred's dismay, that counter was going to come out of there...b/c my desk was going to fit perfectly in that space!

Bless that man's troubled heart (I know that it tore him up to 'destroy' that new house) but like any doting FIL would do...we went and bought the tools and he got to work!  I included a few photos of the process:

Under the counter working with a paint scraper tool and a rubber mallet.

This was a long process; working around the edges on both the top and underside of the countertop.

Unsightly triangular support

This triangular piece did come off.  It has been carefully stored away so that I can put the cupboard back on the wall when we leave.  If this were my house...I would have taken off the wall supports and certainly gotten rid of the cupboards and put in some type of shelves.  However I didn't want to be found guilty of destroying government property so we demolished as carefully as possible and with a little glue that cabinet could be back in place in no time.  (Would you want it my way or the countertop way?)

This office became the dumping ground while I was unpacking.  It was the last room that I decided to tackle.  Mostly because I have a laptop and didn't have to spend any time in it.  Remember that toy room before picture this was 'wayyy worse' (as Will would say)!  I can't believe I didn't take a before picture.

Well here is the office now...

The unsightly supports for the cabinet....badly needed to be covered!

And despite MANY google searches I could not find an example of what I had in my mind to cover these beasts.  So I just did what I thought was best.  I found some fabric I liked, sewed it to the approximate length I wanted, and created a curtain-like covering.  Even my mom helped in the hanging process!  Who knew she could work a staple gun?

 Thank goodness my Grandma Viele taught me how to sew oh-so-long-ago!

This is a large bookshelf we have had for a long time...

A vintage clock as a bookend and a couple of the kids silver cups can be spotted.

This shelf was a thrift store find that my dad sanded and I refinished.
Mark brought me the sculptures from Africa.

A view of our work area with the ugly cupboards.
I love the modern looking lamp I found!

We don't have an extra table for the printer so I have put it on top of a large basket...this is perfect because it serves a second purpose of storing and hiding all of the cords!

Another picture of the desk/wall covering from the window side of this office space...

Final views from the mudroom hall area...Time to replace the curtains!  Ideas anyone?

Now it is a useable and cozy space to occupy.