My home office design is still a work in progress, but I wanted to share more about John's home office, as the room underwent a complete transformation.
When John and I moved into this house, we were thrilled about many things, especially since we were coming from a two-bedroom, one-bathroom condo. We were eager to have more space overall, including a kitchen, dining room, laundry room, backyard, and most importantly, dedicated home office spaces for each of us. In the condo, we both worked in the dining room, with one of us (usually John) pacing around during conference calls. Sharing an office space was challenging, particularly when we both needed to be on video calls simultaneously. Therefore, we decided to convert the formal living room downstairs into John's home office.
The plan included a desk large enough to display multiple monitors, multiple laptops (work and personal), a printer, office supplies, and a file drawer for papers that seem to accumulate when you become a homeowner. John also wanted room for a sofa and chair, a flat-screen TV to watch the news during the day, and doors to close off the space so it felt more like a room. It was a tall order, but before we picked out the paint and furniture, the planning and research needed to start.
John explored the options for the coffered ceiling and doors, as these were the major structural changes for the room. He purchased a coffered ceiling kit from Tilton Coffered Ceilings, and it was installed in our house for the first time in John's office, not the dining room. The plan was to try it in the office first to determine if it was worthwhile to install in the dining room. The installation of the coffered ceiling kit was successful, and with some hired assistance, it was completed in about two days. Although the kit can be self-installed, I must warn you about the weight of the panels. Each panel weighed around 50 lbs, and I wasn't confident enough to hold a panel overhead while standing on a ladder. If you do decide to go the DIY route, I would recommend three people helping with the installation of these panels.
We decided to keep the existing openings when installing the doors to let natural light from the family room brighten the new office. Closing that opening to accommodate standard-size French doors would have made the room quite dark. There are two entrances to the office, and we chose sliding doors to close off each area. The doors are made of black aluminum with frosted glass, allowing light to flow in from the family room and front foyer. The doors were purchased from The Sliding Door Company, and a representative came to take measurements and later install both sets of doors. The doors were installed after 12 weeks, but we proceeded with and completed the rest of the office design during that time.
Next week, read on for more on the furniture and finishes that were added to the home office.
