Designing My Office Built-Ins
I promised more posts around my home office renovation, and while it’s moving pretty slow- I finally have the built-in design plan nailed down! That was something many of you expressed interested in seeing, so I’m packing all of the info and a peek into my process in this blog post. Click through to see my design plan, how the built-ins are going to look, and how I move ideas from my brain to reality. I think a couple elements may surprise you!
I begin all my millwork plans by sketching. I’ve had this idea in my brain for years and I’ve always wanted to try it- X details on glass doors. I incorporated a similar detail in the closed storage portion of our formal living room built-ins, pictured above. This time, I want to take it a step further and add that detail to glass for a chic look.
Emmett got me a Remarkable tablet for Christmas and I’ve been using it everyday since. I’m a pen to paper purist and this is as close as it gets- with the convenience of syncing to my computer. Anyway, I took my tablet on vacation with us to Jackson Hole and opted out of skiing one day to get my thoughts down. I’m glad I did because I knocked out the built-in design while sitting fireside in the cabin we rented. 10-12 sketches later, I landed on something I really liked…
Much like my previous home office, pictured below, I envisioned negative space bridging the gap between two larger shelving columns. Instead of a desk living in the center, I opted for seating this time around. My current office is significantly larger than in our previous home, so I had more room to play and get creative.
I’ve always wanted a daybed, and I figured it would provide a beautiful moment while adding function to my office. I could easily see myself perched there with a book, answering emails on my laptop, I’m confident the dogs will lounge there while I work each day- or we could even use it as an extra sleeping space (for our nieces & nephews) when our family can visit again. I often work late nights and Emmett often ends up sitting in the floor, scrolling on his phone, while I wrap up my day. Maybe that will give him a comfy place to lounge while I finish up each day.
Rather than building our own daybed or taking the custom route, I bought this one. I liked the plinth base, the rectangular shape that will easily nestle between the two columns, and the performance Crypton fabric. I ordered it last week, BUT- I’m a bit nervous because the lead time said March, and now it’s reading May to June. Yikes. If that’s the case, who knows when my office reveal will happen. Ha! It’s fine though- I’m honestly not worried about timing. I’ve went this long, what’s a few extra months.
In terms of my process, after sketching ideas and nailing one down- I move onto digitizing my plan. I’ll take really precise measurements and plug those into Adobe Illustrator to make a floor plan and elevation of the structure. I factored in the spacing of the shelves, the glass and panel size, the hardware placement, electrical outlets, and all of the nitty gritty details. I also had to consider the size of our crown moulding and baseboard, since those will be replaced. After a handful of iterations, my plan ended up looking something like this…
From here, I passed the plan along to Emmett and went over all of the details with him. He’s in the process of ordering the materials, then he’ll cut all of our pieces to size at his work. Once we have all of the pieces (like a giant puzzle), we’ll begin assembly in the space… but we have a ways to go before that can happen. If you’re looking for a built-in tutorial- I’ll link that for you. I shared one when we tackled my previous home office.
I also decided to incorporate another custom piece… which was actually Emmett’s idea! As you probably noticed in the floor plan below, there will be a credenza on the back wall. My plan was to buy one, but I was having trouble finding a minimalistic option (that won’t compete with the built-in) that was the correct size and color I had envisioned. I ended up designing one and Emmett is also going to tackle that at his workplace, as well. That means I’ll get to choose a custom stain, wood species, and we’ll get the exact size needed for the room. It will be extra work, but I think it will be well worth it- and actually save us some money.
All of this planning has me excited to get going on this space! It’s hard to believe that in a few short months, I’ll have a beautiful office to work in here at home. I started ordering things and I know once items begin to show up, things will start to get real. I don’t have the entire design plan finished, but I’ll give you a peek of what I have thus far…
Obviously you’ve seen the window treatments already, you’re familiar with the daybed, and you’ve seen my project chairs. The desk is a long story. I ordered two of these desks for our Tuesday Made office at the end of last summer. They were on backorder, but the price was right- so I waited 3-4 months for them to arrive. Both desks arrived majorly damaged. I reached out to Wayfair and they were wonderful and promised to send two replacements. The replacements took another two months to arrive and both replacements also arrived damaged just before the holidays…
Now I have 4 desks… all of which are broken and noticeably damaged (MDF falling off in a variety of places, cracked drawers, a split leg, etc). Long story short- before anyone asks for source links, I would NOT recommend the desk I ordered for obvious reasons, as they were 0/4 on shipping without damage, BUT… I have them, I like the shape, and I think I’m going to roll with putting one of them in my home office (just because I have it). Emmett thinks he can do some serious desk surgery and make the damaged areas less noticeable, so fingers crossed. The other three are living their not so best (broken) life at our office building until I figure out something else. We’re using them in the meantime.
Anyway, I feel like I’m in a good place with the design plan- I’ve got the larger items nailed down and I can figure out the accessories, art, and smaller items later. I’ve done my part for now, and have passed the baton to Emmett. He’ll pass it back once the built-ins are cut, then I can finish sourcing.
I think that’s all I have to share for now! What do you think? Have any questions, ideas, or thoughts for me? I’ll keep you updated as the space evolves, but we renovate in real time- so it’s not going to be done next week or even next month. Sorry to keep you waiting! I’m looking forward to the process and to have a gorgeous workspace when it’s all said and done. This is going to be a room that really feels like me! It’s fun designing a space that is totally YOURS… for yourself, that is representative of your personality, workflow, and is filled with things you love. While I haven’t started finding art or accessories yet, I can definitely envision some horses and hands in this space- maybe even a pedestal with some sculptural art, and definitely plenty of vintage finds.