Almost two years ago, before ever seeing an episode of Fixer Upper, we started a remodeling project on a house built in 1940. It’s a really cool 4,000 sq. ft. house that was converted into a duplex so the space is divided into an upstairs unit and a separate downstairs unit. John and I live in the upstairs and my Grandmama recently moved into the bottom unit, hence why I could borrow frozen butter so easily in the pound cake post. The whole process was a ton of fun and definitely a learning experience. (One contractor ended up in jail after stealing from us, but that’s another story for another day) Our space is a two bedroom/ two bath with a living room, dining room, kitchen and a home office. While we were remodeling, people kept asking if our home office was the nursery…UM NO! John and I weren’t even married yet. Slow your roll people and plus its rude to bring up having kids to a couple who doesn’t have them. **Steps off soapbox**
I knew that I wanted the home office to be dual functioning as a work out space. I was leaving the land of Pure Barre and would be forced to motivate myself to do the videos from home. I needed the space to be well organized but still look pretty so I would want to be there for multiple hours a day. So let’s take a little journey.
Despite major changes in the rest of the house like moving walls, re-piping and completely re-wiring the whole house… the room that would become the home office only needed cosmetic changes.
We started by refinishing the heart pine floors that were original to the house.
We then added a fresh coat of paint. The Color is Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter in an eggshell finish and the trim is gloss white. We also replaced the plastic blinds with more sturdy ones.
I knew that I wanted one wall to be very similar to a Pure Barre studio so I purchased their in home barre kit and had mirrors installed.
My Uncle Glenn learning what it means to lift, tone and burn.
In order to make it look finished, I had our trusty handyman, Tracy frame it and paint it white. He also stained the boards that the barre is mounted on to match the floor. I absolutely love how it turned out!
I wanted to have an accessible place to store my gear so I hung towel hooks under the shelf that holds the dvd player that plays those handy dandy workout DVD’s. I keep my mats and more clunky gear in the closet to the right of the mirror. I have found that when things have an easy place to be stored I am more likely to put them back where they belong when I am in a hurry.
Next I started working on the home office portion of the room. I found this really cool table with a drawer in it at my local thrift market and decided to give it a DIY facelift. (DIY facelift sounds scarier than it really is haha)
I'm normally not a DIYer
This little beauty got a fresh coat of paint and new knobs that I found at Anthropology.
Here is what it looks like in its new home!
I love the super feminine office walls that I see on so many designer Pinterest pins but since John and I share this space I wanted to make sure that it had a few elements of masculinity. The wood of the sign offered a little manliness while still fitting with the theme. We repurposed this awesome sign from our wedding, I love the message on it and it’s a good reminder whenever I look up from my computer screen. Shout out to my incredibly generous sister, Meredith, who graciously offered some of her talents to make us signs for our wedding. She is a fine artist by training and spent most of last year and this year painting murals for orphanages and ministries in third world countries. Needless to say, I definitely appreciate her taking the time for us.
To find out more about Meredith's work check it out here.
So there you have it y’all, our multi-purpose home office and work out space! Here are a few more pictures from different angles. I am still planning on adding curtains but haven’t exactly figured out what I want yet so that’s a project for another day!
