Pepper Design Blog

Office Makeover: A New Desk & Bookshelves!

After mulling over this round-up of desks and then considering a diy version inspired by these, I finally stumbled across a great desk for the new office. And it’s nearly perfect as is!

While on the Craigslist hunt for a mid-century modern (ish) credenza for future office storage (one in need of much love and hopefully at a killer price), I opened a link to this dining table:

The wheels started spinning. One of my hopes for a new desk was that it would be BIG – not a measly 48″ (the standard size of a desk) but at least 60″ to corral all of my work projects. Well this dining room table was just that.

After negotiating with the seller, the table came home for just $125.

Plus, it goes great with our World Market Campaign bookshelves! Remember this post? While waiting on the construction side of the office space to wrap up, I had begun looking around for furniture for the room (so we could hit the ground running ) and was considering a bunch of different bookcase options.

I had narrowed down my favorites to several World Market contenders and earlier this summer, began the hunt for a way to purchase at the very best discount. If you sign up to receive emails you’ll receive a coupon for 10% off, but I had hoped for better. After inquiring with a sales associate about sales for furniture (nearly every mailed coupon excludes furniture), I learned that all furniture would be 30% off for one weekend at the end of June. Sweet! Next I began checking ebay and Craigslist for discounted gift cards that would knock another chunk off of the price. Low and behold, I came across a $500 card offered at $450 – and when I suggested $400, the seller agreed.

The original Campaign bookcases were priced $279 +tax each, meaning my new finds would have originally totaled $558 + tax (about $608). 30% off  of the pre-tax cost came to $390.60 + $35 in taxes = $425.60 for a total store discount of over $125! Add in the additional 20% off from the discounted gift card and I found my new bookcases for $340.60 or 45% off!

A little snafu: on the particular weekend that furniture was on sale, I happened to be on a business trip in the Bay Area AND the local store had only one bookshelf in stock. Since they wouldn’t allow for me to purchase remotely from another store, I had to rain check my sale and my awesome family (who live in the Bay Area) drove down the bookshelves on their next visit when World Market stocked them again. Oh what an adventure.

But back to the desk! My original though was to sand and stain the desk a darker brown to contrast with the bookcases, but I think they actually compliment each other pretty nicely. I love the natural wood look and am pretty thrilled it’s coming back around with the rise in mid-century modern furniture (not that these pieces are).

Would you look at those legs? Love them. When experimenting with a DIY desk, I thought about making my own X legs and adding an Ikea butcher block (with an added stain) topper. But these legs have a bit of a curve and they’re just perfect.

I may cut down the sides a few inches to make it a bit narrower, time will tell. And as for not having drawers? I’m planning on a little nightstand-turned-printer carriage to fit under the desk and to make up for lost storage.

Yay for a new desk AND bookcases!

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: remnant carpet, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress,  inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300, inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.

Master Bedroom: A ‘New’ Salvaged Chair

I found this little gem at an antique/thrift store going out of business (best combination ever) and thought it would work great in our master bedroom. While the structure of the chair is my favorite part, the icy blue upholstery is in great shape and works beautifully with the rest of the room’s color palette.

Maybe she’ll receive new fabric some day in the future?

It fits the corner of our bedroom perfectly! More recently it has become a catch-all for every piece of Kevin’s clothing (who needs a dresser when you have an over-sized chair?) but it’s also a great spot to put on shoes or lay out the next day’s outfit.

The jury is still out on the color of the wood… I actually love the light pecan stain but there are enough blemishes that this piece might need an allover sanding and a slightly darker finish.

Or maybe all of those little nicks and bruises provide character? That might be the lazy answer.

I borrowed the nursery’s glider pillow for the photos, but I’ll have to hunt out a fabric for the future.

I’ve found that salvaged furniture is a great way to add well-built pieces to your home (they just don’t make furniture like they used to. at least not in my budget…), but it’s rare to find pieces in good shape. Do you bring thrift store furniture into your home or is the cleaning/refurbishing just too much work?

DIY Furniture Addition: Overlays

How clever is this idea? O’verlays by Danika and Cheryle are ‘toppers’ for standard Ikea furniture (though they’ll cut to any size you’d like). A quick addition and the overlays immediately transform dressers, tables, screens and even crown molding.

Thanks to Full House for sharing this neat find.

Love how the overlay looks placed under glass and atop this console table! Beautiful.