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We Did It!

After your very helpful comments about the office/playroom/dining room situation, I decided to make the office an office.  I realized that I’d be able to keep some toys in there, as well as the kids table so my girls can do crafts beside me while I’m working.  And I really DO want to dine in my dining room, so the current situation is not practical for the long term.  As for the furnishings, although I’d love to have a pretty desk in there, but we do have an old office table my husband acquired from work that will do for now.

One thing you might not know about me — when I get my mind set to something, I want it done yesterday.  Fortunately I married a man who is impatient as I am.  Most people don’t accomplish in a weekend what we accomplished last night.

Here’s how it went down.  When Paul got home last night, he immediately went out to mow the lawn.  As I was walking by to retrieve our children from the neighbor’s, he looked up and said, “I could start painting tonight if you want.”

I didn’t need to be asked twice.  I was hoping we could work on it on Saturday, but if he wanted to do it right away, all the better!  He finished mowing as I contemplated paint colors.

We managed to unearth a gallon of red paint that we had bought for our bedroom when we moved in.  We way overestimated the amount of paint we’d need for that room and had a whole gallon left over.  And since free beats $40 for new paint that we might not even like, we decided that the office would be red.

We enlisted the kids to help us move everything out of the playroom, and we relocated the doll toys to C’s room and the kitchen to the basement. While I organized toys and rearranged C’s room and put the kids to bed, my husband started paint prep.

When I got back downstairs, he was cutting in around the ceiling.  How come they’re cutest when doing home improvement projects?  You ever notice that?

I grabbed a clean paint brush and tackled the baseboards.  (This room had never been painted.  It still had the flat builder’s white on all walls and woodwork.)

Around about 9pm, while we were busily painting away, my husband casually asked, “When is that Pampered Chef party you’re having?”

“Tomorrow night,” I sheepishly admitted.  (That’s tonight, y’all.)  I had intentionally NOT reminded him of this deadline.  I feared he wouldn’t tackle this project last night if he knew we HAD to have the room put back together right away.

Him: “Uh, and WHY are we doing this tonight?”

Me: “I was sorta hoping we’d be done by then.”

After 13 years of being married to me, he knew there was no turning back so we kept plugging along.

By 11pm, we were rolling.  (By we, I really mean he.)

That only took about 20 minutes, and by 11:30 we were cleaning up.  I vacuumed and replaced the switch covers while he put paint stuff away and put the blinds back up.  We moved the bookshelf back in and anchored it to the wall.  We put the kids’ table in the corner.

I figured we would go to bed and finish the rest on Saturday, but the next thing I knew, he was hauling the 2-ton office table up from the basement.  I was secretly thrilled that the room was going to be all put together before we retired for the night.  But then we had an unexpected roadblock.  The table wouldn’t fit through the basement doorway, and we had to remove all the legs before we could bring it up.  So at 11:45 we started unscrewing table legs.

Eventually we heaved it into the new office and as he put the legs back on, I arranged the toys and books on the bookshelf.  Soon after midnight, it looked like an office.  Paul still has to wire our Internet connection into there, so for now I’m still working from the dining room.

And that’s the tale of our spontaneous room makeover on the cheap.  Yes, I know, we’re nuts.  It helps that we both work fast and don’t have incredibly high standards.  The paint needs to be touched up, and we may or may not get around to that by the end of the year.  Or ever.  The girls’ rooms still have unpainted woodwork, and they were painted over two years ago, so that should give you some indication of how we roll.

I also hope to get a nicer desk and a curtain and some wall decor, but that can wait until we have the funds.

All that to say, I think I have a new office!  Woot!

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39 Responses

  1. OH, It’s beautiful!!!!! Maybe You’ve inspired me to paint and organize my guest room/office! I really dislike having a /office, good for you for making yourself a place you’ll be happy to be while working!

  2. I am so that way too…once get an idea in my head, I have to complete it right then. Beautiful paint color! Love the office. Good idea to have your girls close by too!

  3. I love the color and the room looks great! You are my kind of people, but I didn’t marry a “my kind of people”. All household projects in this house have to be planned, budgeted, discusses, planned some more, thought through, prayed over and then 4-6 months later it might get started. Then we have to plan and pray some more. Nothing moves fast in the house, unless I do it all myself. But, I’ve learned to live it. Glad you’ll have a new home. Enjoy!

  4. Love that RED! I am the same way about wanting things done yesterday……..and I go on “benders” as my husband calls them. Unfortunately, he doesn’t share that trait! Congrats on the new office!

  5. Oooooooooooh. That looks NICE. Mine still looks like your before pics and it’s right inside the front doors. Except the walls are chocolate brown. It’s supposed to be an office too, but first we have to have the basement finished.

  6. Goodness Gracious. I have never seen such a quick transformation. I have the same “want it done yesterday” trait. My husband has the “it will get done at some point” trait. Oh well, after 20 years I remind myself that his good far outweighs his bad…and his cute to boot~ I regress. Your room/office looks fantastic. Enjoy!

  7. I love it! And that you got it done all in one night. I would love to have projects go like that around here. My husband is a little on the laid back side.
    How perfect that the girls can still play in there AND you can see them in the front yard from your desk.

  8. I am the same way. Unfortunately for me, my hubby is pretty much the opposite. Usually I just start doing it myself and he can’t stand it so he finally joins in.

  9. Love the color!
    We have lived in our current house for 7 years and have never painted one single room. My husband hates doing stuff around the house…so…like Georgia Mom, it has to be talked about, planned, prayed about, and then budgeted.
    Consider yourself blessed!

  10. Good thing you are having that Pampered Chef party.(hehe- from the cooking demonstrator herself) Really upped the motivation to get it done.

    See you tonight. Can’t wait to see it in person.

  11. That looks great! Man, you guys don’t mess around. I also wanted to add that when we redid (is that a word?) our office, we added an Ikea desk on an opposite wall for DD to do her homework and crafts. It works really well.

  12. I can’t believe only one coat of red paint totally covered that well! It looks awesome.

    You should consider a fabric skirt for your table – they’re super easy and would really dress up your room. or not. It looks great just the way it is! 🙂

  13. That color is great. I’m amazed that you were able to get it all done so quickly. We’ve been working on our house for the past six months trying to get it ready to go on the market…Are y’all for hire? 🙂

  14. Okay…now give me the lowdown….how did you possibly get the husband to cut the grass AND paint the new office?

    Inquiring minds wanna know!

  15. It looks fabulous! The red is the same color as my family room. I’m like you with the let’s get it done attitude, but my husband is much more laid back. Hope you enjoy it!

  16. That is great! It looks wonderful. Could you tell me what red that is? It would look great in my kitchen.

    Okay, and here is where you tell me that it is okay that I’m getting ready to turn my dining room into a makeshift playroom. It currently holds very little furniture. I tried to make an office nook, but decided that with three kiddos under three, a playroom is more practical for now. Even if it is what people see as they come in our front door. Sigh.

  17. Great transformation! Can your husband call my husband? We’ve lived here just over a year and my Honey Do list is gathering spiderwebs and dust!

  18. Well *that* was a lofty goal now wasn’t it? From the looks of things though you seemed to have hit it out of the park. Awesome. And how nice that you have a pretty room now in which to spend your days. I’m jealous. I need a space of my own.

  19. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! What a great, fast, wonderful job. My husband would still be processing “I would like to paint the…”

  20. I am SO THE SAME WAY. Once I get my mind set it’s all over. And my husband is the same exact way (eerily so). He tackles project super fast (probably why we’ve built and sold so many houses).

  21. Oh, it looks beautiful!

    I’m picturing some great items from Target and/or TJ Maxx to fill your walls and space! Even some great twigs in the corner from Ikea! Oh how fun!!

    Hubby’s office needs a serious re-do. Can’t get him to even think about it though. Everytime I say something it’s ‘that’s a good idea, once we slow down a little’. Ok, now folks, who slows down with three kids and hubby’s own biz! Ugh!

  22. I just now read this post for some reason… that’s the exact shade of red in our bedroom (well, in our Chattanooga house, that is…)

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