One Room Challenge

A “Wall of Bookcases” and More Transform This Beige Room (for $2,700!)

Written by

Sarah EverettAssistant Editor, Home Projects
Sarah EverettAssistant Editor, Home Projects
Sarah is an assistant editor at Apartment Therapy. She completed her MA in journalism at the University of Missouri and has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Belmont University. Past writing and editing stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and several…read more
published Jun 16, 2024
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
About this before & after
Home Type
Project Type
Cost
Skill Level
Rental Friendly

Unfortunately, home offices and desks can quickly become cluttered catchall spots. Mail, crafts, and general miscellanea tends to wind up there waiting for a permanent place to be filed away. That was certainly the case in Mary Henson’s (@whiskandkeyhome) home, where the office is mostly used by her husband, Andrew. 

“My partner works full-time from home, which meant that he was spending the majority of his waking hours in this space that was uninspired and disorganized,” Mary says. “It felt unfair that the space where he spent the most time felt like an afterthought.”

Three things Mary and Andrew wanted to change about the office? The lack of storage, the “forgettable shade of mid-tone beige,” and the window treatments. During the Spring 2024 One Room Challenge, Mary redid the room for about $2,700 (tools not included). 

Credit: Mary Henson
Credit: Mary Henson

Stained glass windows add a pop of color. 

Mary says the design partly took shape around a pair of stained glass windows she found on Facebook Marketplace and added behind the desk. She had to trim the secondhand windows down to fit her existing window frames and removed part of the window casing using a multi-tool, small pry bar, and hammer. 

She then installed her new windows using L-shaped brackets and added blinds beneath. The stained glass adds a pop of bold green; Mary added even more green throughout with plants and her soft gray-green paint (Farrow & Ball’s Hardwick White).

“If I’d had it my way, I would have gone full dark academia and color drenched the room in a dark blue,” Mary says. “I still believe that color scheme would look fantastic, but Andrew was understandably hesitant about spending every day in such a dark space — especially given that the room faces northeast.” 

Credit: Mary Henson
Credit: Mary Henson

The DIYer built a “wall of bookcases” using stock cabinetry. 

The khaki-colored paint on the trim and built-ins keeps things bright yet cozy. Mary says adding the built-ins was “gratifying to realize how far my carpentry skills have come and that all the effort put into them is paying off.” She used stock cabinets for the bookcase bases and the nook built-ins in order to speed things along — and maximize storage — but she built the shelving herself. 

“The budget was super tight, so I had to be really intentional when planning for materials and make sure to maximize the use of every piece of lumber,” she says, adding that the built-ins all came along easier than expected. 

She’s particularly proud of the bench she built beneath the window on the right-hand side of the room. “This was the first project I’ve had to design around a lizard,” Mary says. “We knew we wanted to keep Otto, our elderly bearded dragon, in the window. Designing a window seat to the dimensions of his tank turned out to be a great solution that also provided storage for his food and supplements.”

Credit: Mary Henson
Credit: Mary Henson

The dry-erase board is another DIY project. 

One last clever DIY in the home office is the dry-erase board above the back corner cabinetry. That was another Facebook Marketplace find; Andrew found a piece of tempered glass on the digital marketplace for cheap. “That was mounted with some inexpensive and easy-to-install mirror-mounting clips from Amazon,” Mary explains. She added a sconce, also from Amazon, above.

Credit: Mary Henson

The office has lots of secondhand finds. 

The $2,700 redo includes lots of budget-friendly secondhand finds. The desk and side table were hand-me-downs from Andrew’s parents, and the rug is from ReStore. 

A couple of new purchases for the room include the chairs (from HomeGoods), the Roman shade above Otto’s tank, and the sconces for the bookshelves. The bookshelves themselves are decorated with ceramics made by Andrew’s mom. “As an artist myself, it really bummed me out to see her beautiful work overshadowed by clutter,” Mary says of the before; now, they can shine.

Now the office is clutter-free and pretty easy on the eyes, too. “Andrew insists he’s more productive after the renovation now that clutter isn’t vying for his attention,” Mary says. “I’m really happy that I was able to achieve that outcome while still creating a space that feels true to our maximalist, collected-over-time style.”  

This project was completed for the Spring 2024 One Room Challenge, in partnership with Apartment Therapy. See even more of the One Room Challenge before and afters here.