$100 challenge to makeover the room of your choice. See how this home office/craft room goes from chaotic to organized in one month on a tight budget.
Last January I participated in the the $100 Room Challenge hosted by Erin Meyers of Lemons Lavender and Laundry. I tackled my bedroom. In case you missed it, you can find all the details here. This year I'm doing it again. It's the perfect activity for me to get back into work after a few weeks of holiday indulgence. My $100 challenge will involve tackling my office/craft room. It really needs some major attention, and since I spend so much time here, I want it to be a place I feel energized and productive.
If you are coming here for the first time you can find all the weekly updates here:
$100 Challenge - Office/Craft Room Makeover
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Here's my work desk. It's full of clutter and though I created this nice large desk from cabinets with plenty of space, it's not organized at all. One of my main goals is to create a place for important documents that are easily accessible, while storing other extra office supplies away.
This is one of the places I take photos for the blog. It also doubles as a spare bed. However, with 4 bedrooms and two adult children, we rarely need this extra bed so I'm considering replacing the bed with a table. The soft bed sometimes creates a weird angle in photos. A table will provide more storage space below. I also need to create a space for organized props instead of the mishmash you see here.
Here's one of three shelving units in the room. All cluttered and unorganized.
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The other two are located in the bedroom closet. We did remove the doors a long time ago to make it easier to get to. Still, I find that I don't know what I already have, and even if I think I may have a particular material, I often can't find it and end up buying new. Very wasteful.
This pile of ribbons is an embarrassing mess. I have a plan that will hopefully keep this area neat and tidy.
Lastly, there is this sewing area. Not too bad expect for the huge pile of fabric and pillows that I've hidden behind the door.
I really have a good deal of work to do.
However, I'm actually kind of excited, because I can already tell how great it will feel, and how much more productive I will be when this project is complete.
Monica Benavidez
Glad I'm not the only one who had a messy office to contend with in 2018! We'll both be much more organized by the end of the month.
Wendy Duffy
This is the best room to do in January, there are so many organizational products out there now. I think this is going to be an amazing transformation and I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Lauren
OMG! My office/guest room looks very similar to yours. I am also planning to replace my guest bed with a table for taking blog photos!
Patti Estep
Hi Lauren,
You should do it. It's been working out great for me.
Kristen
Oh this will be very exciting to get redone! We want to create a craft room out of one of the bedrooms so we are looking forward to seeing how you organize it!
Patti Estep
Hi Kristen,
My room is certainly in need of an overhaul. I hope I'm able to give you a few ideas for your craft room.
Melissa
What an amazing space Patti! I can't wait to see how it unfolds. Even from the before pics, I can see how much creativity is flowing around that room. And I love your picture taking area - I need one of these in my life. Can't wait to see next week!
Patti Estep
Hi Melissa,
Thanks. This "studio area" is one of the few places in my home that gets good natural light. I wish I had some nice large, southern facing windows in my house. Even the sliding door we have leads to a covered porch, so not much sun.
Tracy
I'm super jealous you have a whole room to craft and create! I just have a corner of my bedroom and occasionally I steal the dining room table to big projects. I can't wait to see your makeover!
Patti Estep
Hi Tracy,
I am fortunate, but it seems like more space just means more mess for me. Still, there's really no excuse for my messiness. Hopefully this challenge will help get me back on the right track.
Jenny
Oh, this is going to be so good! I'm going to live vicariously through you; I would love to have a room for an office/craft room. Can't wait to follow along!
Patti Estep
Hi Jenny,
Thanks. It's a great room but I have really let it get out of hand. Having so many people working on their projects at the same time is a great inspiration and motivator.
Erin- Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry
This space is going to be awesome by the end of the month!!! Just getting everything organized is going to feel SO good! So happy to have you joining in the challenge again!
Patti Estep
Thanks Erin. And thank you for continuing to host this great challenge.
ashley@biggerthanthethreeofus
There's a lot of organizing to do in your space! Can't wait to see how you do it.
Patti Estep
Hi Ashley,
You are so right. This challenge is the perfect for getting me motivated to work on a much needed project.
Leigh at Little by Little Farmhouse
What a fun room to makeover! A little jealous that you have an office and craft room and I just know that you will love it even more when this challenge is completed!
Patti Estep
Hi Leigh,
It's a fourth bedroom we used to keep everything and anything in as well as a guest room. However, I confiscated it 4 years ago when I starting blogging. My kids were in college and now one is out on her own and the other one is graduating soon. So, now we have plenty of room for guests. I'm excited too and can't wait to watch all the transformations.
Maria - House by the Preserve
I love all the space you have in your office! Can't wait to see what you do!
Patti Estep
Hi Maria,
It's actually a small bedroom that I converted to a guest/junk/catchall room. Once I started blogging it had the adding designation of home office. This challenge is helping me make the transition to make it over to just and office and craft room. I'm looking forward to a more productive space and learning a few tips from all the other talented bloggers in the challenge.
Emy
Your desk looks like mine! 🙂 This is going to be fun!
Patti Estep
Hi Emy,
I'm glad to hear it. I participated last year and it was so fun and I still love my room makeover.
Meredith @ The Palette Muse
Your office looks like mine! You should see the pile of stuff that I hide behind the door. It doesn't even open all the way. Can't wait to see this transformation!
Patti Estep
Hi Meredith,
I knew I wasn't alone. Looking forward to seeing what you have planned t
Gabrielle McGraw
Oh this looks like a BIG but FUN project! It'll look amazing. Can't wait to see how it comes together.
Patti Estep
Hi Gabrielle,
These group makeovers are so fun. I wish I could do them more because they are so inspiring, affordable and you get the extra benefit of having a new fresh room makeover.
Carole
This is going to be fun! I love this kind of thing and can hardly wait to see how you put things together. I live for cleaning up and out even though there isn't much of that in my life anymore. I like to use baskets that stack for organizing craft stuff but you might be able to make some wooden crates that would be helpful for additional storage?? Looking forward to following this project. Oh and Karen has a neat ribbon solution on her blog, check that out!
Patti Estep
Hi Carole,
I see what you mean about it being so freeing. It's been work sorting and organizing but already feels so much better in here. I have an idea already for the ribbon but I'll stop by and see what Karen did too. Thanks for the heads up.