My summer project was turning the spare room into an office. I spent so much of my free time watching HGTV that my hands started itching for a renovation project of my own. I spent three months turning this room into an office where I can write both my books and my blog. This room pre-transformation was a spare, catch-all kind of space. There was a ripped futon, an old desktop computer, broken wicker drawers, and a lot of random stuff: clothes we grew out of, papers from when I was a kid, computer games that couldn’t even be played anymore. The walls were blue, the carpet was a dingy brown, and though it seemed impossible, I had a vision of what it could be.

I have an intense love of notebooks and I needed somewhere to display them all. These are just some of the ones I’ve accumulated over the years. This marble shelf (and the others in the room) were DIY! I bought the materials from Lowe’s. Originally, the shelf was white wood and the brackets were black. I wrapped the shelf in marble contact paper and spray painted the brackets gold. From there, I mounted the brackets on the wall and the shelf was simply placed on top. An easy project with a chic product.

The hexagon shelves were made from popsicle sticks! I was a broke college student looking to decorate my apartment when I saw this idea online. All it took were some popsicle sticks from the craft store, gold paint, and wood glue. Another easy DIY was the frosted bottle. All it is is an old bottle covered with glue and glitter sprinkled on it.

I recently started loving hanging file folders, which has led me to buy every pack with a cute design on them. And after I realized I needed a place to put them, I started looking for a file cabinet. The problem I saw was that all of them were closed and I wanted to show off the cute designs. So I decided to go with an open shelf in order to display them.

My desk is not only useful but it’s cute too. And it was another DIY project. I had this desk in my room and it’s what I used growing up all through school. I spray painted the legs gold and added marble contact paper to the table top and sprayed that with a clear resin to avoid scratches. It’s been nice to have a place dedicated to writing, especially as nice as this.

The desk originally had a front on it, which I sawed off to have easier access to what’s inside.

These cork boards I had in my apartment down at school. Another DIY, I painted them half gold and rotated them to create a pattern.

I have a slight obsession with marble, as you can see from my matching desktop and laptop case and practically everything else in my office. But I love my desktop setup; it was the first thing I shopped for (and still sometimes do despite the lack of room).

Before I was a writer, I was a reader. And I’ve collected so many books over the years, I wanted to display them. These shelves are the DIY from before (contact paper on the shelves and spray painted brackets). Fun fact, my office has 194 books in it and I’m planning on buying more.

This is the newest space, a little reading area for when I want to lounge and lay back. I spent weeks trying to find a carpet that I liked, going to store after store and basically petting them to test their softness. I even went to four different Target stores hoping I could find something a little different at each one.

I wanted to display these notebooks because of how cute they are. I haven’t used them yet, but maybe soon.

Who says that the printing station can’t be just as cute as the rest of the space. This table took me a long time to find because the space between my desk and the wall was small so the table had to fit in that space but also had to be big enough to fit the printer. But the table also had to be low enough to fit under the shelf, but not too low that I wouldn’t be able to reach the printer. But I ended up getting this one on sale!

Now my reading section! These chairs were half a DIY. If you followed the renovation on my Instagram Stories, you saw me spray paint the legs of these chairs from black to gold. These chairs I also had in my apartment and they’re so cozy, perfect for cuddling up with a good book.

My side table is where I’m displaying my favorite books and a literary magazine that I was published in and a cute little candle that reminds me why I’m writing. “Don’t quit your daydream”.

I’ve loved sitting in these chairs with a book, especially in the evenings with the lamp on, which gives my office a warm glow. To make more space for books, I used wire baskets that I placed under my chairs. So I’ll be able to store more while keeping them out the way so I’m not tripping over books as I’m walking through my office.

My gallery wall I had up in my apartment and transferred it to my office. The two huge pieces I got from from the internet, and the smaller pieces are from various places. The frams I bought and spray painted gold. Another DIY!

I spent a lot of time finding prints to use for my gallery wall. Some of them I found online, some I bought from print companies, and some I made myself.

I’ve had to start stacking books in order to fit them all on my shelves. But check out how real the marble contact paper looks on these shelves.

I had a lot of fun renovating and redecorating my office. I’m always up for a project and once I put my rug down, I was kind of sad to see this end, although I’m loving having a space to write. When you love your space, you love your work.

Now you know where my next best seller is being written!

Shop this post

Hedgehog statue: sold out ● Notebooks ● Marble contact paper

File shelf ● Table Top Files: Target, available in store ● Wastebasket

File folders: Gold: Target, in store ● Pink and gold: Target,  in store ● Marble

Bow Chair ● File folders: pink stripes, black today is the day ● Printed file box

Marble tape dispenser ● Desk drawers ● Marble stapler

Hexagon cork boards ● Pushpins: Marble, Animal heads ● Mandala images: Koala, World

Task lamp ● Desk Organizer ● Paper clip holder

Hourglass ● Business card holder: Sugar Paper, sold out ● Kate Spade Journal

Pillows: stripes and fringe, cross pattern ● Tray, similar, similar ● Rug in gray

Table, Target, available in-store only ● Chalkboard ● Printer

Butterfly chairs, similar ● beaded throw pillows, similar ● Marble side table, similar

Mercury glass lamp ● Marble coaster ● Hammered silver coaster

Urchin wall decor ● Wishbone wall decor ● Ampersand wall decor, made by me, similar

Prints: Moon River Print Co. ● The Paper Nest Studio ● Mandalanna

Peace sign hand bookend, similar ● Balloon dog statue ● Pineapple statue, similar