Quick Office Update

There is nothing like upcoming visitors to get me moving on my constant 'to-do' list for our house.  And I am absolutely thrilled that this weekend my college roomies are coming to Charlotte!

Aren't they so pretty?

Anyway, this office update is nothing spectacular... No room rearranging or even furniture painting.  But it's a room I haven't featured on the ol' blog before, so I decided to share.

First up was a quick reworking of our bookshelf.  I love to read, and I love to purchase said books, so I can go back and re-read them later.  That habit, in conjunction with my current school books, quickly made our bookshelf into a less-than-eye-pleasing spot.

Before, cluttered & too full:

After, organized & cleaned out:

And, of course, I couldn't stop there with our quick update.  Unfortunately, I don't have any 'before' pictures (bad blogger), but just imagine the current set-up with our purple couch (from the 'before' living room pictures), dark brown rug, and guacamole walls... yikes!

Here is the 'after'...

We used our old mantel as a wall shelf above the newly slipcovered couch, and managed to negotiate a trade with my younger sister for the tan colored rug (from her old college apartment... traded for a doggie bed).  For some reason, the shelf looks disproportionately high in this picture, but I promise it's not. 

I also have mixed feelings on the use of a slipcover, but the purple on green was not working in this room, and I'm pretty happy with how much brighter it makes the room feel.

Finally, I rounded up a few new desk accessories...

Before, plain & plastic:

After, with a new lamp shade and desk storage:

Including a new purpose for one of my favorite milk glass vases:

Again, nothing too crazy... But it was all done with items from around the house and on the Whittaker-friendly budget of $60 (slipcover: $30; lamp shade: $12; baskets & white desk bins: $18). 

I feel like the lighter colored accessories helped with the dungeon-feel our office had before... I'm still thinking about painting the Ikea bookshelf white and plan to make a table skirt for the console table (not pictured, in front of the sofa). 

For now though, I'm happy with the finished-in-one-night (just in time for my visitors) updates!