Office Budget

The fiancé (I have to use that term as much as possible given that it’s time-limited, haha) and I were discussing the office recently and he thought it might be a good idea to share the cost breakdown with all of you because it’s surprising how little we needed to spend to make such a difference in how it looked. It really wasn’t very expensive, as far as rooms go – especially given that we purchased almost everything in the space (rather than using stuff we already owned). I hadn’t really given it too much thought – but he’s absolutely right. Although some spaces do require more investment to decorate, solely because of the furniture required (e.g., sofas, beds, dining tables), the office definitely doesn’t have to be one of them. We redid our entire office for just over $1000 plus tax (the 16-year-old Trading Spaces-junkie in me is ecstatic about this). 

Here’s how it broke down:

PAINT: We painted three of the walls with Benjamin Moore’s ‘Sweet Innocence’ (~$75) and one wall with Rustoleum’s chalkboard paint (~$30). We also painted all of the trim, using Benjamin Moore’s ‘Snow White’ but we’re using this colour on the trim throughout the house, so we just borrowed a bit from the can we already had.

CURTAINS: We lucked out a little bit here. We had to have something custom-made due to the dimensions of the window, which can get pretty expensive. Luckily I managed to hit the fabric store during one of their awesome sales (which actually happen pretty frequently if you’re a member) when linen was “buy 1 meter, get 2 meters free”. Fabricville will also sew your curtains for you (for a fee) if you buy your fabric from them. The fabric, sewing, grommets, and rod (Umbra, from Sears) came in at $160.

RUG: This was a HomeSense find. With their rugs, I feel you just need to be diligent about looking. For 3 weeks straight, they’ll have nothing but garbage rugs – and then you’ll hit the jackpot. It’s really just about persistence. This rug, which is a 5x8, cost $149.

DESK: A Kijiji score – again, you can find amazing things if you’re persistent. We spent $100 on it.

CHAIRS: The most expensive element we purchased, but worth it. These are from Structube, and although they’re not Eames-level quality, they are high enough quality for the use they get. Plus, they’re much prettier than the average office chair. They were $199 each.

BOOKCASE: This is literally garage/workshop shelving from Home Hardware, and I believe Rona also sells this brand (Gorilla something-or-other). It was $89.

LIGHT FIXTURE: A crazy steal from Home Depot. $15. I'm not joking.

ART: The art was a gift to the boyfriend a few years ago that I found on Etsy (PopChart Labs) for $52. We DIY’d the frame. Etsy is an awesome source for inexpensive art.

FRENCH DOOR (not pictured): FREE! Well, sort of. We did pay the guy who installed our bedroom doors to move this French door (which used to be on one of our bedrooms) upstairs to the office. Well worth it for the light it now spills into the rest of the main floor.

So there you have it. Our incredibly inexpensive office makeover. It really doesn't have to cost a fortune!