Catherine's New Office

One of my co-workers is out on maternity leave. Her sweet baby boy was born on January 29th with a number of heart conditions. You can follow her story here. Please keep the family in your prayers.

I had an idea to fix-up her office while she is gone, in hopes of raising her spirits a little. I have been given permission, but I will only be reimbursed $100 by the company, so I have to get creative. I may need your input so feel free to make suggestions.

There are some limitations to what I am allowed to do. I cannot paint or paper the walls or change the carpet. I can paint the furniture and hang things on the wall, provide some organizing strategies, etc. So . . . here we go!

This is the way her office looked today as I walked in the door. Isn't it lovely!?!?! Just so you know, all of the furniture in our offices is second/third hand furniture gleaned from the warehouse of our parent company. In other words, furniture that no one else wanted or that had been pushed aside for newer, prettier furniture.

On the left wall:

On the right wall:

On the front wall, the view from where she will be sitting. As you can see, I've already started taking things apart.

This little set of shelves is to the right of her chair. It is small and rickety, but I think I can find a use for it. And that box top to the right - it's her recycle box.

This is what her side of her desk looks like. I couldn't get far enough away from it to take a full shot. The wall was in my way. But, as you can see it needs some lovin' care.

And this is the front of the desk. Notice the little octagon shapes on the left and right. I have an idea for them.

And this octagon shape on the end panels. Hmmm. I think this may work.

So I've already taken the bookcase apart and put wood putty in some of the gouges. I've also done a little sanding, but I couldn't do too much until I get it to a more suitable workspace. Here is a close up:

I bought this set of book ends at The Salvation Army for $2.17.

And these are some of the things I've gathered together to help with the transformation. A little black spray paint and a little spray handle so my fingers don't cramp; some sand paper; wood putty & putty knife; razor knife; paint brush and some textured wallpaper. I don't think the pattern on the wallpaper is noticeable in this picture, but it should show up better later.

My plan is to use a black, white & red color scheme. Baskets on the shelves for storage lined with some black & white toile, if I can find it for a reasonable price. I'm also in search of black & white toile scrapbook paper, but I didn't find any at Michael's or WalMart over the weekend. I'll have to try Hobby Lobby next weekend.

Catherine is from Louisiana, so I thought about tossing in some Fleur de lis patterns, but I've since found out that she isn't so fond of Fleur de lis. So maybe just a little French influence. To that point, I have a garage sale coffee table with curved legs and cute ball and claw feet that I've been trying to find a home for. I think it would make a cute base for the bookcase. You know, raise it up off of the floor a little. So I've already started cutting it up and gluing it back together for this purpose. I hope it turns out as cute as it is in my head!

Please, if you have any suggestions, let me know. I can always use creative input.