See How This Dated Home Office Got a Modern Update

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Sander first shared his home office design eight years ago and recently undertook a modern redesign of the space. It is always inspiring to see how IKEA hacked furniture has held up over time.

While the foundational elements of the home office, such as the IKEA kitchen cabinets and countertops, have remained unchanged, Sander has succeeded in designing a home office that’s significantly cozier and inviting. It’s easy to hammer out hours of work in this small yet comfy home office.

See the before and after of Sander’s home office makeover journey.

Before the home office redesign

It wasn’t a bad-looking office and served him well for 8 years. Let’s talk about the elements in his original home office. Sander used IKEA kitchen cabinets and a deep countertop to create an office desk with storage drawers. On the right, an IKEA high cabinet made for the oven provided ample storage for files and supplies.

Before: Kitchen countertop to an office desk

Sander sliced the countertop and slid in a stainless steel plate to create a deeper work desk, providing the extra space he desired. The stainless steel plate also worked well and was a nice contrast to the wood desk and white cabinets.

Before: Oven cabinet to printer cabinet

He repurposed the area in the high cabinet, which was designated for an oven to accommodate his printer. A small strip of trim concealed the heavy-duty shelf behind it and blended it with the regular IKEA kitchen cabinet.

Before: Storage cabinets

On the opposite side of the office, Sander used a tall cabinet he already had for storage. He added another IKEA cabinet and made a wooden countertop for it to match his desk. And now, let’s move on to the home office makeover.

After: A Redesigned Home Office

Sander began a complete makeover to bring the office up to date, starting with a fresh coat of paint. The once stark white walls transformed into a soothing, warm shade of grey. Wall color is one of the easiest ways to make a high-impact change. If your office has light-colored walls, then go dark. And don’t paint just one wall; go all around and even on the ceiling if you want to go for a bold change.

The office desk and IKEA kitchen cabinets are still in excellent condition and looked no worse for wear, so he kept them for the makeover. 

After: Added a textured wall

The most impactful addition to Sander’s home office design is undoubtedly the slatted wood wall behind the sofa. This element effectively unifies the various sections of the office layout and infuses the space with a remarkable sense of warmth that was missing in the previous edition.

After: More storage cabinets

Moving on to the opposite end of the room, Sander reimagined the layout. He removed the tall cabinets, opting for a configuration that included both base and upper cabinets, with a deliberate gap between them to accommodate a TV and more countertop space.

After: Maximize Vertical Storage

Sander installed floating LACK shelves above his desk to use the previously blank walls above it. These shelves now display display photos, trinkets, and collections that hold meaning.

After: Changed the hardware

A subtle change in the color of the long pull handles made a difference. The black handles blend much better with the new office decor than silver.

After: Incorporated More Lighting

It is often easy to overlook ambient lighting when designing a home office, concentrating solely on task lighting. What worked in Sander’s home office design was how he weaved in a lot more indirect light. Lighting strips were added to the back of the monitors, gently bouncing light off the walls. He installed a puck light in the printer nook, placed table lamps on the counter, and changed the big ceiling light to softer spotlights to illuminate the slatted wall.

Here are some side-by-side comparisons of the before and after

Paint can transform a stark home office into a moody, soothing workspace while keeping the main furniture pieces unchanged.

Functional pieces that look better

Mismatched storage units changed to more streamlined storage cabinets.

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