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Home Office Update: With A Little Help From Harris

by LaurettaCWright
Home Office Update: With A Little Help From Harris

About six years ago VIP and I converted our garage into a home office. Until that time I’d been working in the dining room – not ideal when you have to keep shifting computers when guests come over to be entertained.

So when I finally had a place that I could dedicate solely to work, I was over the moon.

I wanted it to be completely different to the other decor in the house. I’m a creative person so I knew I’d like bright, stimulating colours to inspire my creativity. So I opted for fuchsia pink and grey.

As much as I could, I married up the fuchsia pink back wall (in Hibiscus colour from Habitat) with a range of accessories.

First of all, I bought some fushia Tam Tam storage seating stools from Habitat.

I also opted for some lovely pink cushions from Debenhams which you can read about in this post, along with bright pink box files, pink candle holders, storage file boxes and this cool looking pink office chair. 

For the grey, I popped along to Homebase to pick up some ‘Warm Pewter’ Dulux paint (in silk so that I could wipe down the walls easily).

I also bought this grey rug from NEXT and completed the look with a gorgeous Belgravia two-seater Chesterfield sofa from Love Sofas, which is the best sofa I’ve ever owned – fact.

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A work in progress 

You’d think that after all of that planning and purchasing that the room would be finished by now, but it’s not.

Things left to do include coving the room, completing the skirting (some bits are missing) and a new lick of paint on the white wall – this time in silk.

And although they’re relatively straight-forward jobs to do, it would take a dedicated half day or day to sort out.

Instead I spotted a job that would be easy enough to turn around within an hour and would look really effective – so I got to work!

Home office update – Harris-style

As you can see in the picture below, the bottom two magazine file holders (which I picked up from IKEA – two for £7), haven’t been painted.

So with some Hibiscus paint from Habitat left over from painting the walls, I decided to give them a bit of an update to match my fuchsia pink walls and the two box files I’d managed to find in a matching colour.

Home Office Update: With A Little Help From Harris

First I emptied the magazine files and gave them a quick wipe down with a slightly damp cloth.

After they had dried I gave them a coat all over of the pink paint using *Harris’ 1-inch paintbrush from its Upcycle Kit (which is a fab piece of kit for upcycling anything from a small photo frame right up to large pieces of furniture)

It includes 25mm round, 1″ and 2″ flat brushes for all areas. There is a long handled brush for greater reach and short handled brushes for restricted areas.

The coarse and fine grit sanding blocks are flexible and reusable, making them perfect for prepping and distressing any item. In addition to this, there is also a dustsheet and a free ‘How To…’ guide in every kit.

It costs around £10.57 from places like Amazon, Homebase and Wickes.

Home Office Update: With A Little Help From Harris

The thing I really love about using Harris brushes is that I haven’t seen any bristle loss, meaning that I can focus entirely on the job in hand instead of continuously picking out bristles of paint pots, which is most annoying.

So ta-da! Here’s the finished result and in just over an hour (allowing for drying time), I had my two files ready to pop back on the shelves.

Home Office Update: With A Little Help From Harris

The great news is that if I change the decor and accessories, I can just repaint them again to match.

The only thing I forgot to mention – which would finish off my home office space nicely – is some decent artwork for the grey wall above the sofa.

As you know if you read this blog, I’m always on the look out for unusual but affordable pieces – and I thought this giant world word map would look pretty cool.

It would also fit nicely into my bright, creative colour scheme – and hopefully inspire me to come up with some unique subject matters! Oh and I might boost my geographical knowledge in the process – a win-win!

What small projects have you undertaken recently – and how have they made an impact?

*Proud to be a Harris Blogger ambassador!

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I opted for a Home Office Update With the help of a couple of #IKEA products and Harris Brushes!

20 comments

jacob 12th April 2019 - 7:30 am

In many cases, an office is limited in space. Trying to find the best floor plan to make the most of what you have can be very challenging

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Suhana Morgan 31st March 2019 - 6:38 am

Not a simple hacking, it is an effective hacking for home and office decoration. I think you are a great specialist of home improvement. please consult me, A fixed budget can possible to remodel my house furnitures?

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Lynn Neal 29th March 2019 - 10:36 pm

Great uplifting colour scheme feels inspiring!

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Roman 29th September 2018 - 12:00 pm

Such a cozy office! I can not even think that it was a garage.
And as it was written by some of your readers above, most of all I like your sofa 🙂

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LaurettaCWright 5th October 2018 - 7:34 am

Ah thank you. Yes, the sofa was definitely one of my best buys for the house. t’s really comfortable as well.

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Zena's Suitcase 10th September 2018 - 8:56 am

It really looks like a lovely space and I’m really jealous to be honest. I did manage to create myself a little office but for some reason I’ve ended back at the dining room table again!

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LaurettaCWright 12th September 2018 - 7:06 am

If it’s any consolation Zena – I sometimes end up at the kitchen table on my MacBook! The kitchen stools are comfy and it’s a change of scenery sometimes. But I’m still trying to create a perfect space in the office – need that artwork on the wall I think!

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Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too 9th September 2018 - 8:25 pm

I adore your home office, the grey has to be my favourite. Such a great idea to paint accessories to match into your theme

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LaurettaCWright 5th October 2018 - 7:37 am

Thank you Sarah – I was lucky to find paint that matched to be honest, although I know places like Homebase do colour matching.

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Fashion and Style Police 8th September 2018 - 10:22 pm

I am loving your home office a lot. It looks great. Nicely decorated.

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Anna nuttall 8th September 2018 - 4:45 pm

Lauretta, love your office. It look so much more stylish then mine. I might move onto the velvet couch. xx

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LaurettaCWright 9th September 2018 - 11:58 am

Ha Ha! Thanks Anna – you are very welcome to come and visit me – and have a cuppa on the sofa with me! 😉

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Cath - BattleMum 8th September 2018 - 9:16 am

Your office is fab! I love your colour scheme. I shared an office with my hubby in the uk but we no longer have one since we moved. I work on the dining table or out on the deck and am constantly moving things, like you were. I’m hoping we can afford a house with room enough in an office for both of us next year!

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LaurettaCWright 9th September 2018 - 12:01 pm

I think it’s important to keep the colour scheme bright and light – I think it inspires creativity. Lots of people make little corners for office work – a corner of your living room, under the stairs, kitchen etc… the other reason we decided to convert to another room was to separate the kids when they start arguing – but that’s another matter! Ha ha!

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Sophie's Nursery 7th September 2018 - 8:03 am

Oh wow I love your office! The brushes sound great – nothing worse than when the bristles come out on wet paint!

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LaurettaCWright 7th September 2018 - 3:11 pm

So true! In the past I’ve had to pick them off the walls – but when the paint dries and you discover them, that’s the worst!

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Suzy McCullough 6th September 2018 - 8:50 pm

I LOVE it. I am so pinching some of your design ideas. I am having a home office but in part of the bedroom so I’m really excited now. I especially love your sofa. My home office is currently the bed!

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LaurettaCWright 7th September 2018 - 3:12 pm

Pinch away Suzy! It will be so nice for you to have a dedicated space for you to work…it really helps.

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Carmela 6th September 2018 - 10:27 am

Your home office is so pretty and well-organized!

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LaurettaCWright 6th September 2018 - 10:50 am

Thanks Carmela – trust me, it doesn’t look like that all the time! ha ha.

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