Creating a Home Office

     To start I would like to say a big congratulations to our dog, Banjo. He has finally stopped chewing on everything when we have to leave him home alone (mostly). So we have gotten rid of his kennel, aka doggy jail which has left us with a little space in the office. And since I will be taking classes again this fall I have laid claim to this space to set up a little work area.
     Here is what I started with:

     It is a small space but has some real potential. I looked around for desks but they were all too deep. There is only about four feet between the wall and the edge of a futon so I didn't want to keep backing my chair into that. So I decided to make a shelf desk. Here is how it turned out:

     The desk is just plywood with dimensions of 20" depth and 46" width. I cut off the left corner because I felt it might end up too close to the window. I could have painted it but I like the rustic wood feel but I did sand it quite a bit. I already had the wood so the only cost was less than $4 for the brackets.

     I had to put the brackets in certain spots because that is where the studs in the walls are. Oh, and the screws were a couple dollars too. Really, it was super easy. So easy in fact that I also did a shelf.

     I painted the shelf because the wood I used already had some paint and dirt on it. But I just put on one quick layer so it also looks rustic and simple. At Target I got the two silver wire magazine holders and the calendar on the desk. Add an old poster and some mementos from my travels and the whole thing starts to feel cozy.

     Above the whole thing I already had a clothes line. For that all you need are two nails (one on each side) and some metal wire. Use wire cutters to cut the wire to the desired length and then take pliers to wrap the ends around the nails. I used plain wooden clothes pins but stores now sell and array of cute clips for pictures. The cork board is a really old one that I have had for awhile. Reuse as much as you can and you will save money.
     Since I used wood, paint and a few other things I already had my grand total for all new materials is about $40 which includes brackets, some screws, a calendar, two magazine holders and a plastic document holder. Once I start using the space I might move things around or need to get more organizational materials. But I think this is a pretty good start.What do you think?