How I designed my home office on a $500 budget

I’m so excited to be able to show you my work from home office setup! I built this room up slowly and on a very small budget. Most of my home office decor is from IKEA or was a DIY. Here are some office pictures, thoughts, and plans for finishing touches!

I started planning this room by thinking about how I actually like to work and then picking furniture that lined up with that. The first concern I had was that I am not actually really a desk person. If I had it my way I would pretty much always work on a table that is better suited for a dining room. I like to spread out and have different areas for different projects. I especially like space to diagram arguments on blank paper and then sort of lay those all out while I’m writing. So, a kitchen table was in order in here!

DIY elements: The filing cabinet and white board were both DIY projects. You can buy big white boards (and have them cut to size!) at Home Depot. Trevor laser cut the grid for this board, but you could easily make a layout using wet erase markers and then fill it in with dry erase markers.

The filing cabinet is just fancy paper from a stationary store. We removed the hardware, painted the outside white with spray paint, and then cut the paper to size. We sprayed the front of the drawers with spray adhesive and carefully put the paper over the top. I thought this would lead to a lot of air bubbles but it was actually really easy. Then we spray painted the hardware rose gold and put it back on.

Ok onto the really good stuff–this rug! I have been staring at it for MONTHS and finally bought it on Black Friday for $75 off. It was so worth the wait and reminds me of this beautiful rug in the Mindell home, if you follow them! Once I made the connection I looked at the colors they picked in their room as guidance. Pinterest inspo can be very helpful this way!

Easy office plants: I actually researched plants for this room because I’m tired of killing plants. I settled on a pothos because they thrive in low lighting and a snake plant because they’re like your nice friend with no opinions about anything. Both have been going strong for three months which is a win for me.

Room sources:

• Rug
• Office chair
• Curtains
• Curtain rods
• Pillow (bought while traveling, similar)
• Table (Trevor built, similar (and could be painted similarly!)
• Planters 1 & 2
• Hats
• Whiteboard is a piece of stain resistant melamine
• File cabinet paper and spray adhesive
• Photo is a print

I’m happy to have a dedicated space that makes me feel (a little bit) excited to work! I’m not sure if the room needs any more finishing touches. Maybe some low bookshelves? For now, I’m enjoying just as it is!

Like more home pictures? Here’s the tour of my bedroom!