I had begun to invest more time in my personal brand, Baydian Girl, and my husband had begun to frequently participate in overtime projects at work.
Too often our laptops took over the kitchen counter or wound up next to us in our bed.
So it was clear that we needed a space dedicated to work.
The first question we had to answer was, “Where were we going to create an office?”
We had just moved to a 2-bedroom apartment, and there was no way we were going to try to squeeze a table and chair into our living room.
We began to evaluate our apartment layout, and all of a sudden, it clicked!
“Let’s transition our dining room into an office,” I suggested.
It was perfect!
Our daughter used a highchair to eat her meals and we always sat at the kitchen island to eat.
That left our dining room pretty empty, plus we didn’t have a dining room table anyway.
So why not?
My husband agreed and that was the beginning of our home office journey.
First, I looked for inspiration on Pinterest!
I wanted a general idea of what color scheme and supplies would look great together in our home.
Just because we were creating an office in a small space, didn’t mean it had to be ugly!
Utilizing Pinterest’s secret board feature, I started pinning away and found great ideas like the photo below from a blog called 2 Ladies & A Chair.
Next, I looked at what office furniture we could use that was already in our home.
Since we had recently moved, we did have some furniture and decor that was out of place and needed to be repurposed.
Luckily, the most useful pieces for our plan were two(2) bookcases.
One we had previously used in our bathroom for storage, and the other used to be a part of our living room.
They weren’t even but they would work!
Plus the imperfection would add a more creative flair to our space.
After placing them next to each other, we began to fill the shelves.
We used books that we owned, family photos, and our collection of stationery to start.
I even added some pineapple decor that I had kept from my tropical baby shower.
From there, I got filler items like motivational signs, a mini-globe, and pen holders from Walmart, T.J. Maxx, and Goodwill.
Lastly, to complete our new home office space, I purchased a sturdy table and ergonomic office chair for us adults.
Followed by an adorable kids table and chair set for our daughter.
You can see it all in the home video below!
Overall, we spent approximately, $480 to set up and organize this home office.
That’s a lot of money! At least for us 😉
But what I’m most proud of is that we created this office in stages, and remained mindful of our budget along the way.
Looking for a full breakdown?
Keep reading!
Here’s a detailed list of where we got our purchased items with links!
And that’s it!
That’s how we created our beautiful and practical home office space for under $500.
I’ve got to admit, it’s been too long. I miss creating content, and I miss y’all – my readers and followers. It’s been 4 years
Honestly, I struggle with pricing my products. And as an entrepreneur, am I even allowed to admit that out loud? Even as I write this
So you want to start buying from Black-owned businesses… Here’s a doable way that you can! Start with one (1) purchase. No matter how big
Discover SEO strategies, lifestyle content, and styling tips delivered right to your inbox.
Error: No feed with the ID 1 found.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.
Tamara Sykes
A digital marketer dedicated to helping you create a business and life that you love.
