Office Makeover: Chop It Down, Chop It Down

Hope you had a great weekend! We’ve been busy over here c-l-e-a-n-i-n-g. If there’s one thing I hate about a project it’s that after you tear everything out of a room and transplant it to the garage, you have put it back into the space when you’re finished (on the plus side – our office is finished enough to begin putting everything back!).

You might remember that I found a dining table for the office that would work perfectly as a new desk. Well, a couple of weeks of functioning as a desk and we’re realizing the table is too big. I was originally hunting down a desk that was bigger than average, but my Craigslist dining table sticks out pretty far into the room when it has a chair pulled up to it (it’s a pretty narrow room). Bummer.

So the solution? Chop it down. We took the dining table out to meet the table saw and after flipping it over so that the table was legs side up, smoothly cut off several inches along the back side. Table liposuction.

Here’s a nice angle showing off our alley and trash cans. The newly cut side received a quick sanding to get rid of any rough edges or large splinters.

The front was left untouched so that we didn’t have to stain any raw wood. Then we brought the table back in and pushed the newly cut edge tight up against the wall.

While a few inches doesn’t sound like much, it made a big difference once the table was back in place as a desk.

Can’t tell the difference? I know… it’s not too exciting but it goes to show how easy it is to modify a Craigslist/antique/thrift store find with a little help from the power tools.

Check out these great souvenirs from our recent trip to Iowa:

Don’t they just scream Iowa? Just kidding. They’re the most unlikely to be picked up on vacation but I saw them in an antique/garden shop in little Woodward, Iowa (where Kevin’s Dad’s family is from) and found a way to stuff them in my suitcase. That’s a white ceramic lounging bird there on the left and an old flower pot on the right. The first accessories for the new space :). And those fabrics are just the start of what I’m gathering for the room.

So cutting down the desk was no big deal – a quick one hour project including moving the piece of furniture, cutting, sanding and putting ‘er right back where we had found it!

For more Office Makeover posts, check out: a new desk & bookshelves, installing remnant carpeting, grasscloth wallpaper, painting the office nook, finding carpet for the office, chocolate brown wall ideas, plastering progress,  inspiration for a diy desk, back in action!, desking hunting for under $300, bookcases under $300, inspirational rooms, room layout options, demo part 1 & demo part 2.