More DIY fun to share!

I think I’ve mentioned that I work from home on the days when I’m not traveling, and when I was looking for a new apartment I was desperate for something that had a home office space. What I REALLY wanted was a two-bedroom, where I could keep all of my work stuff in one room and then shut the door when the work day was done.

Unfortunately when you’re also stipulating that the new apartment has an under-mount sink, in-unit laundry, parking, and natural light, things start to add up. And, as it turns out, I’m not a millionaire.

Luckily in my new place there are two living areas- one that flows from the kitchen, and then another room that most people would probably use as a dining room. I don’t have enough friends to host a dinner party, so I made it my office.

I knew I wanted a massive desk. Not even a desk, a table. But everything I liked was REALLY expensive. Granted, I am one of the cheapest people on the planet, but I couldn’t stomach spending $600 on a flat surface. So I got creative.

I went to Second Chance, which is a massive warehouse in Baltimore that has everything from refurbished furniture to dishes to lighting to wood to props from TV shows. They also happen to have a whole wing with windows and doors. Which is where I found this.

I liked the asymmetry of it, and it’s HUGE. And it was $70. A few of the guys managed to get it in my car, and I drove the 2 miles home basically on top of the steering wheel. I had to get it out of my car in order to drive anywhere else safely, which was a conundrum.

I tend to always believe that I have superhuman strength and that I am a fully independent woman. So I got this thing out of my car and into my building by myself.

Did I mention my building doesn’t have an elevator?

That’s when my guardian angels (neighbors) appeared and offered to help me carry it upstairs. They definitely thought I was a psychopath for A) thinking I could carry it up 3 flights of stairs alone and B) purchasing a large door.

But we got it inside. Then I bought some wrought iron hairpin legs on Amazon, and installed them myself with my new power drill. Best purchase of 2016.

And there you have it! Home office, complete.

This might not be ideal if you’re looking for a desk to actually write on, but I do 99% of my work on my laptop and I wanted something that could accommodate a monitor, printer, etc. Mission accomplished. And the whole project came in at about $150.

And as you can see I’m blogging at 11:30AM on a Monday instead of working, so this whole home office thing is going swimmingly.