my escape from L.A. my home my office

Spring Cleaning // OLD Home Office

{THIS IS MY VERY OLD OFFICE …in the first place the husband and I lived in together}

Palm-Trees-LA-Sherman-Oaks

Above is the street we live on …Palm Tree lined …I love it really. But we don’t actually own property here because we refused to buy when the market was inflated. However, it hasn’t bottomed out yet and here we still abide, almost 5 years later, in our tri-level condo in Sherman Oaks waiting for homes in LA to be listed for what they are worth …and they’re not quite there yet.

A couple weeks ago we decided that since it may be even longer than we anticipated and rentals are low right now that maybe we should just go find a house to rent for the next year or so while we wait. As we were browsing West Side Rentals we actually found the empty unit across from us, not 20 feet door to door, listed for almost $200 less than what we’re paying and it’s the exact layout but mirrored.

Husband called our landlord, who is amazing, and told her that we wanted to move into it …and I’ll spare you the details and get straight to the point.

We got our rent lowered the difference! Which makes the bird in unit 6 who screams what sounds like HELP!!!! and echos through the courtyard at 7am every morning . ..lunchtime …and evening …a little more tolerable.

So since I know we’ll be here for at least another year, I decided it was time to do a little spring cleaning to spruce up the place a bit.

Now, I’m going to be honest when I say that 1. The office never was decorated in the first place. It became the room where everything got thrown in when guests were on their way and I was in a frenzy to clean up downstairs. 2. Once I thought we were going to move, I cared less about keeping the house clean and the office became the junk room {kind of like the way I’ve felt about keeping my body in shape the past couple years as we were trying to get knocked up …2 years later, 5lbs extra, a saggy butt and no baby} …admittedly not the best tactic.

My side of the office …Before . . .

home-office-makeover-before-3
home-office-makeover-before-4

…horrendous. I can’t even believe I’m showing you actually …lol.

home-office-makeover-before-2

home-office-makeover-before-1

And… After

home-office-makeover-after-1

home-office-makeover-after-2

I found an old white bed skirt in the closet …ironed it the best I could, doubled it and used it to hide all my files and trash.

home-office-makeover-after-4

home-office-makeover-after-5

It’s not going to be featured in Architectural Digest or anything but it’s 100% better now and I have so much more work space.

home-office-makeover-after-6

1. “On the Way Up, On the Way Down” by Ciao Chessa
2. Gold sequined “M” by Love Shill {I also used it as a Christmas tree ornament here}
3. Leather water bottle cover …I made these for the Dixie Chicks 2000 – The Fly Tour. They wanted to cover the labels instead of pealing them off. I made so many different designs for them but I only have this one left that I kept for myself.
4. Dreaming figurine ~ gift from Alison
5. Silence and Noise ~ Photography Print by Leigh @ JKL Design
6. “NY at Night” by Kelly Ann Studio
7. My own work
8. Adorable crocheted turtle by Tiffany
9. Drop Dead Cute and Oh! My God I Miss You ~ Yoshitomo Nara postcards gifts from droll girl
10. “Live What You Love” by Hijirik Studio …love seeing this when I walk in now.
11. Free monthly calendars by Lisa Rupp

Maegan Tintari

LA native & lifestyle blogger Maegan Tintari writes daily at ...love Maegan.com sharing beauty & style secrets, including fashion DIYs, how-to nail art manicures, hair tutorials, recipes & home decorating ideas, as well as a look into her personal life, her journey & battle with infertility & recent relocation to the mountains by a lake in search of a better life with her adorable French Bulldog brothers, Trevor and Randy.

You may also like...