Before we dive into the office updates, we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who left such kind comments on yesterday’s announcement. Your support has felt completely surreal and we’re incredibly grateful. Now — back to the office.
You may remember from our initial office planning post that we were leaning toward a layout that better suits how we work. After taping potential layouts on the floor, reading 700+ thoughtful comments and sketching a few variations, three ideas emerged as clear winners:
- We wanted a floating double desk so both of us could work from the middle of the room instead of against a wall. That way we’d both enjoy the window views and avoid turning our backs on the doorway.
- A meeting table in the office makes the space more versatile. It would essentially make the office the third room on the main level with a central table. We can hold meetings there and, since we’re planning to refresh the blue-trimmed dining room across the hall soon, the office table might get more regular use for collaborative work than formal dinners.
- We needed a dedicated craft and photography zone. Placing it against the back wall makes sense because the sunlight doesn’t reach that far — that’s where John has been working for the past nine months.
With those priorities in place, the layout felt more functional and less like another wall-staring workspace. To test the idea, we actually dragged a tiny desk into the center of the room to get a feel for the scale — and loved it. Sitting cradled by the bay window while being in the middle of the room confirmed we were on the right track. (Psst — the plants in the photos are fiddle leaf figs from Home Depot; they were on sale for $59 with a one-year warranty.)
We kept an eye out for a solid secondhand desk that could become a floating double desk. After a handful of unsuccessful thrift-store and Craigslist hunts, a well-built wood desk showed up as a curb alert on Craigslist. It was a lucky find — we spotted the listing about 20 minutes after it was posted, and since it was midweek it hadn’t been claimed yet. We folded down the car seats and raced to pick it up.
The desk just fit into the car by a couple of inches (thankfully the legs were removable). Back home we placed it on a drop cloth and propped it up on small blocks of wood. The piece was worn but very solid — drawers on one side, a cabinet with a faux drawer front on the other, and even a pull-out tray.
We decided to paint it white to match our vision for a clean, light, and airy office. After removing hardware, drawers, and doors, we discovered a maker’s tag and an old drawer lock stamped 1968 — a fun little piece of history. The desk had some paint blobs, old tape residue, and raised glue spots, so we scraped those off, sanded thoroughly, filled divots with wood putty, and sanded again once dry.
After wiping everything clean with a liquid deglosser, John rolled on one thin coat of Kilz Premium primer with a small foam roller to prevent bleed-through. When it was time to move the desk inside to finish painting, we used a dolly and the same drop cloth plus small blocks setup to protect the finish and the floor.
We painted the desk with Benjamin Moore Simply White Advance — a self-leveling cabinet paint that’s ideal for furniture. A small foam roller delivered a smooth finish and an angled brush helped reach tight spots. Two coats gave full coverage. The desktop received two thin coats of satin Safecoat Acrylacq for extra durability.
For the legs and hardware, we painted the wood parts Simply White to match, then masked off the freshly painted areas and sprayed the metal hardware with Rust-Oleum Champagne Mist for a subtle metallic accent. The result is a bright, airy desk that still respects the piece’s vintage character.
We’re thrilled with the outcome, especially since the desk was a free secondhand find. That means our budget can stretch to other priorities for the room — window treatments, a statement overhead light, storage solutions, and comfortable office chairs.
Here’s how the room looks now:
Next up: finishing the paint on the walls (so far we’ve only done trim) and building a functional command wall on the back wall where it’s hidden from the foyer. That way the room can stay visually tidy even if our organizational center gets busy.
To adapt the desk for two people, we plan to cut a cable access hole in the back and possibly add a wider top later. For now we’re resisting irreversible changes so we can live with the layout a bit before committing to any major alterations.
Update: To show scale, we added a photo with laptops so you can see two people can comfortably fit at this desk. It measures 34″ deep and would be about 38″ with a modest overhang — similar to our previous double desk, which worked well for two people and two computers.
Have you scored any great secondhand finds lately? Ever chased a curb alert and actually snagged the prize before someone else did? This was our first time and we loved the thrill of it.
PS: If you want another desk makeover idea, check out the DIY herringbone pattern we painted on a thrift-store desk.