Home Office Makeover on a Budget

This little budget office makeover was so much fun! I recently decided that I needed a dedicated office space to work on my blogging and YouTube channel. Big goals are in the works for my business this year. Having an inspiring and functional office space where I can go to work is important to me to help set myself up for success.

I had a vision in my head of exactly how I wanted this office space to look, and where it was going to be in our house. Let’s walk through this entire office makeover process!

This post may contain affiliate links, including those from Amazon, that pay me a commission on sales at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support my blog and YouTube channel, and I appreciate it! Check out my Disclaimer for more information!

The Before Space

Back when I first started my blog, I set up my desk and computer space in the front room of our house. This space was supposed to be my office and library. However, for how we eventually want to decorate this room, having my office space here didn’t make as much sense. We also have two pet rabbits who love to chew cords, so having lots of things plugged in wasn’t possible.

You can see in these photos how small and cramped my little corner was, how inconvenient the cords were, and how dark it was. Filming in here wasn’t really possible and I didn’t have room on my desk to work.

We decided to move my dedicated office space down to our basement. Our house has a full-sized finished basement. One of the rooms down there has already been set up to be my sewing and crafting space. I thought moving my office into this space would make the most sense.

Improving Functionality

My main focus with this new space was to make it as functional as possible. By moving to the basement, I had plenty of space to have whatever desk and filming setup I wanted. I decided I wanted an L-shaped desk to accommodate my blogging and YouTube filming.

With my original setup, I had room for my computer and printer but not much else. I was constantly piling things on the floor to have room to work on my desk. A deeper desk for my computer was at the top of my list. I also wanted some desk organization to be sure I was organized and could work without having things all over the place.

Furniture Upgrades

One of the main things I wanted for my new workspace was a large L-shaped desk. I started looking on Amazon and Wayfair for something that was large enough for what I wanted but still looked really nice in the space. With my vision for how I eventually want my craft/sewing/office room to look, I really wanted all the new furniture for my office area to be white.

I really wasn’t finding anything that fit my budget and design aesthetic online. The desk in my starting office space was from IKEA, so I decided we should make a trip there and see what they had. IKEA is about a 2-hour drive to St. Louis for us, so I went on the website and figured out what I wanted ahead of time so I checked out what they had online first and came up with a plan for my new setup.

I came up with a budget before we headed to IKEA – this is an office makeover on a budget! My budget was $300 for this project. I had to laugh when the employee rang me up at the end of our trip. My total was EXACTLY $300. To. The. Penny. I’d say that’s a budgeting win!

IKEA Furniture Purchases

IKEA Linmon tabletop in white
- 78 3/4″ x 23 5/8″ – this is the long table I used to make the “L.” It’s my filming table.
- 59″ x 29 1/2″ – this is where I set up my computer.
Aldis legs in white
- I got 9 to support the tables.
Alex wide 9 Drawer set
- I wanted this set because I knew it would roll under the tables to be out of the way when I just needed the drawers for storage. I can also roll it out when I need to use the top as an additional workspace.

Organizing and Decorating

Like I mentioned before, my main goal was to keep my desktop nice and organized. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of space to work without things getting too cluttered. I picked up some desk organizers from IKEA and Dollar Tree.

Part of why I wanted an L-shaped desk was so I could have a surface to leave my filming setup and create a nice background for videos. I ordered a few things in order to get that backdrop set up. Most of the items in my background came from the dollar store or I already had.

The one thing I got off Etsy that I’m super excited about is this cute flamingo neon lamp! I’m excited for this to be in the background of my videos because it goes with my flamingo theme so well.

Here’s a full list of all items (other than furniture) I have included in my new setup:

Flamingo neon light
Wall shelves
Whiteboard
IKEA magazine holders
IKEA storage bins
IKEA desk organizer
Keyboard & mouse
IKEA paper organizer (this is a similar option)
Canon printer
Erin Condren planner box
Camera tripod
Microphone stand (I use as a tripod)
Microphone to camera adapter (to put my camera on the microphone stand)
Ring light
Canon G7X Mark II Camera
Business card holder
Pink desk chair

The Big Reveal

I am absolutely in love with how my little office space turned out. It has already been fantastic for filming, taking photos, and just generally getting blog work done! I didn’t expect it to turn out looking as great as it did, so I’m very happy with it.

Check out the video below for a full walkthrough of my budget office makeover!

Final Thoughts

I’m in love with how this space turned out. It has me so inspired and productive! So far it has been working out great for both my computer work and for getting my videos filmed.

In total, I spent just under $400 for this office setup. $300 on the furniture, and about $80 for the shelves and decor. Since I had to buy all new furniture I’m pretty happy with how it all came together for that price!

Want to check out more about budgeting?