Here was our basement just after we bought it. The previous owners had a bar and refrigerator at the back wall of the room. We decided to remove all of this to make room for a desk and craft area.
Before:
After some new carpet and dry wall this was the new built-in space.
Next step: paint the walls a darker gray color.
And here was my design plan for the built-in desk.
Here's the basement after the painting was done.
And here is the HUGE mess of desk and crafting items.
After lots of shopping around, my husband and I decided to go with Ikea kitchen cabinets for the desk base and an Ikea kitchen counter as the desk countertop. We just cut the counter down to size and gave it 2 coats of dark walnut stain.
And here's the after.
These are Ikea's Akurum kitchen cabinets. You can customize the cabinet size and shelving or drawer layout. This side has shelving that hides the printer and storage boxes.
This side has 3 drawers for filing folders and desk accessories.
I love the dark wood against the white cabinets.
And since we used kitchen cabinets, the desk height is a little higher than the norm so we needed a new height-adjustable chair. This chair is of course from Ikea :)
I found this antiqued brass lamp from HomeGoods. Love that it has outlets on the base for easy access.
And for my favorite piece...a framed magnetic board. I found this at an antique store in Milwaukee.
The owners of this store covered the board in a beautiful gold/black fabric. It also came with these magnets made from antique brooches.
This frame will eventually be hung on the blank wall to the left of the desk.
(Almost) After:
I have a few more projects to work on before the desk is complete. I plan to stain 2 shelves to hang above the desk for extra storage and to add a few more touches. Stay tuned...
