Home office gets a promotion

Before

In the otherwise pretty space, Scott Glenn's home office, along one wall of the room, created an eyesore of mounting paperwork and bulky equipment. Not only did the desk and cabinet disrupt the design, but the desk also wasn't big enough.

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After

In stepped Associate Decorating Editor Anne Turner Carroll to help Glenn tackle his makeover to-do list: maximize space, introduce organization and add style. They tackled the challenge by first knocking out one of the built-in cabinets to allow for a longer desktop. Next, a coat of paint on the remaining built-in, in the same color as the walls, better unified the area with the room. Carroll chose magnetic and chalkboard paints for the back wall, adding color and functionality.

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Stainless-steel desktop

A longer desktop, raised to countertop level, provides Glenn with more elbow room and a comfortable height for drawing. A metalsmith cut and shaped a sheet of stainless steel to fit like an apron over a plywood desktop and affixed it with glue. "If you have a countertop you want to transform, this is an easy upgrade with little construction," Carroll says.

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Countertop: Sheet of stainless steel over plywood by Kenneth McGill Designs
Woven box and tray: Pottery Barn

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The right lights

Lighting is key for a well-functioning home office. For maximum light in Glenn's space, Carroll paired a hanging ceramic fixture with a distressed-metal task light. "The pendant is great-looking, and he can have it on all the time. But when he needs some serious light, he can position his task lamp to focus down where he's working," she says.

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Light fixture: Cosmo Stepped Pendant in Natural Bone China; available through lightingmatters.co.uk
Task lamp: Vintage Inspired Distressed Metal Task Lamp on Stone Base by Vagabond, Vintage available through Mothology

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Floating shelves

A shallow, wraparound wooden shelf above the desk keeps office supplies within arm's reach. Additional floating shelves along the right wall provide storage for the gardening encyclopedias and reference books that Glenn uses most.

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Globe: vintage; for a similar look, try Globe on Stand (5425) from Everything Furniture
Model form (holding rubber bands): Jointed wooden body form on stand from All Dress Forms
Stapler and tape dispenser: Nickel-plated, Pottery Barn
Glass canisters: Stackable Container with Lid (0590-C) from Couronne Co.

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Paper holder

Easily accessible tracing paper scores major points with Glenn, who draws all of his garden designs by hand. Carroll's idea to mount a swing-arm curtain rod as a paper holder puts the rod to work in a clever new way.

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Paper roll holder: Ball Swing Rod Set, 20-36" by Umbra

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Hidden storage

The remaining built-in cabinet gives Glenn the storage he needs, behind closed doors. Carroll worked with a carpenter to equip the cabinet's drawers and shelves with sliders to enable easy access to files.

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Cabinet and lower wall paint: Manchester Tan (HC-81) by Benjamin Moore

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Magnetic chalkboard

To create a chalkboard and bulletin board in one, Carroll layered colored chalkboard paint on top of three coats of magnetic paint. A handwritten days-of-the-week calendar transforms the wall into communication central.

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Chalkboard paint: Chalkboard paint in Deep Ocean (#24) by Hudson Paint
Magnetic paint: Specialty Magnetic Latex Primer (115535) by Rust-Oleum, available from Lowe's

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