Congratulations to Beth (and Ruben), who won our “Luckiest Day” giveaway.

Upon arrival at their house this morning, I quickly decided their home office was where I could make the most impact in a short amount of time, using the furniture and accessories already present in their home. This room also needed to double as a guestroom, but the furniture layout wasn’t quite working. Check out the changes I made in one little hour:

BEFORE: The desk is cluttered, the walls are bare, and the printer is the first thing you see from the doorway.

AFTER: Thanks to modular furniture, we easily flip the desk’s configuration so the printer can live opposite the entrance to the room, and the couple’s political posters bring inspiration and bold energy into their workspace.

BEFORE: The filing cabinet (hidden behind the desk chair in this photo) is too small in proportion to the wall it is situated in front of, and the daybed visually crowds the desk area.

AFTER: Repositioning the bed on this wall represents a more proportional use of the space and creates a more open feeling in the room. The addition of a floor lamp will be appreciated by guests who are late-night readers, and installing art on the walls creates a more cozy environment for visitors.

BEFORE: The bed feels oversized in this spot and blocks the window. There’s also not enough room to use the trundle and the desk chair at the same time, which means this dual-use space cannot fully function as such if more than one guest is using the space.

AFTER: The filing cabinet suits the scale of this wall much better…feels like it “fits.” The couple’s college diplomas are finally unpacked and showcased nicely.

Now Beth and Ruben’s home-office-slash-guestroom is a place that feels open and inviting. Beth was surprised at how much larger the room felt and thought she might actually enjoy using the room now!

Not bad for an hour’s effort, eh?