Fixing My Sad Little Office

So I’ve been whining about my workspace for ages (see my last post), and I finally hit the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore. My “office” - and I’m using that term generously here - is so small that I could basically photograph the whole thing without moving from one spot.

Looking at it objectively (which is hard when you’re emotionally scarred by spending 8+ hours a day in a space), there are two major problems jumping out at me: 1) everything is blindingly WHITE, and 2) there’s exposed brick everywhere. Neither of these things would be terrible on their own, but combined they create this weird sterile-yet-unfinished vibe that makes me feel like I’m working in some kind of abandoned hospital wing.

And don’t get me started on the concrete floor. It seemed like a good idea initially (industrial chic or whatever), but it’s impossible to keep clean, and my chair wheels have been gradually wearing away the paint, creating these sad-looking trails where you can see I’ve been rolling back and forth in approximately the same spots for two years.

What I’m Planning to Do About It

After falling down several Pinterest rabbit holes and watching about 47 YouTube videos of people with much better DIY skills than me, I’ve cobbled together a plan that hopefully won’t bankrupt me or require skills I don’t have.

The Floor Situation

First up: dealing with that awful concrete floor. After looking at approximately eight million options (ok fine, like five), I’m going with PVC tiles because:

• They can handle my chair rolling over them constantly
• They’re super easy to clean (unlike this concrete nightmare)
• I can install them without gluing anything down permanently
• They’re not ridiculously expensive

I need about 10 square meters worth. I measured three times because I always mess this stuff up - remember the Great Shelving Disaster of 2023 when I somehow ended up with shelves that were 10cm too short for the wall? Not making that mistake again.

I’m thinking of going with some medium-tone fake wood look. Not too dark because this room is already tiny, but not too light because I need SOMETHING to break up all this white. Plus I need to leave that expansion gap thing around the edges (learned that from a YouTube video after my kitchen vinyl started buckling). I’ll hide the gaps with some basic skirting boards that will hopefully also cover up that janky gap between the stud wall and floor.

The Wall Situation

Each wall in here needs something different because apparently I can’t keep things simple:

The Whiteboard Wall

The wall where my whiteboard hangs is getting wooden cladding. Why? Because:

• It’ll add some actual texture to the room
• I can paint it whatever color I want
• It’ll give me a solid surface to mount stuff to
• It might make the room feel less like a padded cell

I’m only going up about 2 meters with the cladding because 1) I’m lazy and 2) doing the whole wall would be overkill (and more expensive). The top bit can just stay painted.

The Wall I Stare At All Day

For the brick wall that I face while working, I was originally thinking about plastering the whole thing, but:

1. I’ve never plastered anything in my life
2. It would be messy as hell
3. It would probably look terrible
4. Did I mention I have no idea what I’m doing?

So instead, I’m going to mount three black IKEA SKÅDIS pegboards horizontally across the middle of the wall. This breaks up all that brick without me having to actually learn a new skill, plus I get some storage out of it. Win-win.

The Boring Stud Wall

The third wall is just a plain white stud wall. I’m going to repaint it something warmer - maybe that “Skimming Stone” color from Farrow & Ball if I’m feeling fancy, or more likely whatever warm neutral is on sale at B&Q when I go.

Storage Solutions (Where To Put All My Crap)

The storage situation in here is a joke. I’ve got stuff piled everywhere because there’s nowhere to actually put anything.

More SKÅDIS Goodness

I already have one SKÅDIS board that I’ve loaded up with 3D-printed accessories (probably the one productive thing I’ve done in this space). I’m adding another one because:

• I’ve already designed a bunch of custom holders that work with it
• I can print new ones whenever I need something specific
• It’s the one organizing system I haven’t abandoned after two weeks

Under-Desk Drawers

The space under my desk was supposed to be for a mini-fridge (because priorities), but that never happened. So now I’m going to build some drawers to go there. I’m thinking:

• Three drawers of different depths
• Those fancy drawer slides that come all the way out
• Divided sections inside so I don’t just throw everything in and create drawer chaos
• Maybe a lock on the bottom one for expensive stuff

This is ambitious for someone who once managed to build an IKEA BILLY bookcase backward, but I’m determined to figure it out.

Door Storage

The back of my office door is just wasted space right now. I’m going to mount some plywood on it and then add:

• A hook for my step ladder (which currently lives on the floor, waiting to trip me)
• A place to hang my shop vac
• Some kind of system for all these damn cables I have everywhere
• Storage for the tools I use all the time but can never find

The 3D Printer Cabinet of Dreams

This is the big one, and probably the project most likely to end up half-finished. I want to build a tall cabinet in the corner to house my Prusa Mini and maybe eventually a second printer. It would have:

• Separate compartments with doors I can close when I don’t want to look at the printers
• Some kind of ventilation so the printers don’t overheat
• Sound dampening (because listening to stepper motors for 20 hours straight is a special kind of torture)
• Lights so I can actually see what’s printing
• Some way to manage all the cables
• Extra storage up top for filament and other rarely-used supplies

I’ve sketched this out about five different ways and I’m still not sure exactly how I’ll build it, but it’s happening… eventually.

The Little Stuff That Makes a Big Difference

Desk Covering

My desk is fine, structurally speaking, but it’s getting pretty beat up. Rather than replace the whole thing (money) or build a new one (time + skills I don’t have), I’m going with the lazy option: covering it with vinyl. This should:

• Hide all the coffee stains and scratches
• Be easier to clean
• Look nicer
• Not require me to dismantle my entire setup

I’m thinking matte black to match the SKÅDIS boards and to make it easier to find small parts when I drop them (which is approximately 40 times per project).

Ceiling Stuff

To finish things off, I’m adding some crown molding where the walls meet the ceiling. This seems like a small thing, but it should make the whole room look more finished and less like I just threw up some walls and called it a day.

I’m also replacing that sad-looking bare bulb with an LED panel that will hopefully eliminate the weird shadows I get when I’m trying to work on small electronics.

The Timeline (How Long Until I Give Up)

I’m breaking this down into phases because otherwise it’s too overwhelming:

1. Floor first (Weeks 1-2): Should cost around £150-200 for materials. This has to happen first because otherwise I’d have to move everything twice.

2. Walls next (Weeks 3-4): About £300 for the cladding, paint, and SKÅDIS boards. This is probably the part I’m most confident about not screwing up.

3. Storage building (Weeks 5-6): The drawers and cabinet will probably run about £400 for materials. This is the part where I’ll likely end up with several “learning experiences” (disasters).

4. Final touches (Weeks 7-8): Around £150 for the desk covering, molding, and new light. This is the fun part where it all comes together (in theory).

The whole thing will probably cost around £1,000 when all is said and done, which is a lot but not completely insane considering how much time I spend in here. And spreading it over a few months makes it feel less painful.

Will Any of This Actually Happen?

If history is any indication, I’ll get about 60% of the way through this plan before either:

1. Getting distracted by a shiny new project
2. Running into a problem I can’t easily solve and abandoning ship
3. Convincing myself it’s “good enough” and stopping halfway

But I’m really hoping to prove myself wrong this time. I’ve been complaining about this workspace for over a year now, and it’s clearly affecting my motivation to actually work on projects. So maybe, just maybe, this is the one project I’ll actually finish.

I’ll update as I go along - either with triumphant progress reports or with humble admissions of failure. Place your bets now on which it’ll be!