Conor’s Office – The Reveal!

Here is what you have all been waiting for!  The AFTER PICS of Conor’s Office!

I admit it was a tad stressful doing a project for my boyfriend.  He is a little more on the frugal side which is usually a good thing lol but when it comes to things he does not feel are practical – forget it!  So when he offered $500 for his budget and then listed the things he wanted for the office (including 5 new pieces of furniture!) we had to have a bit of a conversation.  I really pushed his limit when I asked for double :)  However, he gave in & then I asked for his trust I got that too.  I tucked away $250 and gave us a budget of $750.

I love a good deal, but admittedly I never really find them (or rather I don’t spend the time looking).  My sister Jen is ALWAYS finding great deals and therefore always looks funky and well put together.  Me, I live in lululemon.  So it was a new challenge for me to make the most out of someone else’s money!  Lucky for me, Vanessa has already been through the whole renovating and redecorating process with her condo and knows how stretch a dollar so off we went and settle on one price we did not!

Our first great decision was to try out BEHR Premium Plus Ultra – a newer product from Behr that is a paint and primer in one.  Because of our time restraint and the insulting color on the walls, this was a perfect option!  The guy at The Home Depot assured me that 1 gallon would do the job (100 sq ft room) and it was just enough.

Next stop IKEA!  Great style at great prices.  We needed a desk (for writing only), a chair for Conor’s patients, a shelf for text books and storage and a dolly for the ultrasound unit.  This is the challenge, get the furniture with enough left over to accessorize!  It felt as though we walked around in a hundred circles – from chairs to desks, to shelves, back to chairs, to units on castors and then back to desks… phew! We found everything we needed (including a wicked chair for a discount) and then some!  We were feeling good!

Then it was storage and accessories.  Solutions was the perfect place for baskets and hampers, Michaels had an amazing sale on frames (which was great because we needed 5!) and HomeSense was our last stop for our finishing touches like the desk organizer and decorations.

I was looking for images from Body Worlds for some artwork, however, in their attempt to keep all of their images anatomically correct they’ve exempt themselves from being utilized as business appropriate artwork ;)  I found the finishing touch on  AllPosters.ca – a sketch by Pierre Jean David d’Angers called Human Anatomy, Muscles of the Torso and Shoulder.

THE GRAND TOTAL

Paint & Supplies              $59.36

Furniture                           $375.32

Document Frames         $125.50

Storage & Accessories  $231.05

TOTAL                              $791.23

So we went over our own budget by $41.23 – we left the tags on some things so that if Conor felt it was an unnecessary purchase he could return it.  However, once he got in the room, he was blown away and finally understood  the importance of  “finishing” the room.

All said and done it was a great first project!  Vanessa & I learned how to work together on someone else’s budget and Conor learned the value of investing in his space.

Now to finish the condo and the laundry room…