Before & After - The Office Area

Why "office area" rather than just "office"?  Well, like most smaller, older homes, our's has a few quirky areas, one of which is adjacent to the kitchen.  Originally we had a huge, ugly, scarred deep freezer placed there, but eventually I convinced my husband to part with it.  Then we bought these industrial shelves to serve as extra storage, which were functional but not very pretty.

When we put our house on the market, the home stager said we should make the area into a breakfast room.  I scouted out a cheap table and chairs set and put them in.  It definitely looked better (still not great though), but it wasn't at all functional for us.  We literally never used the space.  As soon as we took our house off the market, I listed the table set on Craigslist.  (Also, please notice the random single lower cabinet that is to the right of the door.  As if that weren't bad enough, whoever last remodeled the kitchen, also slapped up a huge laminate backsplash.  Say whatty-what?!?)

And then we were left with this random unused space...which we turned into a tiny office area.

First off, we removed the unused lower cabinet and backsplash to open the area up.  Since there isn't a window along the back wall, that area doesn't seem light and bright.  To combat that, I hung three door mirrors horizontally.  The mirrors reflect the light from the kitchen to brighten the space and add some interest along the wall.  The best part - I bought the mirrors at Target when they were having their back to school sale so the mirrors were only $4 each.  $12 for a focal wall - check, check, and check!  Now the space is functional and pretty.