DIY Office Closet Desk, An Organized Cloffice Space

I’ve mentioned a few times here before that I have ADHD. While I used to think it was a curse, it really is a blessing. People with ADHD see the world differently than the average person and evidence shows that we are more creative than our peers. The difference, my creativity can only be productive when my environment is a certain way.

I’ve read so many books and had lots of behavioral modification therapy in college (thanks free mental health clinic at JMU!) to help with my ADHD over time. That being said, I know myself really well and I know what helps me be successful as possible. When we first moved into our house we really didn’t have a space for me and my creative outlet. Stuff was EVERYWHERE!

Before I started nursing school, I began to have really horrible anxiety about where I was going to study and where my $3,000 worth of textbooks and supplies would live. I didn’t want my craft space to be overruled with serious nursing school things because I still needed to to have my creative outlet. I decided that separating the spaces was the best thing. Another room wasn’t an option so I decided to transform my closet into a cloffice, a closet that functions as a miniature office.0

When I started to plan the cloffice space I knew that the color palette would be totally different than the creative space of my office. Bright colors don’t work well for me when I need to concentrate so I opted for neutral, soothing color. The existing closet didn’t have lights and since I was adding a shelf at the top for extra craft storage, I would install lighting under the shelf to give me more light for studying and reading.

Here is a little drawing I did to help show exactly what I had in mind. Please forgive me because it’s not to scale and I added more shelving to each side. Oh hey hot mess handwriting. (Must embrace the imperfections Lura).

I had this drawing for a while before we actually started working on the space. Once we saved a little money and found a little time, we started to demo the old storage shelves in the space. Old and dated and so bad that I forgot to take photos of them. Demolition is one of my favorite things about redoing a space…unless wallpaper is involved. Thankfully, the previous owners didn’t have wallpaper in this room (which helps since all of the bathrooms and the kitchen have it). The existing shelving left MASSIVE holes in the Sheetrock so we used Dap to fill them. After the Dap dried, we sanded over the patched areas and let it set for a few weeks. Typical.

Next, we covered the wall using some leftover paint (Revere Pewter) from another room.

I also took a Magic Eraser to the baseboards and door trim because #IHatePaintingTrim and using the magic eraser gave them new life. #lazy #JudgeMeHeffer.

Once the paint dried, I used a Cutting Edge Stencil in design Rabat to apply a design on the wall. Let me know if you would be interested in a tutorial. I basically followed this tutorial but I did do a few things differently which made it easier for me.

Let me know in the comment section below if you are interested in hearing my stenciling tips!

Once the wall was stenciled, we let it dry. To make the desk part of the cloffice, we installed 2x2s at 30″ from the floor. Next, we secured a high gloss MDF shelving sheet (found at Home Depot in the closet section) using an air nailer.

To give the desk a more finished look, I nailed a 1×2 facing to the front of the desk. I also added two shallow shelves on each side (four total) and a shelf on the top for added storage (items that aren’t used regularly).

I can’t wait to show you the finished space.

Let’s take a look at how far we’ve come and what we have left to do.

The List

Declutter/Downsize–still working on this and I think it’s going to be best to work on it as I refill the room. Almost finished!!

Paint walls and trim–hate painting…must figure out how to persuade husband

Remove 20 year old carpet

Replace carpet with durable yet stylish flooring… I love this one from Home Depot

Rearrange furniture for a more functional layout

Create mood board for visual purposes

Find a prettier light that gives enough light for crafting/photography–Going to scrap this idea for now.

Create a space for nursing school stuff

Stencil wall

Reorganize all supplies after downsizing

Printer/Silhouette/Sewing machine storage–Possible Ikea Hack!

Add a rug to reduce foot noise from upstairs (going from carpet to solid flooring)

Add trim to existing curtains–share process.

Share process of framing wedding dress

Add quarter round molding around new flooring.

Label all storage