Does anyone have a NICE box room? Feel free to critique my shithole (pics)

[JesusInTheCabbageVan]

Here is my box room/home office. Yes, we actually chose that decor and put up the wall divider things. Now I'm redoing it and trying to get it right this time.

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Can't show the whole thing because I have pictures of my DS up...

It just needs organising OP

Or are you thinking of decorating? If so I'd go for white or something light and airy

Too cluttered. If you are redecorating maybe upcycle the desk by painting it. Or get a new one with wider/deeper drawers that can store more stuff. Get rid of the shelf - doesn't look too safe with all that stuff on it and hanging from it. Have you space for cube storage where you can put doors on (Ikea type ones). I think having things hidden away is better in a small space.

I'm going to redecorate, put carpet down (because my chair wheels have destroyed the floorboards and make a racket) and deal with the clutter.

I think the desk is ok. Is it real wood? If so I wouldn't ruin it by painting over it, personally.

You need to sort out all those wires as well.

What do you want the room to be? Is it just a home office or is also the spare room for guests?

Desk is going downstairs in what will be DH's office, once it's built.

Desk is probably the nicest thing in the room! Yes, not planning to paint it tbh. It'll be primarily the office, but I'm also going to cram a small bed in there as I don't always sleep well and I don't imagine that'll get better when the menopause hits.

I would sand and restain the wood rather than carpet. You can get plastic mats for under office chairs that protect flooring. Or you could even get a rug. My son has a £9.99 one from B&M under his desk chair.

I would take the dado rail away and make the wall right. Then paint a single colour all over.

For file storage maybe a Kallax unit? Possibly one with boxes or doors to hide them.

Keep the desk. It’s lovely.

Dado rail! That's what it's called, thank you. Yes, that's going, it was a daft idea and putting it up came closer to destroying our marriage than anything else. It's really surprisingly hard if you don't know what you're doing.

I quite like the idea of a nice rug.

Going against the grain, but if its a functional rather than reception room I wouldn't worry too much about clutter, as long as its needed clutter. I would even put extra shelves up if you have more needed items to store to avoid the overloaded shelf you have. It can be useful to have one room in the house given over to organised storage, and a box room office can be the best to sacrifice.

If adding a bed, maybe get one with drawers underneath , and dress it so it doubles as a sofa?

putting it up came closer to destroying our marriage than anything else

it’s never the things you expect, is it?

If you want a single bed, I would go for a day bed/chaise sofa bed that can be used as a sofa during the day. I have an Ercol studio couch in my office.

If you want it to stay made up as a bed so you aren't faffing around making the bed in the middle of the night, I made a divan bed into a chaise when I was a student. I kept the duvet and pillows in the drawer in the base and made a valence from furnishing fabric for the base. Not a frilly one, just flat fabric panels that I could lift up to get to the drawers. Then I made a similar cover for the mattress that went over the sheet. I also made a bolster to match.

Get a cable tidy box for the extension lead and run the lead to the plug against the skirting board with cable hooks or cable conduit - tidier and safer! Run the cables for the keyboard and headphones from the back of the desk instead of the front, and get a hook to hang the headphones.

My office looked a thousand times tidier when I bought a multipack of matching ring binders and some wooden magazine files, and printed my own labels. It made it feel less utilitarian.

I love F&B Borrowed Light or a light reflecting white/cream paint for offices to make it feel, well, light and bright I'm also a big fan of houseplants to make the room feel fresh.

Lots of good ideas, thank you!

With the bed, I haven't really looked into it properly yet but currently thinking along the lines of a high/cabin bed type thing, as my dog also has to fit in there and she won't be pleased if I get rid of her outsized but very comfy bed (she keeps me company when I'm working )

Mine will be because it’s in the middle of being turned into a craft room. We have a new carpet, I’m waiting for a blind and sofa to be delivered, IKEA Kallax cubes hold my yarn and cross stitch packs and patterns and some of DH’s guitar books. There will be more storage eventually too.

Paint walls white/ cream/ ivory
Get another shelf
Gets a sofa bed
Get a rug
Get cube storage boxes

I think a cabin bed will make it look and feel very cramped. Is your dog oversized or just her bed? Would she and her bed fit under a day bed with legs?

Or you could get one of those desks that turn into a bed. They aren't cheap or especially beautiful though:
www.studybed.co.uk/products/single-studybed/

@MrsRobbieHart

putting it up came closer to destroying our marriage than anything else

it’s never the things you expect, is it?

Only because the OP got her DP excited when she told him she was getting a 'dildo rail', the reality was entirely different for him

😂😂😂

@VeganVeal surely it should be me getting excited about a dildo rail though? Or have I just shown myself to be too vanilla for words?

Dog is a medium sized lurcher, but she is unaware that she has a head (because she can't see it) so is very bad at getting all of herself onto a bed. This is the first bed we've found that 'works', because she can roll over two or three times before she falls off.

It looks like you are messy and have a lot of stuff- is the rest of the house like this?

If so I would forget the bed build giant cupboards in and clear all the clutter from everywhere. Desk, chair, cupboards- nothing else.

How high are your ceilings?

We’ve had experience with both a cabin bed and high sleeper bed and tbh they’re not designed for sitting up for anyone one over child height (bang head constantly!) and making the bed isn’t the easiest.
Although they do sound like a good idea for smaller rooms they do totally dominate the room and make it feel smaller. Was glad when we got rid tbh.
Mid sleeper might be a better option for you and will still give plenty of space for the dog.

Do you need a desk to work?

I have a sofa with a desktop Mac on a coffee table with wireless keyboard and then also a laptop. I have a desk but never use it. Use the desktop for teams/zoom and do work often lounging on the sofa.

Cabin or raised beds are the devils work for changing sheets and could finish of your marriage...

What about an IKEA Hemnes bed that pulls out to double and share with dog or dog has lovely comfy huge cushion on floor?

I refuse to let dog or cat sleep on my bed they are way too hot 🥵