We completed 15 home DIY projects in 2020, plus this final project of transforming a bedroom closet into a closet office (“cloffice”)!

I’m a NYC teacher, but I’ve been teaching remotely from our cottage in Pennsylvania for the past 9 months. I need a quiet area for zoom classes, grading papers, and meetings, so I’ve had to creatively carve out a workspace for myself.

It’s not clear how long I’ll be teaching remotely, so I haven’t wanted to invest money into a home office. My previous attempts have included using a folding table from our outdoor furniture, using a dresser as a standing desk, and even sitting on the floor and using the bed as a desk!

After learning that my wonderful school was gifting each employee $250 for work-related expenses, I decided to challenge my design skills to create a closet office as a private workspace here at the cottage! Since this isn’t our primary residence and we have it set up to also function as a short-term rental property, we don’t store anything in the closets. It was essentially a blank canvas to design!

The closet in the upstairs bedroom measures 53 inches wide and 37 inches deep. I ordered a folding desk, swivel office chair, and turntable storage center, and stayed under my $250 budget.

The desk and chair fit comfortably in the closet office and we also added a rug that had previously been in the playroom nook. After seeing the new furniture in the space, we felt like a pop of color on the walls would help to define the space.

We chose to keep the white shelf and clothing bar in the closet office so that it could still be used as a functional closet if needed. We decided to paint the area below the shelf blue. It’s the same $9 can of “oops paint” that we used to paint the ombre mountains in the playroom nook and to paint the walls for our downstairs bathroom makeover.

We also decided to remove the closet doors so that the office would feel open to the rest of the bedroom. We are keeping the doors stored away, just in case we want to put them back on someday!

After letting the paint dry and removing the painter’s tape, it was time to load the closet office with the new furniture and then shop our home for accessories!

First we set up the new folding desk, swivel office chair, and turntable storage center. We love the contrast of the white/yellow against the blue walls!

I styled the top shelf using vases and baskets that we had previously purchased from the Salvation Army and added a vintage oil lamp that was a gift years ago from my Grandma Moore.

On the desk I added a “Tiffany” style lamp that my dad and I purchased together years ago at an antiques sale in my hometown. I also added a tiny painting that my mom gifted me for Christmas. It’s from a Bob Ross mini paint-by-number art kit that is the perfect size for the desk!

We had a few empty frames that I painted using the Jasper green color we used to paint our DIY custom floating shelves by the fireplace, and the navy blue color we used to paint our downstairs bedroom. I love coming up with unique artwork ideas for our home. To me, the empty frames symbolize creativity, keeping an open mind, and being receptive to new ideas as I work.

We love the way the new closet office compliments the overall design of the bedroom. The yellow furniture in the closet pairs nicely with our yellow bedside tables, lamps, and bedding.

This bedroom feels even more like a retreat space now, and the closet office will be well-loved in the months and years to come! And here’s a look back at the 15 other home DIY projects we completed in 2020.

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