A client reached out for help transforming the small second bedroom of her D.C. home into a dual-purpose space that could function day-to-day as a creative studio and home office, while easily converting into a guest room when friends or family visit. What she envisioned was a room that felt bright, cohesive, and functional, no matter the occasion.

At roughly 9 by 7½ feet, the footprint didn’t leave much room for error. The existing layout — an oversized desk, a twin bed pressed against the wall, and cool gray paint that absorbed the light — made the space feel tighter than it actually was. The creative elements for the design were there, either in displayed artwork or tucked away in gifted crafts and the meaningful treasures collected from her travels or future planned crafting projects— but scattered and stored, they didn’t yet have a place to shine.t the room felt more functional than inspiring or inviting.

This redesign was about unlocking flexibility and flow: finding smart ways to use vertical space, rethinking storage, and creating a layered, lived-in warmth that matched the aesthetic of the newly redesigned primary bedroom next door. By blending natural textures, efficient design, and a few well-placed secondhand finds, the smallest room in the house became one of its most hardworking — and most loved.

The Challenge

The room was bright but boxed-in. Two windows on perpendicular walls offered great light, but the furniture layout—oversized desk, standard twin bed—made the space feel cramped. Gray walls dulled the light, and storage was limited to what could fit in the desk and the shelf at its base.

The Vision

The client envisioned a bookshelf-lined office that could transform easily into a cozy guest room, without feeling like either function was an afterthought. The client loved the look of mid-century rail-mounted shelving but needed an accessible, budget-friendly alternative. The design found its anchor in that modular wall system that would unify space with a flexible backbone that balanced storage, workspace, and visual rhythm.

The Transformation

I started with a foundational color reset. Painting the walls Sherwin Williams Cheviot in a flat finish immediately opened the room, softening the daylight and creating a clean canvas for the rest of the design elements to come together.

From there, I selected a light, boho-inspired area rug with a mix of beige, soft yellow, and subtle blue and terracotta accents—muted enough to ground the design without competing with the colorful artwork and décor I knew would follow.

The selection of modernized versions of a mid-century upholstered office chairs in a deep olive green for the adult desk and bright mustard yellow for the child’s desk set the primary color scheme that I used to unify all of the furnishings for the room.

The heart of the new layout came from a serendipitous find: a full set of IKEA’s discontinued Svalnäs shelving system sourced secondhand from a local seller. The midcentury feel of the rails, shelves, and cabinets were the perfect foundation for maximizing storage while maintaining an open, airy aesthetic.

To achieve more of a mid-century feel, I refinished the bamboo in a warmer tone. The brackets were painted a brass gold finish while the cabinet doors got a coat of an olivey garden green chalk paint and a cane webbing overlay.
I further personalized the unit by lining the cabinet and desk drawer interiors with **a shimmery silver and green owl print wallpaper** to echo the client’s prominently displayed owl artwork for a quiet surprise. The client shared that the family had adopted the owl as their mascot. This was reflected in some of the client’s other decor pieces including two matching owl candles that I placed in a small shallow pottery bowl.

With nine rails, two desks, a cabinet, and more than 25 shelves, this wall-mounted set gave me flexibility to experiment with layout. I customized how each desk was installed to give both the client and her son spaces that reflected their individual interests and shared enjoyment of the room. The dimensions of the shelving and preferences for desk placement largely dictated the optimal layout for maximizing the number of shelves in the space available above and around the chairs and sofa bed that comprised of floor-based footprint in the redesign.

To create an area for imagination, intellectual curiosity, and art for the child’s desk, I mounted one of the Svalnäs desk units directly to the rail system on the far end of the long wall without a window, seamlessly integrating it with shelving above and around it for supplies and books. Mounting the desk from the rails also preserved the client’s ability to adjust the height of the desk to extend the use of the desk as her son grows up. I painted an IKEA Skadis pegboard in a coordinating green tone and added gold-painted accessories to display his markers, papers, and favorite artwork to hang above the desk. The result was a playful, organized zone that still fit within the visual rhythm of the overall design.

The adult desk required a more creative approach to achieving a calm, organized work zone that preserved her favorite view of the backyard from the window opposite the door to the room. Because the original brackets for the Svalnäs system would have set the desk too low to hand in front of the window, I detached the unit from the rails entirely and remounted it using an aluminum French cleat system. This allowed me to float the desk at a custom height while maintaining a clean, integrated look. A small L-bracket secured it to the perpendicular shelving for stability, preserving both aesthetic cohesion and the open floor space beneath.

To create a slide out keyboard tray the client requested, I resorted to affixing sliding keyboard drawer bracket to the bottom of the desk and the top of one of the IKEA Svalnas shelves repurposed; the desk was otherwise too shallow for prefabricated slide out keyboard trays made to attach to a desk or adjacent wall. Because there were only a couple of inches on the sides and back of that were dense enough to hold screws, the bracket had to be hung upside down and required using one of the IKEA Svalnas shelves the same width as the desk plus a couple 1.5” screwing an unfinished wood block to the end of the shelf in order to secure it to the underside of the desk in the right locations. I painted the unfinished wood block with the garden green chalk paint used on the adjacent cabinet doors, rather than trying match the same stain finishes on the unfinished pine and bamboo surfaces.

This combination—one desk within the rail system and one mounted independently—kept the design cohesive while meeting the distinct ergonomic and functional needs of each user.

To balance the work area, I introduced a *full-size IKEA Lycksele Lovas sofa bed*—a lengthwise-folding model that’s narrow in sofa form but opens fully into a comfortable guest bed.

The placement mirrored the previous twin bed’s location but gave the space more flexibility and a sense of proportion when folded. When extended, it fits snugly between four rail-mounted shelving units, creating a built-in, cocoon-like feel for overnight guests.

To make the unit feel finished, I customized two corkboards with woven jute and nylon webbing in warm, midcentury-inspired tones. These panels fit perfectly behind the sofa bed and provided a textural backdrop for guests to enjoy, while also serving as functional pinboards for the family to display photos and seasonal décor. I even created wood letter and number pushpins large enough for toddler hands painted in light blue along with orange painted clothes pins, reflecting colors from other accent pieces in the room

“The space needed to be bright and flexible, not busy. By working vertically and repeating textures from the bedroom, the design created a room that shifts easily between work and rest—without losing its sense of calm.”

With the major furniture and layout decisions finalized, the next step was layering in the small details that make a space feel personal, purposeful, and lived in. In a room this compact, every choice had to pull double duty — balancing beauty with practicality while honoring how S and her family actually used the space.

Throughout the room, I incorporated the client’s existing artwork and other decor, including three owl-themed paintings that held sentimental value. Because wall space was limited by the shelving rails, I adapted small wooden easel bases to display the canvases vertically between the window and shelving—creating a focal wall that guests see upon entering.

Plants played a key role in softening the clean lines of the shelving and adding warmth to the mix of bamboo and brass finishes. I repainted the *Umbra Triflora* hanging planter set in a custom combination of brushed gold and muted green chalk paint to coordinate with the rest of the décor. I then adjusted the hanging rods to fit snugly between the shelving rails, allowing me to vary the height of each planter for better light exposure and visual interest. Working with a local grower, I selected hardy species like spider plants and *Tradescantia* in green and purple tones to echo colors from the family’s artwork — especially the trio of owl paintings that became the room’s emotional focal point. The result was a corner that felt lush but contained, alive but organized.

Lighting was equally important. the client fell in love with two brass and perforated metal sconces reminiscent of those she’d seen on her honeymoon. Mounted on either side of the shelving system, the sconce’s extended articulating arms made them perfect task lights for desk side activities and reading. I also added a larger woven bamboo pendant (a discontinued World Market find) above the sofa bed for ambient lighting above the sofa bed.

To meet the client’s goal of keeping her desk clear and her electronics out of sight when not in use, I mounted the computer monitor on an articulating wall arm between the shelving rails so it could swivel out for work or fold flat and nearly disappear against the wall. When tucked away, a fabric screen cover in a coordinating owl print helped it blend seamlessly with nearby framed art. I also concealed the modem and power strip inside an IKEA cube basket under the desk, which not only hid cords but also kept the area feeling lighter and less cluttered — crucial in a small, multi-purpose space.

For her son’s side, I wanted to create something that encouraged imagination and ownership of his corner of the room. Since he loved lining up toy cars end-to-end, I customized an IKEA Lustigt wall shelf into a miniature car display. I stained the wooden spine to match the shelving and painted each tier with playful roadway designs, adding printed backdrops of his favorite places — a subtle, child-friendly echo of the midcentury tones used throughout the room.

Storage was the final frontier. The goal was to make every tool, supply, and art material easy to access but just as easy to hide away.

The client’s underutilized IKEA Raskog utility cart became a movable hub for high-use items: notebooks, markers, and smaller art tools for both parent and child.

Larger paper pads and drawing boards were mounted in a Kvissle cascading wall organizer beneath the adult shelving, where I also added magnetic strips and gold clips to hold dry-erase markers and notes.

To corral paperwork and project materials, I sourced linen file boxes in a soft sage green — each fitted with hanging frames for organizing documents and labeled on two sides for adult access on higher shelves. For the child’s school related papers, I used the client’s woven cube baskets for more accessible storage underneath the rail-mounted cabinet.

Every solution served a specific function, collectively creating a system that supported creativity and calm in equal measure. Each customized detail, from the reimagined toy shelf to the disguised electronics, made the small room feel truly tailored to the family’s life.

Design Notes

- Sherwin Williams Cheviot (flat finish)
- Country Chic Garden Green Chalk Paint (for custom finishes)
- Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Vintage Metallic Spray Paint, Warm Gold (for custom finishes)
- IKEA Svalnäs Wall-Mounted Storage System (discontinued and available only in used condition)
- IKEA Lycksele Lovas sofa bed
- World Market Zarek midcentury upholstered office chair
- Getifun Single PVC Kids Sofa Chair with Wooden Legs
- IKEA Skadis Pegboard (20’x22’) with container lids and accessories set
- IKEA Kvissle Wall Mounted Cascading Folder Organizer
- IKEA Lustigte Toy Shelf
- Brass Swing Arm Sconce with Perforated Lampshade
- World Market Rattan Woven Pendant Light (now discontinued)
- Wireless Remote Outlet Controller
- Serissa Boho Washable Area Rug

Budget Tips

+Buy used on online Marketplace platforms and local thrift shops

+Sell used furniture to be replaced

+Customize furnishings and accents with repeating themes and colors to create a cohesive look

+Use or repurpose what you have in your home to meet storage needs.

Lessons Learned

Small spaces thrive on vertical rhythm and cohesive materials. By repeating elements—wood tones, brass, rattan—from room to room, the room now feels connected and intentional, even with different functions.

For multifunctional rooms, think about transition points: where one mode ends and another begins. A wall-mounted system, layered lighting, and a neutral palette create flexibility without chaos.

The Result

The once-cramped office now feels expansive, layered, and full of character. By relying on a mix of secondhand finds, clever customization, and cohesive finishes, I was able to deliver a high-end, built-in look for under $2,000.

The family now uses the room daily—for work, play, and as a welcoming guest retreat. What was once a small, disjointed space now reflects exactly how they live: creative, flexible, and connected.