Office Makeover Part 3: DIY Office Decor

Even with new curtains and wall coloring, the office still needed a bit more.  First, I tried my hand at some abstract wall art.  I looked into getting a few canvases, but considering that canvases are made out of fabric and wood, they are terribly overpriced.  Instead, I found two rectangular pieces of styrofoam, stretched some muslin around them, and secured the fabric with a layer of duct tape.  Then I started mixing acrylics and outlined some random shapes, referencing a few "real" abstract art pieces as I went:

Eventually I ended up with this:

And here it is on the wall!

Next, I wanted a pencil holder, but those cheap, boring black compartment things at office stores are not very appealing.  But the pencil holder on this blog did:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-turn-a-p-78646

Does anyone EVER reference real phone books anymore?!  I sure don't.  I think it was put to good use:

The instructions on the blog were very straightforward.  The only change I made was to cut out petal shapes from cardstock and attach them to the bottom with duct tape.  

Obviously, the problem with this pencil holder is that it doesn't store paperclips and such very well.  So of course I had to find yet another DIY project to solve that problem!  I found this post for a triangular wall caddy:

http://www.brit.co/triangular-wall-caddy/

Here is my version:

These colors really tied the office together, since I used the same paints for the curtains and the wall art.  And it holds so much stuff!  These instructions were very good, though I did connect the triangles with duct tape before sticking them on the wall with a couple of command strips.  I also recently finished a cross stitch that matched the color scheme, so I figured that I might as well hang it up too. 

That is it for DIY projects.  The only other improvement that I found helpful was to rearrange the tables.  Having two tables line each wall made the office feel very boxy.  I traded in the original tables for a couple of smaller ones that I arranged in an L-shape.  I still have plenty of working space, but less space to build stacks, which is always a good thing! 

Here are some before and after shots:

I consider this project a success!  The office space is definitely more inviting.  It is a place that I want to work in.  It is incredible what a little color and some table rearranging will do!