Office Makeover Phase One: Wallpaper and Paint

September 25, 2024

Moody library/office makeover with grasscloth wallpaper.


I've been hard at work transforming my home office with wallpaper and painted bookcases! 

I know, I know...I say this a lot. But this space is turning into one of my all time favorite makeovers. I don't think I could love this room more! 

I shared the design plan for this office makeover a few weeks ago. This project is really entails just finishing up this room more than redoing anything. 

green bookcase wall office

The room looked great, but I wanted to add some warm finishing details and change a couple of things up.

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After a few tries with different wallpaper designs, I landed on this neutral grasscloth peel and stick wallpaper for the walls: 
neutral grasscloth wallpaper with green

It worked perfectly with the built ins and was much calmer and easier to work with than the other designs I looked at. I'm so glad I found it!

Years ago I shared a tutorial on installing peel and stick wallpaper. I find it kind of satisfying to hang. It has plenty of stick, so you can readjust over and over if needed. 

You will need clean walls and it is recommended to wait four weeks after painting to apply removable wallpaper. 
During the install, I had to work around some art. I had a symmetrical set of ten Audubon prints on the long wall in my office, as you can see in this before pic: 
office with desk in middle

I've had those forever and still love them! They used to hang in our old living room: 
free Audubon art prints in frames

You can check out where I sourced the bird artwork for free and how I set them up to print. 

So anyway, after hanging those ten frames perfectly spaced out years ago, I did not want to have to do that again. 

Instead, I kept the nails in the wall as I wallpapered, and then when I got to that spot, I pressed down to feel where the nail was and marked it: 
marking nails under wallpaper

I pulled up the peel and stick wallpaper up to remove the nails, then applied it back to the wall normally. 

When each piece of wallpaper was fully stuck to the wall, I found my marks and reinserted the nails in each spot: 
finding nail holes in wallpaper

This helped a TON! I saved so much time with this method. 

I spent a couple hours a day working around the top two thirds of the walls hanging the wallpaper. It took a few days, and I was SO thrilled with the outcome!:
inexpensive grasscloth wallpaper

When I hung this artwork shortly after we moved in, I had no idea I'd be using green in the room. Turns out the Vintage Vogue paint color works perfectly with the leaves in the art.

After the wallpaper was up, I started at least some of the trim work that will go around the bottom third of the walls. 

Because I'll be installing wainscoting, I needed to remove the existing baseboards: 
trim puller baseboards

You can read my tips for removing baseboards without drywall damage here. I've heard using a trim puller makes this process easier, so I tried one on out this project. 

I think a large pry bar and a scrap piece of wood works just as well. If you have that, don't waste your money on this tool! 
I replaced the base with a simpler 1x6 inch wood board that has a flat top, so my trim work can butt directly up to it: 
grasscloth with wainscoting under

While I was at it, I installed that chair rail (1x4 inches) as well. I painted the trim and the space between with the same green paint as the bookcases. 

I'll be adding some detailed trim between the chair and baseboards soon! 

The only major item I want to change out in this room is the rug. I tried out a bigger rug I found online and when I laid it out one evening, I really liked it in the room. 

But there were a couple issues. Even after steaming, it just would not lay flat: 
thin rug with creases

The rug comes folded and the creases would not budge. I taped down the edges with rug tape and it still didn't help to flatten it out. I was super concerned this would be a tripping hazard. (I'm not getting any younger!!) 😊

Crazy thing was, the rug is so lightweight I couldn't even vacuum it. It would get stuck in the vacuum no matter what setting I had it on. 

Also, when I walked in the room first thing the next day, I hated the colors. It felt super heavy and way too dark. The description says it's supposed to be green and brown, but I only saw brown and black.

So I have a new one on the way that I know I'll like way better. I will say this rug is SO soft! It's a thinner, washable rug and the texture is SO cozy. 

The next project I completed was changing out the backs of the bookcases. Previously I hung a cherry blossom wallpaper on that wall, and needed to remove it before painting. 

I used a new, sharp razor blade to lightly score the wallpaper around all the edges: 
scoring wallpaper to remove

The wallpaper came off almost perfectly! I only had a couple of small spots that pulled away some of the drywall.

After the walls were bare, I gave the backs of each shelf three coats of the green paint on the rest of the built ins (Vintage Vogue by Benjamin Moore): 
Vintage Vogue green Benjamin Moore

Then it was time to start (re)decorating the shelves! The previous wallpaper on the backs was neutral, but still too busy to add a lot to each shelf. 

Now that the bookcase is all one color, I could fill them a little more. Almost all of the decor is what I had on hand, but I'll link the few newer items below. 

I find decorating shelves to be the hardest, but I've never been happier with a decorated bookcase or built in before! I had so much fun reworking the decor.

The shelves are filled with items and memories I truly love and function perfectly for me. 

Some of the decor stayed the same, I just moved it around or added to it. I've had those brass elephant bookends forever, and added them to the row of books: 
decorated office shelves

The dark vase is from Hobby Lobby and I think I may have gotten the hydrangea stems from there as well, but I've had them for a while.

The shelf in the middle pretty much stayed the same, but I gave the artwork frame a quick coat of paint. I'll share all of the little DIYs I've done in this room soon!

I've had those decorative moss balls forever, but these are super similar
bookcase decor ideas

I've never displayed my college diploma! It's been nearly 30 years 😳 since I graduated, but I thought why not? 

I found the diploma frame for less than $10, and that pretty burgundy vase as well. (It says red online, but it's definitely more burgundy/maroon.) 

This row of shelves is my favorite. :) The only new pieces are the art at the top from Hobby Lobby and the CUTE little brass lamp
built in bookcase decor ideas

I'm adding this to my round up of great countertop lamps! It's just beautiful -- the size is perfect and the scalloped linen shade is a great little detail. It's my favorite decor find in a long time!

I also adore that little bitty brass vase on the wall. I found that at an antique store years ago and this is the perfect spot for it. 

I'll be back soon with more updates in this space! So far I'm thrilled with the progress. I'm focused on making this room really reflect me this time around. I'm sure that's why I love it so much. 

If I forgot anything or if you have questions about a project I described here, please let me know.

Save this post for later by using this image: 
green bookcase decor



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Comments

  1. That green bookshelf is amazing - for a really like time I thought I didn't like green but it's been growing on me the last several years. It looks so good!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I get it, YEARS ago I really disliked blue, now I use it everywhere! :)

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  2. This is a timely question for me since I just had a new rug delivered yesterday. How did you resolve the creased rug issue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry, I didn't mention I ended up sending that one back! I steamed it with a floor cleaner, but it didn't help. I think with time it would have loosened up a bit, but overall I just didn't like this one enough to deal with it.

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  3. You are BY FAR my favorite home decor blogger. The fact that you do it on a budget is just icing on the cake. I wish we were friends so I could have you over for coffee and let you brainstorm with me on changes. Your style is exactly what I gravitate toward and strive for!

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    Replies
    1. Oh you are so sweet Michelle!! Thank you so much, I really appreciate you.

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  4. Bitty brass is darling. Beatiful job.

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