office renovations: before, during & after

Renovations to our downstairs began in April 2013, when we decided to turn the bedroom into an office/front entryway. We also decided to add a hallway and re-configure some doorways so the bathroom would no longer be an ensuite. We started gutting the bathroom and our former bedroom.  The whole process was finally completed in the fall of 2014. Here's a look at how it all went down:

gutting the former bedroom and bathroom

former basement entrance

The new temporary trap door to the basement (via the kitchen)....

...allows for the former entrance to be closed up, creating a new hallway

The former basement door became the perfect spot for a cute little window

The addition of a front door provided a private entrance (perfect for our home businesses), as well as some extra light in the office

new sub floor, electrical, and insulation

drywall

fresh paint

Then we took a break from the office renovations, because we had to move our kitchen and living room into the office while we gutted and renovated those two rooms. Our entire downstairs living area consisted of our little office all summer long!

office and living room

 The fourth office wall had not been drywalled previously because we knew it had to be torn out anyway when we renovated the adjoining living room. 

temporary cooking area

newly framed wall with soundproofing

final wall drywalled

Finally, the kitchen and living room renovations were finished and we could move all the kitchen stuff out of the office. Boy, did it seem large! We added some wainscotting to match the bathroom, hung some curtains, and voila--our office was ready for tutoring students.

Here's a look at some "AFTER" pictures of our mostly finished office:

south wall

west wall

east and north walls