My secret office makeover

 21 months , that is how long we have lived in our current home. For 21 months this room has remain untouched. It has been a room with a desk and computer surrounded by boxes. This was supposed to be a real office for my husband but this project never got started.
I didn't want to get involved as my husband had very definite ideas for his office and  I thought I should just stay out of it so I did, well I did for 21 months. But I saw that nothing was going to happen, my husband is a very busy man who does not have the time that was required to really tackle this room which was  4 1/2 full days,long days.
My husband works in the animation industry which I think explains all the toys.He has been a collector for as long as I have known him since way back when he was in school for animation when we were just babies....20 or so years old.
He went on his annual trip to LA this past week and unknown to him I was planning a big old makeover, a secret makeover. I couldn't look at this mess any longer, he needed a real office a nice place a space for him to be to surround himself with the things he loves. He deserves a nice room to call his own.
Now I was taking a risk doing this , would he be OK with me taking this over ? I wondered if he would be mad???
 But he had a Pinterest board for his office so I took from it what I could to make him a nice office. I thought if I tried my best and did a good job he would be happy.......I really hoped I was right. But I was nervous for him to arrive, would he like it? would he be dissapointed? what would happen who knew! Our youngest was hands on and helped me with decisions but our oldest thought I was making a mistake tackling this, she thought her Dad would be mad...how nervous did that make me, right! But I carried on hoping for the best.

I started by emptying the many many boxes about 12 BIG boxes. I painted the walls flagstone by Martha Stewart , I love this color. I then headed off to Ikea to pick up loads of shelf brackets, simple black wood brackets $2.50 each. I also grabbed two metal locker units this one and this one. $109 and $99 which is amazing , they add so much character and storage. I knew my hubby liked lockers so it was a win. Having a collection of toys meant I didn't have to hold back on color at all. 

 Here is a good before it was so bland , messy and where are all those cool toys? No color no warmth not inviting at all.

 Like I said there were a few boxes and then a few new boxes from my new purchases.

 Those awful sliding closet doors I dislike so much , they were the last ones and they are now gone. Happy dance!
I was going to try building a sliding barn door which Todd wanted but that would mean losing the wall storage to the right and it was needed so much I decided it was best to leave the closet open.I had considered doing built in shelves but opted for this black metal shelf from Lowe's , it was on budget and was so quick to put together , built ins would have taken up to a week to complete and I didn't have that time. The other bonus is that these shelves won't really collect dust and that a big plus. It also fits the industrial edge my husband likes.

Lots of storage room now. I may make some cool wood doors but I am tired and taking a breather for now.

 Makeovers really make a mess of the whole house don't they , dust and messes everywhere.

 Here things were coming along nicely. I tried my best to display all there was but I don't know toys, so I just grouped like items together.

 Box after box of this...

I even hung my husbands Grandmother's cookoo clock , its broken but it is important.

 I know I know grainy photos my phone is my only camera and boy do I ever need a new iphone...

I love these HR Puff N Stuff skate decks they deserved to be displayed so I made a stand for them. This took two tries but I ended up with display ledges from the first fail stand so it was a win win. 

 We have all seen the cool shelves held up by metal pipes ...those pipes are messy I tell you. I dreaded working with them and instead opted to use the pipes to make hooks for display. The pipes at our local store only would have allowed for 6" deep shelves and that wouldn't have worked at all. I really wanted to make sure I incorporated some pipe made accents. Each of those was about $6.00 and he likes them.

So there you have it my top secret hubby office makeover...

So what happened you're wondering...well he came home a little after 1:00 am from his trip where I had left his office door semi open with the lamp on and a big red bow on the door.

He asked me what was with the light on so I just lied and said " I don't know???" He opened the door and it was clear he loved it and was shocked I would say blown away....it was so much fun to give him this gift. He works so very hard and deserves this surprise so much. 

I have only ever seen my husband cry once and that was when he thought our daughter had drown in the tub, long story she was a trickster.... but it was a horrible moment for sure but seeing him choke up while he was seeing his new room made all the stress and hard work so worth it ....big strong men have hearts too thank goodness. 

I am so glad I did this and that it all turned out so well and I'm feeling pretty happy.