Chris’ basement office is finally done! This project has been a few months in the making, but Chris finally has a finished, bright, and modern office space to call his own. Here is the recap and full reveal!
After moving to the Forest House, Chris accepted a university faculty position that necessitated a home office. There were a few must-haves: 1) a quiet space, and 2) an interesting background (more on that below). Because there were no extra spaces on the main floor to setup as an office, we decided to build the new office in the completely unfinished, dark, damp basement (ahh!).
The room was designed around two central themes: a bookshelf design (function) and an interesting background (form). We needed to design a spacious built-in bookshelf to store all of the books (300+ books collected during grad school alone). Because they are referenced often, the books needed to be accessible, but also displayed in an interesting way that didn’t feel overcrowded.
Taking cues from display cases in an art gallery or museum, the design began with equally-sized boxes to fill the back wall of the office space. Melissa then drew a sketch of a bookshelf that had larger spaces to break up the rigidity and allow for the inclusion of larger items (plants, pictures, etc.).
Getting Started
And….this is what we started with. The builders had added some roughed in walls, but the previous owners had used the basement primarily for storage, so while it was very unfinished…it had SO much potential.
The basement office space is highlighted.
We wanted all the construction to be properly permitted, so Melissa drew up floor plans for the city. We envisioned the space as divided into rooms that made more sense for how our family lived and entertained.
Wall Insulation
The arrow here points to the poured concrete walls that make up the majority of the basement in the Forest House. They are super strong and less prone to moisture intrusion than cement block, but they still needed insulating.
(Left Image) We installed the 2 inch rigid foam over the poured concrete walls, which serves as a vapor barrier and has an R-10 insulative value – win win! ….and we taped the seams between each foam board for a better vapor seal. Pay no attention to the messy boxes of books still waiting for a new home!
(Right Image) We built pressure-treated bottom plates (board on the floor), then framed out the walls over the green foam board with interior studs. Next, we stapled pink R-13 insulation into the stud cavities.
Ceiling Design, Insulation, and Sound Dampening
Before we closed in the walls and ceiling, we installed Rockwool Safe & Sound insulation in the ceiling to make a quieter space for the office.
This image also gives the first glimpse of the faux coffered ceiling we dreamt up! See the 2×4 right over Chris’ head? That is part of a suspended structure we created to avoid a traditional drop ceiling, retain access to the gas and plumbing lines in the basement ceiling, and to be pretty.
Built-in Bookshelf Construction
Finally, the glorious bookshelf construction could begin, now that all the awesome stuff we did in the walls and ceilings was covered so no one would ever see it again! lol
Due to the need to “go-on-camera” regularly during meetings, there was a need for a professional and interesting backdrop. The scene (i.e., your home or office) can be a character in your story. Your home, and everything in it, is also an extension of your personality and makes an impression (no laundry hampers or old boxes in this backdrop!)
The basic construction is pressure-treated pine on the cement floor (bottom plate), 2×4’s and 1×2’s for the ‘walls’ and ‘shelf hangers.’ We use good ‘ol drywall to clad the ‘walls’ and sheets of laminated pressed wood (we cut to size with our saw) for the actual shelves.
Desktop
In the search for a modern desktop, we found this maple wood butcher block countertop at Lumber Liquidators. It came in an 8ft length (1.5″ x 25″ x 8 ft). We cut it to size and added a coat of satin polyurethane to the surface for protection from spills and use.
We went ahead and measured/ordered the new carpet for the floor. It took almost 3 weeks to arrive. In the meantime, we used a lovely rug we owned on the floor. We wanted to want and order the custom hairpin legs once the carpet was installed, so we used some very stylish 2×4’s for legs until then. Fancy y’all!!
The carpet finally arrived (first time we’ve EVER gotten new carpet – so amazing!). This photo also shows how the ceiling is finished and trimmed out and that the bookshelf is done too.
The white hairpin legs for the desk came from Amazon and are beautiful!
Sliding Glass Door
We added a reclaimed sliding glass door, to keep sound from traveling down the basement stairs and directly into his office. But also, it let in some much needed natural light from down the hall.
A look to the opposite wall shows another seating area (one of the salvaged chairs we recovered!).
This final picture is the ‘in use’ state of the office. I think it’s important to show these views, because most offices will one day be filled with screens, coffee mugs, notepads, and wires…including this space!
[…] (in quotation because it’s barely a room) as a temporary office. We eventually built Chris an office in our finished basement, but my temporary solution was becoming more permanent than I’d hoped. Moral of this story? […]