How To Prepare a Walk-In Closet to Become a Home Office

Learn how to maximize space by transforming a large closet into a home office.

Highlights:

Step 1: Measure the Space
Step 2: Prepare the Walls
Step 3: Create Fun Walls (Optional)

Step 1: Measure the Space

The first step in any type of project is to measure the space carefully. Because this room was formerly a closet, the room is small and irregularly shaped. Once the room measurements are taken, it will be easier to create a sketch to use as the floor plan.

Step 2: Prepare the Walls

Finish the hollow-core door with polyurethane (it may take more than one coat). Spray the plexiglass desktop with frosted glaze. Let both dry overnight. When painting, work in a well-ventilated area.

Step 3: Create Fun Walls (Optional)

The type of painting style on the walls of the office in this demonstration is called "frottage," or the transfer of a texture, print or both from one material to another. In this instance, the experts frottage newspaper print onto the walls. Put newspaper or print on the wall using a light-colored glaze mixture -- 3 parts glaze to 1 part paint (Image 1). When using glazes, work in a 3' section to keep a wet edge and consistent pattern. Once the surface is dry, slowly peel newspaper off the wall (Image 2). Peel as much away as desired to suit taste (Image 3).