SUNROOM TO HOME OFFFICE; A BUDGET-FRIENDLY CONVERSATOIN

Back in the early 70s—when wood paneling was king and indoor/outdoor carpet was considered a lifestyle—my grandfather built a sunroom over part of the patio at Perkin’s Place. As he hammered away, he kept calling it Dee Dee’s room. Repeatedly. As if the walls needed to know who they belonged to.

This was puzzling for a couple of reasons, I was one of five grandchildren, and I was not the favorite (as far as I know). I was still in middle school and years away from evening thinking about getting married. But Grandpa was unwavering. He declared that when I grew up and got married, my husband and I would sleep in that room when we visited.

Maybe he actually sensed something the rest of the family didn’t—that one day I’d be the one to inherit, protect, and lovingly fuss over our little shack on the lake. Or maybe he just liked the sound of “Dee Dee’s room.” Hard to say.

Fast‑forward 54 years, and that room is still standing. Still wearing its original 70s paneling. Still sporting the same black indoor/outdoor carpet. Still rocking the same windows and sliding patio door that have seen more seasons than a soap opera. And it still contains furniture my mother assembled in the early 60s, back when “assembly required” meant “find a screwdriver and pray.”

The room doesn’t get much use as a guest room these days—our family isn’t as large as it once was—so it’s been sitting at the bottom of the to‑do list for… well, decades. I glanced in one day and realized that aside from repairing a sagging drop ceiling and giving it the occasional deep cleaning, nothing had been done to that room in at least 30 years.

At the same time, I was wrestling with a modern problem: Working from the dining room table as a contract consultant for 40 hours a week. Charming in theory. Messy and unorganized in practice. I needed a desk. A space where I could pretend to be a functioning adult.

And then it hit me: Dee Dee’s room.

The only problem? My budget. This year’s house allowance is already spoken for by the need for a new roof. So, a full renovation was out. But a functional, affordable office? Surely, I could work something that wouldn’t cost too much.

I stood in the sunroom, bathed in bright light and 1970s nostalgia, trying to figure out how to create the office of my dreams on a shoestring. I’m a big believer in using what you already have, so I looked around the room at what might be repurposed into useful office furniture. That’s when my eyes landed on the old coffee table my mother built in the early 60s—a marble slab on a wood base with screw‑on legs. And wouldn’t you know it? The slab was exactly the width and depth of a proper desk.

Cue the DIY montage. I removed the old screw-in legs, painted the wood base white with cabinet paint, added taller screw‑on legs, and suddenly—voilà—I had a desk. A cool desk. A desk with history, character, and just enough quirk to feel like it belonged in this room.

BEFORE - OLD COFFEE TABLE

After - The New Desk

Screw-in Legs from Amazon. Available at https://amzn.to/3MGcX3D.

Next week I'll bring you up to speed on the other affordable items I added to the office to make it pretty and pleasant, 70's carpet and paneling aside.