Yes, he did do that. lol Good idea about the slat wall. The shelves he had there were huge. I'm not sure what other things go on those walls. I see them all the time in stores, but I never have paid attention. I wonder if Office Depot would have something for files to hang there?

I think the microwave is bigger than the fridge. I'll have to measure to be sure. It wouldn't kill him to walk 20 feet to the kitchen microwave though.

I've been playing with homestyler, and came up with this too. What do you think? Those white boxes hovering above the cabinet is supposed to be the uppers. I didn't get the height adjusted right. Looks like one of the pictures floated off to the left too. But the general idea. I may have to leave that horrid brown chest though. I don't have anything small like the one pictured and don't want to buy something new just to have to get rid of it in a few weeks. I'll watch CL though.

IMO, before you do anything else, remove that ghastly fluorescent light fixture

Absolutely get rid of the light! Close that cabinet no one wants to see that stuff. Microwave goes, does he want to sell the house? Do with out some things!

It looks like an odd studio apartment/ garage conversion with the kitchenette. I don't think its ever going to look like a nice office because it just doesn't look like the intended purpose of the room.

I think most buyers can overlook the dual purpose aspect but upgrading the lighting and clearing the open shelving would help.

What floor is this on? If it's in the basement/by the garage I would just call it a utility room. It looks like a very nice utility room.

Paint the walls. The white is so austere, cold, harsh, institutional. Paint them a nice warm color, medium saturation.

Make an L out of the two desks, with the chair behind one of them with its back against the wall so that the person is looking out at the room, not at a wall.

Put a rug down.

I like the arrangement with the desk against the far wall. I'd experiment with seeing how the pictures would look hung somewhere over the desk/printer. I am not sure what the things is on the wall to the right of the fridge near the corner and below the pictures--is whatever it is movable? I agree with clearing out the open shelves and doing some artful arrangement on them instead. If possible, move the microwave out. If not possible I"d try it on top of the fridge, but if it doesn't look right there, leave it where it is. Unplug everything and hide the cords for the pictures.

I agree with Tib and also think you need to either lose the light fixture and add another or turn it off for the photos and add some lamps.

Veda, you are right, it was originally built as part of the garage. We put the counter and sink in because dh went fishing a lot at that time and I didn't want him cleaning fish in the kitchen. We closed off just that end of the garage when we needed space for his office. So now it's an office with a coffee bar.

If he really uses his desk every day I would leave him with his desk otherwise I would remove everything that isn't fixed to the wall or floor. The poster above who said DH needs to understand that you have to sell the house now and do without for a while is correct.

I think part of the confusion is the dual use of the space. Most buyers want to "get" what a room is for right away and not debate what it's for. I also don't get the TV in the room. Does it need to stay? It doesn't look like there's any place to watch it unless you're sitting in the sink.

For the kitchen area, I would get doors for the upper cabinet or get a fabric that coordinates with the blue and put a curtain up top and over the wire baskets down below. If not a curtain up top, then some baskets that fit on the shelves to put the stuff in. Right now, it's very cluttered looking.

For the office area, I like your proposed arrangement much better. In fact, if you could get a folding screen in there next to the fridge, or a drape or some other partition that would help the back area feel like an additional room, I think that would turn it into a real plus.

I agree the paint color and the light fixture and the lack of art and lamps make the desk area look more utilitarian rather than a nice quiet private den away from the rest of the house to get stuff done. Making it look more like a decorated space will go far.

Also, whats in the far left corner? Are those fishing rods? Crutches? If they can be stashed, that'd be great. If they are fishing poles, perhaps there's a way to hang them on the wall decoratively so they are stowed and help fill the blank space.

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So, if this is an office with a kitchenette, I'd present it as such:

Store the cleaning stuff in that upper cabinet somewhere else and replace with pretty mugs, coffee, etc.

The MW needs to go somewhere else, maybe on that brown chest next to the fridge?

I like your new arrangement in an L. Rather than repainting, I'd add a big white board or poster. I also think it needs a bit of color, e.g. add a floating shelf for some books.

And definitely a new light fixture and a rug/runner.

Big improvement! Well done!

Wow! Great job!

Nice work!!!

Thanks everyone. I told dh my consultants said to rearrange and remove. Dh was so impressed that I had consultants that he agreed to everything I wanted out. lol

I looked for some rustic baskets or galvanized bins but couldn't find any that would fit in there. If I have time (HA!) I thought I'd make something. For right now, I put the snacks and cat food back on those shelves.

The light on the desk makes a huge difference - warm and welcoming

What a great transformation! Good job.

I think I would turn the desk so when you work at it you face out..even if that is not overly functional for YOUR dh it would look more comfortable to a buyer. Not thinking it will be used as an "office" for the new people, anyway.