Donna Siben of Closet Organizing Systems, Bartlett, IL, is a finalist in the 2015 Top Shelf Design Awards competition with her project “Making a Home Office Devine” entered in the Home Office: Over 150 square feet category.

Project Description: Revitalizing a cluttered dumping ground that had become a totally non functioning Home Office. This room was attached to the kitchen and front entry hall of the home and highly visible to both guests and family. A lovely huge window overlooked the home’s entrance and glass framed French doors enhanced the space but made it difficult to hide an apparent eyesore. The client dreaded going into the room each day since the clutter of many, many years had taken over this space. There were makeshift desks, tables, filing everywhere, boxes of office and shipping supplies and now toys since the couple were now Grandparents. An old piano had found a home in one of the corners when no one knew where to put it when their girls outgrew it. The goal was to provide a workspace that would feel uncluttered yet highly productive but still store all the necessary items for running their home based business. The space needed to feel refreshing and eye appealing.

Project Construction Details: It was definitely a challenge to provide enough filing space, shipping supplies and counter, heavy duty office equipment, printer and then there were all those toys! In addition, some personal supplies had integrated into the kitchen after the client ran out of room. Bringing them back into the office was important. That beautiful window became the groundwork for the design. The bench houses multiple lateral file drawers and provided a cuddling up spot for their Grandkids. The Two Tall Cabinets to left of the window now house all the toys that had been strewn from room to room and are easily now accessible. The right side of the window was designated for shipping supplies, forms and office supplies in those two identical Tall Cabinets. Moving to the right of that wall is a shipping counter with readily accessible supplies to get that job done efficiently. The desk does double duty when their Granddaughter wants to “play office” with GiGi. Shallow Tall Cabinets to the right of the shipping counter house a multitude of items including out of season dishes since it is adjacent to the kitchen. The main work station area is equipped with a wonderful long counter for spreading out the daily tasks and allowing the printers and fax machine to be handy and have a home. Large Lateral Filing Drawers and a vertical file along with ample drawers for miscellaneous items created the spaces needed to keep paperwork from cluttering up the desk. With the addition of tackboards above the coordinating counters, notes can be accessed easily. The undercounter LED lighting in a glazed light box allows the proper lighting even on the gloomiest of days and in the evening when work is done, that lighting gives the space a beautiful glow. With upper cabinets and all uppers enhanced with an Extra Large glazed crown molding to the ceiling, a cheerful paint color definitely brought out the feeling of a happy place to spend so many hours each day.

Materials Used: The client originally had pictured a “darker wood look” in the space but the Designer felt there was too much wood everywhere in the home and softening this space seemed the natural choice. Glazed Ivory Melamine with Raised Panel Faces became the perfect choice. It enhanced the wood flooring and trim without overpowering the room and felt fresh and inviting without fighting the adjacent rooms. High Pressure Laminate coordinating work surfaces were used for both durability and eye appeal.

Equipment and/or Software Used: The Designer initially used Cabware for the conceptual designs for this space. The Engineering Dept transferred the design to Cabinet Vision to allow for screen to machine production.