Today’s post isn’t necessarily teaching-related as in classroom-related!   But it is teaching-related in that we all need a home office space to use to be creative and prep and plan!  One of the things I get asked about more than anything when I post pictures and when we do videos is my home office and especially my desk!   The desk….everyone wants to know about the desk…so I want to show you the desk and explain how easy and cheap it was to make!  Yep…make!  My TBFF Jenny and I made this desk.

Home Office Version 1

I wanted a desk that gave me lots of room for working and crafting and making stuff…but also room for my computer that didn’t require me to move stuff each time I wanted to do a project on the desk.   I also wanted some storage space.   So…here’s what we did…ORIGINALLY!

It’s so easy ya’ll.  You need a hollow door from Lowes or Home Depot.  Mine was about $40 or $50.  It was not painted so we painted it white.  The door does not have a hole for a doorknob!

You will also need 2 bookshelves.  Mine are from Wal-Mart and were about $20 each.  These are also white.  We assembled those.

To assemble the desk, you lay the door on top of the shelves.  I used some Command strips to secure the door but this isn’t necessary.

In the picture, you’ll notice one shelf is turned out and the other is facing in, under the desk.  The reason I did it this way is that there’s no space in my office to position the desk so both shelves face out.  The shelves provide extra storage and having the one right under my computer lets me keep stuff down there that I might not need as much.

The last thing I added was two clear desk protectors.  This protects the paint and gives me a nice smooth surface to work with!  These desk covers are from Office Max!

AND BAM!   A desk with plenty of storage and workspace to get creative and plan awesome lessons and engaging activities!

Home Office Version 2.0

When we moved into our new home I got a bigger office!  I chose a room with lots of space, great windows for natural light, and a giant closet to hold my collection of Dollar Tree cutouts and plastic eggs!

Here is the new Kindergarten Smorgasboard World Headquarters!   New colors, new larger desk!

You see, I LOVED my door desk.  But with more space, I knew exactly what I wanted.  A DOUBLE door desk.  So I ordered two more bookshelves and another door.  And doubled the desk.  Can I just say how happy this makes me?!  I mean..A dedicated space for my computer.  And PLENTY of room for projects…anchor chart making, center creating, vinyl cutting, glitter spilling projects.  (And yes, there is a Sonic drink on my desk. That is a requirement!)  The rainbow carpet is from At Home.

Here are the sides of the desk.  Just simple white bookshelves from Wal-Mart.  I added a small printer on one side and put my printer paper next to the printer just for ease of access.   The opposite side of the desk has my Cameo machine, Cameo Mint, paper cutter, and a laminator.  It’s the machine storage area!  hehe

The Closet

Another feature that I love about this office is the closet.  It’s like a teacher supply store.  Just walk in, do some shopping, and find all the things.

The plastic storage containers and the shelving units are all from Wal-Mart.  The shelves are 8 cube units that hold these storage containers perfectly.  The containers contain all of my center making supplies, vinyl, etc.  The larger totes hold my prized collection of plastic eggs and Dollar Tree cutouts and other fun items that come in handy when a new idea for a game or center hits!

This is a fun little behind the scenes peek into my home office!   You can see the lights we use for our videos and pictures and you can get a sense of how my office is set up!   There are additional shelving units behind the desk.  Those are storage cubes from Wal-Mart also!    The giant paper clips….those are pretty famous…everyone wants them…found those at Hobby Lobby!  The light-up Kindergarten Smorgasboard was a gift from Chad at Male Kindergarten Teacher!   And the MOTIVATE sign was a gift from The Mister’s mom!

 And just to show you that I’m normal and not totally put together and organized…here’s my pile of stuff…

To see some of the things that we create in this space, check out these posts:

Spring Centers

Dollar Tree Centers

Differentiating Instruction With Dollar Tree Cut Outs