Quick, Pretty and Budget Friendly Desk Makeover

Posted by MrKate on

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Sometimes makeovers are big (huge, even!) and sometimes they're a little bit smaller — but that doesn't mean they're any less fun or important!

After beauty guru Eman came over to Mr. Kate Studios to help me make a DIY Copper Pipe Makeup Brush Holder, I motored over to her place to collab on a video for her channel by making over her desk and makeup station with some quick, budget-friendly fixes! What's great about the decor I used in this space is that most of it is from accessible and affordable stores, but they don't sacrifice style at all! In fact, the fact that I got them for a steal only sweetens the awesome deal of how chic they are!

Check out Eman's makeover video above, and scope some highlighted budget items below!

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Quick Tips:

  • Keep it airy. Eman had a rug underneath her desk which wasn't doing the space any favors as it was the wrong size and the pile was too high which made the chair annoying to move in and out - so we removed it!
  • Visual interest to bring the eye vertically up and add personality. I printed out some photos in b&w of Eman and her boyfriend and wrote some cute things on square index cards to frame and hang in the clip shelf. We also hung a ceramic ram's head to add some (non-square) 3d interest to the collage cluster and it made a big difference with only 3 small items.
  • Stick to a color palette and add metallics. Eman's inspiration images she showed me were predominantly white so I stuck to that palette but brought in some lux with metallic and natural textured (wood and marble paper) items for complexity.
  • Functional design items. By bringing in the DIY Copper Pipe Makeup Brush Holder we gave Eman a beautiful place to store her favorite brushes in her makeup room. The stacking glass apothecary jars also provided much needed but beautiful storage for some of her smaller beauty items. On her desk, we replaced the blender cup pen holder with a cute wooden cup and a pretty shell box to store other desk supplies like tape, stapler and pens that didn't go with our neutral color palette.
  • Inviting upholstery. Eman's desk is white so with the white plastic chair she had before, it looked a little cold and uninviting. That's why I chose this Eames inspired desk chair (which was a steal at $69 at Home Goods) because it had an upholstered seat in a nice grey tone which, paired with a fuzzy pillow, now looks super welcoming for a hefty work session.

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Quick Fix Items!

DIY Copper Pipe Makeup Brush Holder = $20 in supplies Stacking apothecary jars = $7.99 - $19.99 Sunburst mirror = $19.99 - 49.99 Magazine holder = 4.99 - 13.00 Desk chair = $69.99 - 94.99 Animal bust = $19.99 - 34.99 Pillow = 17.99 - $24.99

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