Jeff and I have basically worked from home since we gave up our office in downtown East Lansing back in 2014, but it wasn’t always pretty. For years, Jeff worked from a basement “office” that doubled as a messy storage room. I had a desk in there too, but I refused to work among so much clutter, so I spent most days working on my laptop at the kitchen counter (not ideal).
![East Lansing DIY basement home office renovation before and after photos with Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0001-767x1024.jpg)
A few years ago, we finally got it together and renovated the entire basement. This room became a real, organized office, and we removed a TON of wallpaper, painted, and put down new carpet in the other part to create a play area for the girls.
We had used Semihandmade cabinet fronts for our kitchen renovation, and when they reached out to see if we could collaborate on any other projects, I knew exactly what I wanted for the office. We used IKEA’s BESTA cabinets with Semihandmade’s Impression Oyster door fronts. The cabinet fronts were a great match for the IKEA dining tables that became our desks (Jeff wanted a LOT of space for his desk).
I still want to add an egress window to the space for safety and light, but it’s so nice to have a dedicated place to work, especially now that our entire family is home all. the. time.
![East Lansing DIY basement home office renovation before and after photos with Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0002-767x1024.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY basement shared home office renovation before and after photos of a desk area](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0003-767x1024.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY basement shared home office renovation before and after photos of a cleaned up desk area](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0004-767x1024.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY basement home office renovation before and after photos of two desks](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0005-767x1024.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY shared basement home office renovation before and after photos with two desks and Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0006-767x1024.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY shared basement home office renovation photos with Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0007-1024x684.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY shared basement home office renovation photos with Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0008-1024x684.jpg)
![East Lansing DIY shared basement home office renovation photos of sitting area with Semihandmade Doors and IKEA BESTA cabinets](http://alliesiarto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/east_lansing_home_office_diy_renovation_semihandmade_doors_before_and_after__0009-1024x767.jpg)