The Art of Desk Makeover: A Surprise Gift for Steven

As I walked around the office, I couldn't help but think about how busy our video production coordinator, Steven, must be. He's always on the go, and his workspace should reflect that. I decided to surprise him with a brand new desk makeover, complete with all the essentials and a few fun touches. But before we got started, I wanted to get some insight into his style and personality.

Steven's style is quite minimalist, favoring gray and black over more vibrant colors. He wears a lot of khakis and blacks, with just a token gray sweater to add some visual interest. On Instagram, he often posts photos with friends, showcasing his love for socializing and having a good time. One thing that struck me was how much of his wardrobe consists of gray sweaters – it's like he has an entire collection! Despite his busy schedule, Steven seems to value simplicity and practicality in his daily life.

With this newfound knowledge, we set out to transform Steven's desk into a functional and welcoming space. The original desk was quite bland, with too much paperwork and clutter taking up valuable real estate. We needed to create a workspace that would not only be efficient but also comfortable and inspiring. To start, we took everything off the desk and began from scratch.

First things first, we added some necessary items like a monitor and laptop, positioning them in a way that would allow Steven to work comfortably without straining his neck. Next, we tackled the paper clutter, using clear hanging file holders with black folders to keep important documents organized and out of sight. We also took care of those pesky wires, adding tiny wire holder clips to keep everything tidy.

To add some personality to the space, we included a few fun touches. There's a simple journal for Steven to plan out his year, as well as a weekly planner that can sit right on his desk to stay organized. We also added a gray seat cushion to his chair for extra comfort and a fuzzy gray throw blanket for some texture. And because Steven loves taking photos with his friends, we framed one of his favorite Instagram shots and hung it on the wall – it's now a beautiful piece of art that adds some much-needed color to the space.

But the pièce de résistance was yet to come. We discovered that Steven has a bit of a wild side, and I found an adorable little elephant trinket hiding in his desk drawer. It added just the right touch of whimsy to the space, and we even managed to coordinate it with some matching wooden pen organizers – talk about attention to detail!

Finally, we added one last surprise: a bottle of bourbon. Yes, you read that right! As someone who enjoys a drink or two (or ten), Steven deserved a special treat. And what better way to celebrate than with a beautiful new lamp and a glass of fine whiskey? I couldn't wait to see his reaction when he saw the finished desk.

As we wheeled the newly refurbished desk into the office, everyone was buzzing with excitement. And then, we finally revealed the big reveal: Steven's brand-new workspace! The look on his face was priceless – a mix of shock, amazement, and pure joy. He couldn't believe how much he'd been missing out on in terms of style and personality in his old desk.

Steven took a seat in his newly refurbished chair (complete with the adorable elephant trinket) and wrapped himself in a blanket, looking every inch the king of the castle. As for me? I was beaming with pride, knowing that I'd helped create something truly special. After all, it's not just about designing a workspace – it's about making someone happy and giving them the tools they need to succeed.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou bastards holy crap today I'm going to give Steven a shiny new desk makeover Steven is the video production coordinator here at BuzzFeed New York which makes him a very very busy guy so I thought I would treat him to a brand new creative space where he can sit back and relax for at least 5 seconds before he runs off to do whatever it is production coordinators here at BuzzFeed do I thought it would be fun to surprise Steven with this desk instead of telling him ahead of time because I think he could use a little EXC in his very very busy workday in order to do that I'm going to take a jolly walk around the office and I'm going to ask everyone I see what they think of Steven and his personality and what kind of workp space they think he needs let's go Steven is definitely a smart casual kind of guy he wears a lot of gray and khakis and blacks and whites very minimalistic this token gray sweater that he wears every day gray sweater Ray gray shirt man who enjoys a drink he is a man who likes his tequila a lot we're also going to take a look at his Instagram because I think that can really tell you a lot about his style and his personality he has a lot of photos with friends you can see that he loves going out loves hanging out with people and in every single photo he's wearing a gray sweater Steven I would love to see your wardrobe seriously everything is black and gray all right so we've gathered our info and it's time to dive in right now Steven's desk is kind of bland there's not a lot going on not a lot of personality and overall pretty messy stevenh you a slob he has a lot of paperwork and a lot of files spread all over his desk which really doesn't leave a lot of room for fun or anything at all since the majority of your day is spent at work you want your environment to feel welcoming and comfortable and relaxing you want it to be practical but also homey and right now I'm not really getting either of those vibes from Steven's desk so because he needs to do so many jobs and manage so many things at one time but still keep a stress-free environment I think we're going to need to put the fun in functional huh huh the best way to do a desk makeover is to just take everything away and start from scratch so here we have a blank desk we'll start with the obvious Necessities like a monitor and a laptop I'm putting the monitor right in the middle so it's comfortably at eye level and I'm propping up the laptop so he isn't craning his neck every time he needs to look down at the screen next let's tackle the stuff that takes up most of the space on his desk paperwork seriously who has this much paperwork what do you even do here Steven since his style is quite minimalist with a very neutral monochrome color palette wow I sound like a pretentious Wine Drinker something I got in this clear hanging file holder with black hanging file folders if you need something large that isn't very pretty like files then get them in a clear box making things clear creates the illusion that it's not taking up as much space as it actually is I'm also taking a ton of files that he has on his desk and filing them away into these drawers when you're going for a minimalist style the idea is to have nothing on your desk that you do not absolutely need to be there aside from a few decorations here and there because otherwise your desk would be a bore Fest so we're going to take all this club flutter and we're going to just get rid of it I'm just kidding I need these oh boy wires there is nothing I hate more than wires it's 2017 shouldn't everything be Wireless at this point why is this still a thing to tame this obnoxious man of wires I got these little tiny wire holder thingies that were going to stick on the desk they come in all sorts of colors but I got them in Black to match my soul I'm just kidding but it does go with the color palette I'm also adding this black and white marble mouse pad to add a bit of fun without adding any blast of color this concrete tape dispenser is super masculine and adds a great texture to the desk and this clear stapler doesn't add too much space but it does add a nice touch of gold I'm also replacing his cluttered mug filled with pens with this nice neat wooden desk organizer it adds a soft pop of color and I'm only adding a few pens and a pair of white stainless steel scissors because you don't need all those pens on your desk throw away all your pens half of them probably don't even work since this desk is very monochrome and very neutral I'm adding a few pieces of greenery to brighten it up a bit this makes it feel very homey and very welcoming and because Steven is such a busy guy I made sure to get fake plants because God knows he has no time to water them plus when you're in an office it can be kind of dark and you can't get the sunlight that your plants need I'm giving him a very simple journal to plan out his year and write any notes that he needs I'm also giving him a very simple weekly planner that can sit right on his desk to keep track of the millions of meetings and tasks he has throughout the week I'm also adding this really industrial looking white desk lamp not really because we lack proper Lighting in this office but because it looks really cool since we found on his Instagram that Steven loves to take pictures with him and his friends I printed out this photo from his Instagram and it'll sit nicely on his desk and add some personality and some positive vibes I'm also giving him this simple black and white framed photograph of New York City they sit on his desk for inspiration and for some art I want to add a gray seat cushion to his desk chair to add some extra Comfort since he is sitting there all day at least when he's not running around like a crazy person as well as a fuzzy gray throw for some texture because it's soft and it's squishy and treat yourself it's so soft I also took this adorable little elephant trinket that he had on his desk before because it adds a nice touch of personality and conveniently matches the wooden pen organizer that I got him it's all about color coordination and last oh oh what's this what's in this drawer down here is that bourbon as we all know Steven is a very busy man who enjoys a drink so I got him a drink not that we ever drink on the job here what kind of place do you think this is man I'm jealous I wish this was my desk just say all right so here's the finished desk I think it is really improved it is totally reminiscent of his style and his personality it's smart it's cozy it's practical I think he's really going to love it so let's blue sco on over there and show it to him you bastards holy crap I get to keep this stuff yeah your and I have a lamp always wanted a lamp this is beautiful Stephen I want you to open your bottom drawer oh my God now I'm scared shut up what what are you trying to say about me this does not bode well for me as an employee it's so fancy I'm just going to be sitting here wrapped in my blanket sitting on my grand pillow you want to have a celebratory class of bourbon yes thank you you are so welcome look at my Mouse P they're not real because I feel like you'd have a problem with oh no are you seeing my they're all dead this is like nicer than anything I have in my place look at what she did to my desk look at my chair look at my it'll be nice to not look across and just see p of garbage Excuse me yes oh man I'm going to look like I'm from The Game of Thrones all day winter is coming a\n"