A Harry Potter superfan has transfigured her home office into a whimsical wizarding workspace – showcasing hundreds of items of Potter memorabilia she has collected over the years. Carla Rodriguez's office looks straight out of Hogwarts itself, featuring the likes of a laddered bookshelf, a broomstick, star-covered ceiling, and masses of memorabilia tied to the popular franchise. Carla, 32, from San Antonio, Texas, attaches her love of Harry Potter to watching the movies with her dad when she was younger. Since then, she’s moved into the collector space, gaining a huge following online and adding more and more magical items to her home each and every week. Carla and her husband, Carlos, 37, created their first Harry Potter-themed room back in 2016, when they added a magical touch to their second baby's nursery. Then, in 2018, they dedicated a corner of their home to Harry Potter pieces Carla had been collecting. But it was in 2023, when she moved to a new home in Texas, that Carla decided to take on her biggest challenge so far – dedicating an entire room to her work and Harry Potter collection. The dream was to have built-in bookshelves and a bewitched ceiling like the Great Hall. The whole process took several months, with Carla first sourcing the bookshelves from IKEA, before turning to a contractor for advice on installing them in a style similar to those at Hogwarts, adding touches like a sliding ladder. Carla and a friend worked on wallpapering the ceiling with a starry sky, and dark blue was selected as the perfect color of choice. The finishing touches were then added – lamps, wands, mirrors, figurines, and hundreds of other Harry Potter items – with Carla sharing every step of the way on her popular social accounts.
00:00She transfigured her home office into a whimsical, wizarding workspace.
00:05Carla's love for Harry Potter started with a cherished tradition.
00:09My dad and I used to watch the movies together.
00:12It took me to see the first one, and then we made this little tradition.
00:16Every time a new movie would come out, we would watch the previous ones.
00:20So by the time, you know, the fifth one, the sixth one would come, it would be like a whole day marathon.
00:24This childhood magic never faded.
00:26In 2016, Carla and her husband, Carlos, brought the wizarding world into their own home.
00:33I was pregnant.
00:34I remember asking my husband how would he feel to do like a Harry Potter nursery.
00:38But it was when they moved to a new home, Carla dreamed of a home office that looked straight out of Hogwarts.
00:45So she decided to take on her biggest magical project yet.
00:50I already had all these ideas of what I wanted.
00:52Like I knew I wanted the bookcases to be built in.
00:56I at least have that built-in look.
00:58I knew I wanted a ladder.
00:59We had a contractor come and he built the wood frame around it to make it look like a built-in.
01:04I really want a ceiling like the one you can see at Wysicrest in Universal Studios.
01:11I want to emulate that on my ceiling.
01:13The finishing touches were added.
01:15Brooms, lamps, books, mirrors, figurines, and hundreds of other Harry Potter items.
01:23Carla shared every step on social media to the delight of hundreds of thousands of Muggle followers.
01:29I love it.
01:30I feel after so many years, you know, thinking because I wanted to put like a ladder on my bookshelves.
01:35I wanted to paint them teal.
01:37It was so exciting for me to finally be able to make the office that I had on my dreams and my vision board for so many years.
01:45But Carla's office is more than just a collection.
01:48I always tell people that no matter how big or small your collection is, it should be a place that it's like joyful for you and that shows your love for the story.
01:58I love, you know, being here and just being able to move things around and discover new pieces that maybe have been hiding behind the books for a little bit.
02:04Your home is a reflection of you and a space that you can enjoy.
02:08It doesn't have to fit somebody else's aesthetic and it doesn't have to fit somebody else's standards of what an adult house should look like or be.
