It's been about 6 months since I last shared some home office inspiration, and in those 6 months we've renovated our spare bedroom, turned it into an office, found out we were pregnant, scraped the glitter off the wall, and started to repaint for a nursery. It's been a busy half year! haha I was really aiming to make the entire room cohesive and relaxing, and I'd like to think it really worked for the few short months I was able to use it. By the time we found out we were expecting in early December I was zonked 24/7, so it really did only get used for a month or two (sadface!). While it's easy to be bummed about the geometric glitter wall we spent a lot of time and energy on, I'm actually enjoying my new (much smaller!) space in the kitchen. The way our kitchen is laid out is kind of weird, and I have a whole half wall for my desk and a few odds and ends. It's not the 12" x 12" room I had grown accustomed to, but my tiny 3' x 8' area is proving to be plenty big.
Organizing my workspace is a different animal entirely though. I tossed or stored probably 95% of the stuff in my office, and now I'm just working with a desk Mike built, my iMac, a lamp, and 2 cubby shelves that hold my business books. There's a window right behind my computer so that leaves very little vertical space to use, but I'm going to try and make the most of every inch of space. One of my biggest problems, however, is that I like to start cluttering it up if I give myself too much space... so it'll be a delicate balancing act.
Things I look for in the *perfect* workspace:
1. Lots of light! - I prefer natural light, but my workspace faces the North side of our house and I don't get a ton of sunshine over here. Luckily the area is fairly open and light tends to trickle in.
2. Greenery! - I love having fresh flowers at my desk, but I also supplement them with some fake Ikea succulents. I'm hoping to find a way to bring in live greenery. I love the look of ivy draped around the work area.
3. Color! - I'm into the cliche interior trend of white (or very light) environments, dotted with colorful pieces. Whether it's office supplies or artwork, I like there to be "pops" of color (I know, so overdone!)
4. No drawers! - Maybe it's silly to admit this, but if I have drawers to put things in, I'll put everything except what belongs in there. I'm not organized enough to be given the responsibility of desk drawers or filing cabinets, despite loving the look.
We're eyeball deep in redoing my workspace, our bedroom, and planning the nursery. We've been in our home for over a year now and it's so crazy to me that the bathroom is only like 75% finished. We really are racing the clock over here...
If you have any great resources for small workspace organization or planning, or even just some cute office products (!!!), I'd love to see!
And now one final question: What's the one thing (or three!) that you do to help make your workspace feel more "you?" Whether you work in a cubicle or in a closet at your home, hunched over a laptop or tinkering away with your hands, how do you ensure you feel at home in your space? My answer: I try to have fresh flowers around as much as possible. I have some really nice silk/Ikea ones that do the job when I forget! Little pops of color help distract my eyes from my bright computer screen.
What amazing inspiration! Now we are off to redecorate our office =)
ReplyDeleteI love white office spaces and im really thinking of painting my seafoam room to white and painting my desk black but man that's a spring job for sure!
ReplyDeleteI also don't have drawers in my office for the same reason, and why I will never show into my closet in there hahaha
Love these makes me think I need to make my office more fun!! Xxx
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to realise all those photos weren't yours! Ha. No joke, I assumed they were all part of your house, then went waaait. No, probably doesn't have that many desks. :)
ReplyDeleteMy work space is sadly very cluttered, but what makes it mine is mostly Lego and Playmobil. Whatever is mine always has a couple of toys next to it, maybe a spirograph or a yoyo to fiddle with. That, and really pretty storage boxes.
I dream with the perfect work/atalier space, such a great inspiration, thanks
ReplyDeleteI think that when you've got a small workspace you've got to pack so much more in to make it you' which is why they're so much more fun. I like plain simple desks/chairs that are accessorised with nice prints and patterned/colourful stationary etc.
ReplyDeleteHayley
Water Painted Dreams xxx
It really is super important to have a comfortable and inviting space in which you can work. Emphasis on *inviting*! I did this post quite a while ago, but if you're interested, you can see what we did with one of tiny spare rooms to construct my workspace. I saw "we," but most of the credit goes to my awesome fella. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://amylaurenart.com/2013/05/01/home-studio-in-progress/
It really is so important to have a space that's comfortable and inviting in which to work. Emphasis on *inviting*! If you're interested, I did a post a while back about the process we went through when constructing one of the tiny spare bedrooms into my work space. I saw "we," but most of the credit goes to my awesome fella. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://amylaurenart.com/2013/05/01/home-studio-in-progress/
Cheers,
Amy
These are some great, inspirational spaces, all of which seem much more cozy and productive than my current home office: my bed.
ReplyDeleteLove this! I am currently in the same boat and trying to redo my tiny little office space as well. If I find anything good I'll send it your way!
ReplyDeleteI love all of these little work spaces - I want my own one! x
ReplyDeleteI needed to see this! While I have what I would class as small to medium I am looking to re-arrange in a BIG way and I love all that you shared!
ReplyDeleteThese are all dreamy offices! I now feel the need to clean out my desk area.
ReplyDeleteWeirdly, I'm the same way about drawers with my work desk. I always worked somewhere that didn't have them so when I inherited a desk with drawers at my latest job, I really wasn't sure what to do with it.
ReplyDeleteI love these spaces! I'm currently working on creating my own perfect work from home space, but picked the smallest room so I know we won't be using it for anything else haha Good luck with your re-re-decorating!
ReplyDelete-Chelsea
chelsandthecity.blogspot.com
I would love to work in that lovely enviroment :) I will redecorate my little office space ;) Thank you for the inspiration! xx
ReplyDeletehttp://artsyshimmer.blogspot.com/
These spaces are all so cute and inspiring! I hope to have a little set-up like this some day!
ReplyDeleteLauren // Lipstick & Lacquer
Ah these all make me wish I had an office space! Hopefully if we get to move at the end of the year, I should, and I'll be saving these as a reminder. Great collection. Oh, and I'm the same way with drawers haha
ReplyDeleteStacey
I love seeing people's creativity shine through in these photos! I'm hoping to make a corner in my room for my office, and at our next place, if I don't have a room to myself, I'm finding a house with a nook in the bedroom. I personally love the feel of a little nook as an office. Tiny office spaces (that aren't cluttered) feel so cozy.
ReplyDeleteI have my little tiny office in front of our window in the living room. Our place doesn't have the extra room we would need for an office, so I just used a desk, a lamp, a comfy chair, and tons of books on the window sill. Books. They need to be everywhere. My inspiration. Love to see all these different office spaces. And I really like your idea with the flowers, might do that as well!
ReplyDelete