Step into my office...
Howdy! I figured it was about time I showed y'all my home office. It's one of the few rooms in my home that is completely and utterly done, with the exception of organizing the closet, but that'll make for a nice blog post someday!
So, please.....step into my office.
The walls are a painted light blue ("Gravity" by Valspar). The green stripe is "La Fonda Deep Olive," also by Valspar (am I the only one who immediately thinks of Napoleon Dynamite? Anyone?).
I like organizational systems that set me up for success. I don't like piles of clutter. I like to know exactly where things are, but I do NOT enjoy having to constantly file paperwork. So, I picked up several white hanging baskets from Ikea for $3.99 each. They are designed to screw right into the wall, but I decided to hang them from a double towel hook instead. This way, I can quickly pull down the basket I need and fully utilize my vertical space. I created baskets for my four most popular paperwork categories, as well as two baskets labeled "to file," for less important paperwork that will need to be filed later.
I also have two bulletin boards for pictures, cards, baby announcements (that's my adorable niece Annika in pink on the top bulletin board!), reminders, and words of encouragement.
I thought about hiding my printer and ultimately just couldn't bear to do it. I like my resources to be easily accessible. I believe efficiency and design can go hand-in-hand, but in a home office, design cannot be achieved at the cost of efficiency. They must be applied in equally successful measure. So....the printer remains exposed, loud and proud. My paint color actually matches the printer, which was a total (yet pleasant) accident.
Lighting for the room was definitely an interesting challenge. The room isn't wired for a ceiling light -- not that it would have made a difference. I needed task lighting, not generic ceiling lighting. So, I purchased two of these industrial pendants from Ikea that plug into the wall (I have them on the wall socket linked to the room's light switch), and ran the cords behind my curtains. I wrapped the cords with rope for a little rusticity, and hung them from chunky industrial clamps secured to the ceiling.
I made the curtains using fabric I purchased at Home Fabrics. I also recovered my office chair, which you can read more about here.
The yellow flowers came from Michaels -- they remind me of the mustard that blooms in Napa in the winter / early spring.
I have two Billy bookcases flanking my L-shaped desk (which is actually TWO desks from Ikea). Brian and I added trim and moulding to the bookshelves to make them look a little more substantial. And of course, what room is complete without a yellow ceramic flying pig? I mean, really!
The mirror was on clearance at Ross -- the silver paint on the frame was significantly chipped. I sprayed it with a few coats of glossy white paint, and called it a day!
I have to give my friend Adrienne a shout out -- the green stripe around the mirror was her suggestion, and I'm so happy I took her advice! It's one of my favorite features in the room.
Lastly, in order to make the big, empty wall at the back of the room functional, I painted four chalkboard squares of various sizes onto the wall, and framed them out with 3" stained boards. I use the chalkboards to manage to-do lists, reminders and words of inspiration. The biggest challenge with this wall was addressing the heavy, orange-peel texture -- it's pretty much impossible to write with chalk on such a textured wall. You can read more about how I solved that problem here.
And there you have it, folks! My home office. :) Functional, and funky.
Cheers!
So, please.....step into my office.
The walls are a painted light blue ("Gravity" by Valspar). The green stripe is "La Fonda Deep Olive," also by Valspar (am I the only one who immediately thinks of Napoleon Dynamite? Anyone?).
I like organizational systems that set me up for success. I don't like piles of clutter. I like to know exactly where things are, but I do NOT enjoy having to constantly file paperwork. So, I picked up several white hanging baskets from Ikea for $3.99 each. They are designed to screw right into the wall, but I decided to hang them from a double towel hook instead. This way, I can quickly pull down the basket I need and fully utilize my vertical space. I created baskets for my four most popular paperwork categories, as well as two baskets labeled "to file," for less important paperwork that will need to be filed later.
I also have two bulletin boards for pictures, cards, baby announcements (that's my adorable niece Annika in pink on the top bulletin board!), reminders, and words of encouragement.
I thought about hiding my printer and ultimately just couldn't bear to do it. I like my resources to be easily accessible. I believe efficiency and design can go hand-in-hand, but in a home office, design cannot be achieved at the cost of efficiency. They must be applied in equally successful measure. So....the printer remains exposed, loud and proud. My paint color actually matches the printer, which was a total (yet pleasant) accident.
Lighting for the room was definitely an interesting challenge. The room isn't wired for a ceiling light -- not that it would have made a difference. I needed task lighting, not generic ceiling lighting. So, I purchased two of these industrial pendants from Ikea that plug into the wall (I have them on the wall socket linked to the room's light switch), and ran the cords behind my curtains. I wrapped the cords with rope for a little rusticity, and hung them from chunky industrial clamps secured to the ceiling.
I made the curtains using fabric I purchased at Home Fabrics. I also recovered my office chair, which you can read more about here.
The yellow flowers came from Michaels -- they remind me of the mustard that blooms in Napa in the winter / early spring.
I have two Billy bookcases flanking my L-shaped desk (which is actually TWO desks from Ikea). Brian and I added trim and moulding to the bookshelves to make them look a little more substantial. And of course, what room is complete without a yellow ceramic flying pig? I mean, really!
The mirror was on clearance at Ross -- the silver paint on the frame was significantly chipped. I sprayed it with a few coats of glossy white paint, and called it a day!
I have to give my friend Adrienne a shout out -- the green stripe around the mirror was her suggestion, and I'm so happy I took her advice! It's one of my favorite features in the room.
Lastly, in order to make the big, empty wall at the back of the room functional, I painted four chalkboard squares of various sizes onto the wall, and framed them out with 3" stained boards. I use the chalkboards to manage to-do lists, reminders and words of inspiration. The biggest challenge with this wall was addressing the heavy, orange-peel texture -- it's pretty much impossible to write with chalk on such a textured wall. You can read more about how I solved that problem here.
And there you have it, folks! My home office. :) Functional, and funky.
It's beautiful! You did a wonderful job on equalizing beauty and function! Cindy
ReplyDeleteI love your baskets for organizing paperwork. They are perfect for mail because they're nice and deep. Do you have a link where that item can be purchased or something similar to it?
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoy your details. The clips hanging your lamps. The double hook that hangs the baskets. Such neat touches. Really makes the room.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Kristin!! You are too kind. :) The baskets are from Ikea. I found them in the kitchen section where the trash bag storage and recycling bins are. I think they were around $3-4 each....super cheap!!
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