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4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

by | Jan 5, 2016 | Decorating Inspiration, My Home Office, my house, Offices, Offices, Organization, Style Tips, Takeaway Tips

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4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

This weekend I shared quite a few inspiration images for functional and livable spaces (if you missed that post, you can find it here)! Today I thought I would share one of my own favorite functional spaces, my home office. Now, for those of you old timers here, you know this office is from my old house. While I have not yet beautified my new home office, I will be using my old office as inspiration for the new in many ways. My decor might change, but the lessons learned will still inspire me for my new home.

I featured this room and many photos in The Inspired Room book, of course, but today I wanted to give you a little peek at my office and offer a few of my own takeaway tips that you could use if you’re setting up your own creative space or home office.

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

1. Designate a special space to be inspired, organized and creative.

Being self-employed, I realized years ago that I needed to have a home office to keep me sane, organized and creative. If you are serious about a home business or just want to keep the family organized, make it your mission to set up designated space somewhere in your home (even if it is just a small corner of a bedroom).

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

2. Surround yourself with inspiration.

I need to be inspired by my own working environment so I can focus on the new tasks at hand. When I was setting up my office, I thought about the colors, the textures and the items I wanted to see around me. I hung inspiration boards above my desk. It all mattered to my productivity and sense of well-being!

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

3. Find organizational systems you can live with.

Having organizational systems that I actually use makes all the difference in how organized I feel! If I buy all the pretty bins and boxes but never use them, my office really isn’t functional at all. When I find I have systems that I don’t use, it is worth the effort to try something else until I find what does work for me.

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

4. Create a homey environment.

While I run a real business from my office, I still want the office space to feel comfortable, as it is still a part of my home. I found furniture pieces and accessories for my office that brought in my style and personality but served double duty for organization of necessities, such as my second hand store rattan shelving unit and my antique secretary desk. I put a large lamp on my desk for ambience and a comfortable chair for working. The homey and creative environment made me want to spend time in my office, so I’d say it was a WIN for PRODUCTIVITY!

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

4 Takeaway Tips for a Home Office {My Home Office}

Do you have an office space of your own? 

Sources:

Wall paint color – Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore

Desk – Pottery Barn

Botanical prints – Poppy Talk

Blue swirl lamps – Target

Linen chair – Restoration Hardware

Linen pin boards – HomeGoods

More sources from this room and others can be found in my shop!

Get more simple ideas for decorating a home you love in my books, The Inspired Room and Love the Home You Have.

15 Comments

  1. Colleen

    Hello Melissa. I really enjoy your blog and style. I just want you to know that I access your blog through Bloglovin, and your blog takes FOREVER to load. So much so that I have to cancel viewing it sometimes no matter how enticing the subject matter. I read many blogs through Bloglovin and yours is singularly difficult to load. Just thought you might want to know.

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      Well that must be annoying! Thank you so much for letting me know. I’ll ask my coder if he might be able to fix it!

  2. Linda Stoll

    On gray cold days like this, we all need a bright yellow chair or two to recalibrate us!

    ;-}

  3. Danielle

    One of my favorite parts of surrounding myself with inspirations is changing it up. I like to rotate images and quotes on my bulletin board to keep things fresh.

  4. Meghan

    I share an Ikea corner desk with my husband, we drive each other crazy this way lol. We hope to get our own spaces set up some time soon though.

  5. sharon / theprincipledtype.blogspot.com

    I fancy a fair amount of leg space as well. By that, I mean if it’s a tight corner and no breathing room – you almost want to leave work time before you arrive! Even small spaces can offer ‘openess.’ But that’s just me, lol! …and your element of Homey’ness hits the spot too :)

  6. Kari

    I’m working on making my office more inspirational to the work that I am doing. I’m going all white with changeable photography pieces for extra pop of color!
    Kari
    http://www.sweetteasweetie.com

  7. Linda F.

    Hi Melissa, I wanted to thank you for this post. I love all your posts on your work environment as I work from home as well. As a self-employed Landscape Architect, I spend many hours a day at the computer, but I also sketch and do some research the old fashioned way with books. Organizing my office is a continual challenge, with my many work projects, plus 3 school aged kids and household bills as well. I find that separating these things to a separate office space doesn’t really work as the household and kid stuff all needs my computer as well. I would love to know how you handle the many categories in your office as well, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how you set up your office in your new house!

  8. Joanne

    Hi Melissa, I am working on my office space now as I am still on holidays. I have to work on the inspirational part a bit more though. I like the three pin boards you put up. They act as wall decor and at the same time every time you look at what you have pinned, you can decide if you like it or need to change it. I spend a lot of time with mood boards on http://www.canva.com as I am very visual when shopping for items in the model suites I stage.. The problem is that my inspirations are always on the computer and does not have the natural light, texture and true colours as it would when pinning samples onto the board. I will check out Home Goods equivalent (Home Sense) here in Montreal and see if I can find some as nice as yours.

    I also just bought the same Ikea cabinets which I think you have beside your white secretarial desk/cabinet. Those are great for organizing papers and smaller items. All the white cabinets look great together even if the furniture is from different suppliers. Very nice!

  9. Jennifer

    Can you tell me where you got your computer wallpaper?

      • Jennifer

        Thanks so much!!!! I got your book for Christmas and am taking my time reading each page and looking at your lovely pictures. My home office is the first room you see when you come in the house, so making as much as I can pretty, is a must!

  10. Katthleen Gilman

    Just wanted you to know that I enjoy your blog and all but drool over the pictures of you office. We live in a one bedroom apartment and my space is a utilitarian desk next to a bookcase and for sewing, the kitchen table behind me. Not much room, except for a flower–must have a flower! Thank you for your inspiring blog. I, too access it through Bloglovin.

 

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