With so much more time spent working remotely, and a new year ahead of us with new personal and professional goals, I’ve decided to take on the project of upgrading my work-from-home setup! Much like closets, the home office has evolved in recent years. No longer is it a laptop at the kitchen table, but instead a multi-use space where you can be productive, find inspiration, and stay organized! Also much like our closets, I want my office to reflect a balance of thoughtful organization and elegant simplicity. I can’t wait to share more as the space comes together!

With so many businesses and client interactions moving to virtual platforms, we’re all spending more time in our homes, making it more critical than ever to have this space be truly functional. For our business, my office needs to meet the busy daily demands of vendors, serve as a backdrop for material palettes and project samples, and lend itself to productive virtual meetings! As I’m pulling together ideas and inspiration, I wanted to take a chance to share a sneak peek of the spaces that are inspiring me, and materials I’m considering, as well as offer up a few favorite accessories to take your own home office setup to the next level!

Inspiration

I think one of the most dramatic upgrades you can make when laying out your office is to float the desk in the middle of the room, if given the space. It helps to open up the space, and frees up all your walls for storage, inspiration, and artwork so you never feel stuck in a corner while you work! And while you don’t want to overdecorate, it’s important that this space feels like a comfortable extension of your home, and reflects the personality of your business! Perhaps you have a professional motto or logo to showcase in the space, or a line of products you’d like to display? These are all important elements to design around, so that the space is beautiful, functional, and represents your brand.

Design

For my working needs, the space is a delicate balance of functional storage to conceal cords, documents, and devices, along with clean surfaces to spread out samples and assemble material palettes for projects. Storage is always a beast, both in a closet or an office, so I am doing my best to transition everything into the digital era and eliminate hard copy files wherever possible. This design needs to lend itself to a more modern way of working, with space to pin swatches and project-related items, a clean backdrop for taking video calls, and a spot to stage work bags and accessories to grab on the way out the door for a site visit. The design has already gone through a few iterations, so feel free to comment below and share your thoughts on your favorite design so far!

Palette

I want the palette in the office to be soft and subtle, to fit the home, but also a little more high contrast and tonal than my dressing room! The office should feel understated and professional, but with modern metallic hardware, and enough texture to keep things feeling new! All the pieces I’ve chosen have clean straight lines, and masculine edges, so I want to soften the room with suede wall coverings and refined gold accents in the lighting and accessories. The brass wire-fronted cabinet will provide closed storage for supplies and files, while the minimal wood credenza will conceal functional items like a printer and fax machine! Floating brass shelves provide space for larger material samples to be displayed and curated, and a shagreen drawer stack will provide space for a sample library, which is always great to have on hand when starting a new project!

Accessories

They say accessories make the outfit, but I would argue they also make the office! This is perhaps the easiest upgrade you can make to step up your day-to-day workspace. Organizational tools, fun accent pieces, and good lighting can go a long way in dressing up a drab desktop for a more fun and functional place to work! Shop below for a few of my favorite accessories and accent pieces to add a touch of style to a stuffy home office: