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Sarah Lyon Sarah Lyon Sarah Lyon is a freelance writer based in New York City who covers interior design and lifestyle content. She is constantly on the hunt for eye-catching pieces to add to her space and believes that a home is never truly finished being styled.
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If you happen to be fortunate enough to have the option of working from home that can be a major job perk on its own. But you know what could make it even better? Curating home office decor that reflects your personality, encourages you to embrace creativity, and supports productivity.
Whether you operate a business from your apartment or just need room to knock out a mile-long to-do list on the weekends, these office decor ideas below will inspire you to design the workspace of your dreams. Now if only they’d make your cluttered inbox disappear, too!
1. Carve out as much space as possible.
This 400-square foot Lincoln Park, Illinois home may be tiny, but its inhabitant still found a place to perform basic home office tasks in this artfully decorated nook. Hanging baskets keep clutter off the desk that’s situated in the corner of the kitchen. As you can see, using vertical space can help.
2. Set up in front of a window.
Natural light has a way of making any task seem less mundane. So, set up your home office desk right in front of a window so you can commune with nature while you work. We love the set up in this New York City apartment.
3. Incorporate bold colors.
Snag some home office decor ideas from this colorful Michigan home office. They’ve used bold blues and yellows to make their home office a place of peaceful respite, rather than workaday drudgery.
4. Add functionality to unused space.
This Detroit home office is carved out of a small landing space. Turns out there is plenty of room to be productive on the landing, with the addition of a slimline white desk and simple white chairs.
5. Create a Soothing Color Scheme
Blogger Taylor Brown‘s home office is a gorgeous mix of mainly black, white, gold, and gray pieces. It features everyone’s fave rattan pendant—the SINNERLIG from IKEA—as well as other modern accessories such as a globe desk lamp. If you like a peaceful palette, soft gray walls are the way to go. You can always turn up the drama with some colorful accessories if you tire of this kind of chic, monochromatic look.
6. Wake Up Your Walls
Add a pop of color to your walls, or even just the area behind your computer, as blogger Christene Holder did in her workspace. You’ll thank yourself later when you don’t have to stare at a plain backdrop all day—a little color can make all the difference to help spark inspiration and creativity! And if you want a really streamlined space, closed cabinetry is your best friend. Holder used a two-toned mix of drawers and taller, almost pantry-sized, cabinets.
7. Get Sophisticated
We’re going to let you in on a few simple things you can do to make your office look more sophisticated. Blogger Maria Vizuete limited her design to a black and white palette. And, she created a symmetrical setup with the two matching chairs, two potted plants, and the two matching mirrors behind. Extra chairs placed in front of your desk make it easy to conduct meetings in your at-home workspace. And don’t underestimate the impact that a few well-placed mirrors can have, especially if you don’t have a lot of windows. Flanking the desk with these large, paned mirrors really brightens up the space and adds visual interest here.
8. Let the Sun Shine
Karen of Sanctuary Home Decor positioned her desk in front of her office window, which ensures that sunlight can stream in as she tackles her blogging and design work. Play around with different layout configurations to determine what works best for you and your work preferences. Desks don’t always need to be pushed up against a wall. Floating yours in the middle of a room or putting one in a sunny corner might be a better option for you.
9. Embrace Open Shelving
Blogger Stacy Risenmay‘s home office features plenty of open shelving. The key to keeping yours orderly and neat like hers? Bins and baskets. You can combine a mix of both open and closed storage pieces in different sizes as seen above. Just make sure each item sticks to a palette — here it’s black, white, and brown — for some visual unity.
10. Create Color and Texture Contrast on the Wall
Even if you don’t want to paint all of your office walls, adding colorful wainscoting will make a huge impact, as illustrated by blogger Danika Gadeken of Nadine Stay. We love how the hunter green looks when paired with the cognac chair. If your walls don’t have this kind of trim work, you can fake it by painting half of your walls in a contrasting color.
11. Add Pizzazz With Panels
Blogger Monica Benavidez hung chinoiserie panels behind her desk for extra charm, and they truly transform the back wall of her room. Whether you opt to purchase something special or get creative with a little DIY project, you can’t go wrong with some statement artwork like this. These kind of pieces make a big impact on the cheap, especially if you tackle the mounting and framing yourself. Plus, they provide a nice focal point behind your desk.
12. Go Traditional
Blogger Kristine Franklin designed the most darling workspace, complete with a coordinated gallery wall and a lovely, traditional-looking chair, which pairs nicely with a more modern wooden desk. An oversized plant adds intrigue to the corner of the room. Don’t forget that last layer of life — greenery will wake up your senses and may even help you stress less.
13. Pick a Clear Winner
Olivia Watson‘s office makes it easy to stay on top of her fashion blogging, thanks to her bookshelves-turned-purse and shoe racks. She also wheeled in a rolling rack that’s stocked with pieces for her future #OOTD posts. Because she has a lot of stuff in this room, her choice of a lucite desk, simple white chair, and plain rug ensures that the space doesn’t look too cluttered.
14. Set Up a Shared Workspace
If you and your spouse or business partner want to work side-by-side, a setup like blogger Remi Ishizuka’s is an ideal solution. She used filing cabinets to separate her two seating areas and maximize storage space. You may find it helpful to use the same furnishings — chairs, desks, and lamps — to keep the look in your room cohesive.
15. Think Outside the Box
Hello, home office that looks like it’s straight out of an Anthropologie catalog! It’s hard to pick a favorite feature here, but it just might be the table. Not finding a desk you love? Try working at a dining table instead! This space by Ashley Rose of Sugar & Cloth features a mid-century modern piece that is large enough to sit two, making it ideal for group work. Go ahead and think a bit outside the (office furniture) box when decorating!
16. Hang a Favorite Print
Hanging a calming piece of artwork above your desk will make even the most stress-filled days feel a bit less chaotic. As much as we love a good gallery wall, an oversized print like this one that Megan of Honey We’re Home included is really all you need. Plus, it’s a much easier install and doesn’t compete with the gold shelving units the way a full gallery wall would.
17. Go a Little Glam
Blogger Caitlin Covington worked with friend and designer Kelsey Hymel of Kelsey Lee Interiors to create the space pictured above. While glam touches like the chandelier may not be standard in an office, they’ll elevate a space in an instant and make sitting at a desk all morning feel like a little fancier. We also love the addition of oversized shutters here as the choice of window covering. They add an extra hit of architectural charm to the space.
18. Make Room for Plants
Real or faux, greenery can go a long way in making an indoor workspace feel a little more lively and can make the room that much more cheerful. And go ahead and get that sprawling monstera you’ve been wanting. If this DC row house is any indication, it’s the perfect way to fill an empty corner.
19. Say Yes to a Sofa
If you have room for a sofa or loveseat in your home office, why not go for it? Blogger Courtney Whitmore did just that, turning her space into a multi-functional room where clients can convene. Her decor is perfect for anyone who loves preppy, glam style. And if you’re lucky enough to have a window seat, you can turn that into extra guest seating, too. Just add a seat cushion or a couple of pillows.
20. Dig Deep Color
Blogger Chris Carey‘s open shelving makes a major statement, thanks to its bold black hue. Don’t be afraid to use a dark color for a wall or shelving unit in your office, especially if your key furnishings and decorative accessories are lighter in color. The only thing to keep in mind is how much natural light your room gets. Deep colors can be tricky to pull off if you don’t have a lot of windows.
21. Maximize Your Storage
Blogger Missy Ulmer‘s beautiful home office is full of sunlight — and storage! A wall of built-in shelves, cabinets, and drawers provides both visible and hidden storage, the latter of which is perfect for stashing office supplies, paperwork, and other important documents. If you don’t have the budget for custom, you could always bring in some bookshelves to fake the look.
22. Select the Basics in a Tiny Space
Ashley Carpenter proves that yes, you can even create a home office in an RV! The secret here is to keep furniture and decor relatively minimal, so you don’t create visual clutter. This color-coordinated boho space is the perfect spot to squeeze in a work sesh and has a lot of style but just the basics — a desk, lamp, plant, and clock.
23. Transform Your Basem*nt
Brittany Hayes of Addison’s Wonderland transformed her basem*nt into a beautiful, spacious home office that has tons of functionality and style. A basem*nt office provides minimal distraction while making the most of space that is oftentimes neglected.
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