I've been working for myself from home for almost a year now and I absolutely love it. Granted, my current living situation is a little 'unfortunate' and I don't have complete control over my workspace yet - I'm still working on boosting my finances since graduating from university and currently bunking in with my parents - but I've managed to carve out a little office space for myself in the guest bedroom and am currently trying to make it my own. I'm also dreaming of the office I'm going to have once I've finally got the deposit for my own house together. As always, I've turned to Pinterest for ideas and inspiration and thought I'd paint you a picture today of my dream office using Pins...
(Note - embedded pins may not show up on mobile devices so switch to web-view)
(Note - embedded pins may not show up on mobile devices so switch to web-view)
Colours
My dream office is full of flowers, books, efficient storage and lots of natural light (which my current dark space is seriously lacking). As a general rule in my home decor, I like a combination of white, wood and neutral, soft colours, mixed in with metallics. I find bright colours really distracting in an office environment, and I'm very easily distracted when I'm writing. The slightest thing can throw me off and make me lose my thread.Desk
My current desk is the IKEA Micke. I chose it because it also provides me with a white backdrop for blog photography when I need it. In an ideal world I'd probably choose a pale wood finish for my desk-top, but I love IKEA for their affordable, functional options, and the drawers in the Micke mean that my surfaces don't get cluttered and plenty of room for my hoard of office snacks.Storage
I love shelves. Historically I've always favoured floating shelves in either white or pale wood (see above), but recently I've started coming around to the idea of shelving units and bookcases. Eventually, I'd like my home office to also be a place where I can come to relax and read, so all my books will be kept there and I believe books should always be on display. Although drawer space is important to me, and I detest a cluttered workspace, I'm not keen on having too many drawers, so well-organised shelves are a must.Lighting
In my head, the windows in my office of dreams are going to be huge. Due to chronic fatigue syndrome, a dark room makes me sluggish and drowsy and no amount of vitamin D is going to compensate for lack of natural light. While I know in my heart of hearts that having my desk face out of a window will seriously affect my productivity, it's nice to dream. My current office lighting is a bit slap-dash, as the room gets almost no natural light whatsoever, but I've put a himalayan salt lamp* in there for a soft, pink glow while I work because I find the artificial glare of most desk-lamps too harsh.Decor
I love the idea of having a feature wall in my home office, with interesting prints or art on it, while leaving other walls more minimal. I'd love to do a DIY job or giant pinboard, using various prints and quotes, but I also really love the idea of a large world map canvas. I'm working with a client at the moment that makes the most beautiful wall maps and murals (they made the map wallpaper featured in this pin - although I'd style it completely differently myself) and I just know I'm going to cave in and buy one as soon as I've got somewhere to put it. That wasn't a shameless client plug by the way, I genuinely love their products, which makes my work even more awesome.I could go on forever about all the things I *need* for the dream office I don't have yet, but if you want more office Pinspiration, you should definitely follow my board. I've been going mad on office pins lately! Once I've got my current little corner the way I like it, I'll probably follow with a photo-tour post.
I also love sneaking a peek into others' home offices, so if you have an office tour on your blog or channel, do link to it in the comments, and it'll probably end up on my board!!
What's in your dream home office?
*Affiliate link (I purchased this product and absolutely adore it)