Earlier this month I shared some photos of Levi and Asa playing in their shared bedroom over on Honest to Nod. The post was part of The Land of Nod’s #CelebrateTuesday campaign, a reminder to frazzled parents everywhere to celebrate the every day… READ MORE!
After months of working from the living room sofa, the dining room table, and select local coffee shops, I finally realized in December that I needed a dedicated office space in our home. I couldn’t have a room of my own since our townhouse doesn’t have any to spare, but there was an unused wall in our basement begging to be turned into an office nook.
Working with The Land of Nod, I picked desks, bookcases, and chairs that I could share with my four-year-old son, Levi. He takes his art very seriously and wanted a place to “work” just like mommy. So cute, right? Eventually, I’ll let Asa have my desk, but he’s not quite old enough to need a proper workspace yet.
But there’s more than just furniture to a stylish office. When it came time to decorate, I learned that there are many ways to upgrade your home office. Read on for 5 easy tips that’ll take your workspace from standard to chic.
1. Set the mood with a candle. Candles are the easiest way to add a decorative and fragrant touch to your home office. I also love the idea of a candle-lighting ritual every time you sit at your desk to get you in the mindset to work. Anthropologie has some of the prettiest and best-smelling candles, including this cut-work candle and this patterned candle tin. PS: Don’t forget matches!
2. Add some greenery. Studies have shown that working in an office with plants can help reduce blood pressure, lessen stress, and increase productivity. Plus, it’s just nice to have a bit of nature nearby when your home office is in a basement. For smaller plants, I’m digging these small clay urns and this hanging pot from Terrain.
3. Make a statement with wallpaper. When you work from home, you can use all of the energy boosts you can get — and there’s just something so energizing about a patterned wall, isn’t there? I’m so grateful to Chasing Paper for sending me several rolls of their removable wallpaper for my home office makeover. While The Land of Nod desks and bookcases looked fantastic on their own, the geometric star pattern took the space to the next level.
4. Frame some artwork. Sure, you could use washi tape to secure small prints and postcards to the wall, but hanging framed artwork makes a room feel more finished. This framed Minted print was actually hanging in our dining room before I realized that my workspace’s blue and white color palette was begging for a pop of orange. This abstract and this birthstone print could also work in my space — and maybe yours, too?
5. Introduce decorative objects. Once you’ve organized your pens, notebooks, and paperclips, it’s time to add a bit of flair. When my friend Jeran suggested I add something gold to my workspace, I hightailed it to Target and picked up this metallic sheep figurine. It may seem totally random, but I’m an Aries, so I think it works! You could also try decorating with chic bookends or a geometric sculpture.
Would you try any of these easy ways to upgrade your home office? Tell me about your workspace. If you work from home do you have a dedicated workspace or do you curl up on the couch with your laptop? Or does your job happen in a corner office or cubicle?
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I’m sharing more photos of my home office makeover, plus additional details about Levi’s side of the workspace, over on The Land of Nod‘s blog, Honest to Nod. Please check it out!
It’s time for the last room of our Omaha home tour: Asa’s multi purpose nursery. His room was tricky to decorate because it needed to function as our guest room and my home office in addition to a nursery.
Also, I didn’t want to repaint the pale pink walls. Since we were only going to be in our house for a few more months, painting didn’t seem worth it — especially when the room was already such a pretty color.
I started by looking for bedding in darker, more “masculine” colors that still complemented the pink walls. At first, this navy and white duvet from Serena and Lily felt like a bold choice, but the large room seemed to call out for a big pattern. I thought it filled the space beautifully.
And how adorable is that Hello throw pillow from The Land of Nod? Asa sure loved it.
The crib was a hand-me-down from Levi (you might recognize it from his nursery tour), but we thought Asa deserved new sheets in a pattern of his own. Although my original nursery inspiration board featured a grey crib sheet, I loved how this aqua with navy dots sheet from The Land of Nod added a pop of color.
The coordinating Cloud Castle throw pillow, which sometimes lived on the glider, magically tied the pink, navy, aqua, and white color scheme together.
You might also remember that I was considering a gallery wall for above Asa’s crib. I even went so far as to pick out some prints from Minted! But then our realtor suggested we keep the walls as empty as possible so that potential buyers would be able to imagine their own art hanging in the space.
Instead, I repurposed the silver garland from this post and hung a small chalk-drawn heart print from Caravan at eye level.
The glider also came from Levi’s nursery, but we brought in a new blue pouf and white floor lamp, both from The Land of Nod. I had hoped to add a small table where I could rest my phone and a glass of water while nursing Asa, but I couldn’t find one tall enough to be a nightstand that wasn’t too tall to be next to the chair.
The monkey photograph above the glider was actually a gift to me from Jordan a year or two ago. Every nursery needs a Sharon Montrose baby animal print, don’t you think?
Opposite the bed was the long brown dresser that — surprise! — also used to be Levi’s. We swapped his old changing pad cover for a Land of Nod polka dot design that matched the room’s color palette and found a gorgeous table lamp from Lamps Plus in almost the exact shade of blue.
My beloved white Parsons desk served double duty as a nightstand, and that Land of Nod silver geometric lamp produced just the right amount of light for reading in bed. It’s a good thing the desk was so big because when my parents came to visit — which, lucky for us, was almost every month — they’d cover the surface with multiple electronic devices and their corresponding chargers.
Above the desk I hung small art prints and a giant calendar page with aqua washi tape from my stash of office supplies. My daily notebooks and favorite hand cream were corralled but easily accessible.
(Side note: When these photos were taken last August, that I Am Very Busy planner from Ban.do was a recent acquisition. But I ended up never really using it. I have a terrible habit of buying multiple paper planners each year, always convinced that the next one will finally get me organized. Can you relate?)
I should also confess that I sat with my laptop on the living room sofa more often than I did at my desk, but it was still important to me to have corner of the house to store work-related things. A sort-of command center for my blogging and freelance writing career.
When we left Omaha, Asa went straight from one multi-purpose nursery to another. In my parents’ house, he sleeps in their home office, and there wasn’t much we could add to the room other than a crib and our Eames rocker to make it more baby-friendly. One of these days (fingers crossed!), we’ll have a house of our own again, and Asa will have a single-purpose bedroom for the first time!
PS: How to decorate a guest room — that isn’t also an office and nursery!
Last month I took you on a tour of Levi’s nursery, and today I’m excited to show you how we transitioned the space into a toddler room… READ MORE!
Before Levi was born, I shared my inspiration board for his nursery design but never followed up with photos of his actual room. Although it’s been a while since his bedroom looked like this (we don’t even live in Omaha anymore!), I’d love to show them to you now.… READ MORE!
If you follow me on Instagram, you already know that I took a train into New York City on Monday to visit the #nodfamilyhome — a gorgeous 5-story brownstone furnished entirely by The Land of Nod. While I was there, I got a sneak peek at Nod’s Spring ’15 collection (amazing!) and got crafty with the incredibly talented Lotta Jansdotter.
I had so much fun exploring the kid-friendly home and getting ideas on how to create spaces that are both playful and sophisticated. While I was there, however, I started feeling nostalgic for our house in Omaha, especially for the boys’ rooms and our basement playroom… READ MORE!
