By Elizabeth Yeager Cross
WV Design Team
Do you have a room in your house you consider to be your “home office?” Is it neat, organized and up-to-date? Or does it look like the room that time forgot with piles, paperwork and junk?
Recently, Yeager Design & Interiors helped a few clients by transforming their home offices from outdated and dull to vibrant and efficient. We would like to share with you a few tips on how to make your work space work for you.
A home office should be:
• An area of its own (able to be disconnected from the distractions of home)
• Visually pleasing (making sure your office is clean and designed well is half of the battle)
• Organized (a room that is in constant disarray can cause your attention to be on anything but your tasks at hand).
What often happens is that the office gets the least upkeep in the home due to all of the other daily chores that take precedence. We also see that people try to make that particular space too multi-purposed.
It is not the best idea to incorporate your desk into other busy areas of the home because of all the distractions you may face. Likewise, trying to cross purpose by incorporating areas designated for crafting or your child’s playroom into your office can create attention diversion challenges. If you really need to get work done, and you have the space, designate it.
Take our first example: our client Becky works from home. She works long hours and needs access to her printer, computer, phone and files, but found herself in a room that not only didn’t inspire her, it left her pushed against the wall without enough light. She was working from a dark, wood-toned wall unit/desk that had a hutch on top. This gave her no view and not much light. She was very tired of the existing, worn out carpet and desperately needed a complete office transformation.
Finding the perfect desk sets the tone in this home office transformation. The “Noteworthy” desk is open and airy with natural wood and white paint, easily making it a customer favorite
Our first piece of the design puzzle was the new desk. After searching through many of our vendors, we found one that seems to be a customer favorite. Its top is a beautiful neutral wood tone while its bottom contrasts in a white wash finish. It is open and airy and able to free float in the middle of the room — allowing a view of Becky’s lovely front yard.
A rustic-chic mirror complements the new sage green wall color and the louvered cabinet gives Becky all of the storage solutions she needed in her new office
Because this desk didn’t offer a ton of storage, we paired it with a gorgeous French-inspired louvered door cabinet made of reclaimed pine. These neutral wood tones paired organically with the new dark wood-stained floors and the combination made the room feel fresh and new.
To complement the sage green wall color, we chose to hang a rustic-chic green mirror above the chest and accessorize them both with bits of silver and white in the lamp and candlesticks.
A clean-line chair in a classic black-and-white pattern adds sophistication and comfort to Becky’s office
We devoted one corner of the office to a space where Becky could get comfortable and take a little break when needed. We chose this clean line, black-and-white polka dot chair to bring in a little pattern as well as to give the room a bit of sophistication.
A black wire and wood side table finishes out the chair and is topped with faux floral hydrangeas that look real enough to smell. We also hunted through Becky’s home for a few personal touches and found precious tiny silver frames of her family members and scattered them on every surface.
Among all of the beautiful décor, our final personal touch was for her sense of smell. We placed bunches of dried lavender and an all-natural lavender candle in the room, both for its therapeutic properties for relieving stress and because Becky had mentioned how much she loved the smell.
French Linen Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan with Clear and Dark Wax completely transformed this once cumbersome and dated executive desk. New greenery and accessories were pops of color to complete the fresh new look
Our next example of a home office transformation is one that will take your breath away. Our client, Shawnee, felt stuck with her large, overbearing executive desk. While she needed the storage it provided, the desk was chipped and scratched, its leaf was broken, and she had grown weary of the dark mahogany look.
We decided that Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan could fix this situation and give Shawnee the update she was wanting, while keeping her storage and work efficiency levels the same. My co-designer Maria Belcher and I tackled the project and armed ourselves with French Linen Chalk Paint and applied two even coats.
After the paint dried, we used Clear Wax to give it a protective layer, then the Dark Wax for shading and contouring.
Like Becky, Shawnee also chose the “Noteworthy” Desk. We decided to switch things up a bit, moving the wall system to the opposite wall and floating the desk out from it. This gave Shawnee a view of the windows on her left, the entry door on her right and placed her just a swivel away from her other work computer behind her.
Greens and yellows accent a gorgeous tufted loveseat in Shawnee’s office, providing a chic twist on guest seating
After transforming the wall unit, Shawnee paired down her books and accessories to the ones she truly loved and needed. This gave us room for fresh accessories and greenery to be placed on the shelves for pops of color. She knew she wanted a guest area, especially for her son to be able to come and visit her while she worked in the afternoons. So, we decided to skip the formal, cookie-cutter two guest chairs and chose a drop dead gorgeous tufted loveseat.
Accent pillows in bright hues of greens and yellows left the seating area feeling fresh and happy, especially when paired with our faux floral tulips and abstract wall art.
So what can you take away from these two beautiful examples?
• Try to pare down the number of books and accessories to create a less cluttered look.
• If you can’t afford a new desk or shelves, breathe new life into them with Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan.
• Don’t be afraid to bring in colorful art and accessories to liven up a serious situation.
• Call a designer for help if the task of transformation feels too much to take on.
– To see more pictures of the projects featured in this article: King Home, Lewis Home
– To read the full article: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/life