Home Office Decorating Ideas: The Basics

sara — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:21:33 +0000

The great thing about having a home office is that you can design it to fit your personal needs! Here are some basic home office decorating ideas to help you make your home office the best work environment possible.

Choose the Location Carefully.
The most important aspect of your home office is that is it a place that you can get your work done. Therefore, where the office is located is of utmost importance. If you work better in a noisy space, you may want to place your home office in the center of your home or near a window. Some people get distracted easily and prefer having their home office tucked away in a quiet corner. If you plan on seeing private clients in your home office, consider access. Do you want them to have to go through your whole house to get to the office? If not, consider placing the office near a door to the outside.

Office Layout.

One of the main elements of home office decorating is practicality. When considering the layout, keep all the room’s activities in mind. Will it be used only as a home office only or perhaps as a guest room as well? If this is the case, you will need a layout that can be easily shifted around to accommodate for the room’s dual functions. Office furniture should be arranged in “L” or “U” shape so that everything important can be more or less within reach. Make sure there are enough electrical outlets, telephone jacks and shelving units. The furniture should complement other decor in your house but be functional as well. Get a comfortable chair and a desk that meets your needs!

A desk organizer will help keep your home office in order.

Keep Your Space Organized.

If only one room in your house is to be kept neat and organized, it should be your home office! Nothing is worse than losing important documents or other work-related necessities. Keeping your office is a matter of buying a few main storage items and being disciplined! Make sure you have enough shelf space and storage containers. Dedicate 15 minutes at the end of each workday to putting everything back where it belongs.

Create a focal point.

Once you have the practical elements down, you can focus on more creative room decorating ideas. Try an eye catching focal point for your home office. Some rooms already have unique architectural elements like a fireplace or giant window with a beautiful view. An antique style mahogany desk or artwork can also make great focal points.

Personalize your Home Office with Funky Accessories.

Your Personalized Space.

Your home office is not your cubicle at work. Personalize your space with fun home office decorating ideas like wall color that you love! Forget bland office white or beige walls. Decorate with colors that put you in the working zone weather those colors are lime green, black and white checkered wall paper or calming blue. Fill your space with things that inspire you. Feel free to decorate with pictures of your loved ones, works of art that get your creative juices flowing or wall stickers with an inspiring quote.

I hope these basic room decorating ideas gave you some inspiration for making your home office more than just a place to hold your desk and computer! Let your creativity flow and create an ideal workspace where your productivity can soar.

Organize Your Room with Style!

sara — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:54:04 +0000

Having an organized and clutter free home is a challenging task. The key is coming up with room decorating ideas that allow for easy and attractive storage solutions. Check out our top ideas for organizing your room with style:

These baby-blue boxes are great for storing documents and adding color to a wooden shelf.

Documents: Don’t let important documents pile up and create clutter! You can keep them handy and hidden in an attractive container like a square wicker basket. You can cover a less attractive box with a beautiful fabric and place a lamp, candles or other accessories on top. Make sure to keep you documents in labeled files in the container and arrange them in alphabetical order for easy retrieval.

Odds and Ends: Small pretty storage containers with lids hide clutter and can be easily integrated into a room design. They are great places to store your keys, electronic odds and ends, loose change, and those things you don’t quite know what to do with. The containers can enhance your room’s style by blending with its colors and mood.

Curtains: If you are short on closet space and don’t like the look of untidy shelves here’s a solution that can work for you. Simply hang a curtain in front of the shelf and you’ve created a closet instantly! Design your “closet” with a curtain that blends with the rest of your room, or chose a vibrant color for a bolder style.

Magazines & Newspapers: Don’t just leave your magazines sprawled over the coffee table. Magazine racks come in all shapes, colors and sizes. For a cheaper version try using decorated wine bottle racks. They do the trick just as well!

Closet Organizing: Boxes and bins are great for storing scarves, gloves, socks, and out of season clothing and using a color theme makes it all the more interesting! Use all-white boxes and bins for a calming effect or use bright colors to radiate energy. If you are using every day shoe boxes for storage, try painting them or covering them with a nice fabric to organize your room while giving it a unified look.

Desktop Solution: A great way to organize your room is with inexpensive, unused paint cans! They can be purchased at paint stores for very cheap and used for your desktop. Just line them up on the shelf. Attach them one by one with Velcro strips that are cut a bit shorter than each can, and you instant have cubbies.

Room Decorating Ideas » Organizing with Style

Home Office Decorating Ideas: The Basics

Organize Your Room with Style!