I am so excited to finally be sharing about my new office with you all today! It has been in progress over the last few months and I am happy to report I am finally finished! After my big purge I decided to switch my office with our guest bedroom and I am so happy with the results.
Our guest bedroom was the first room that you would see when you entered our home and while the bed looked nice, it was also a catch all room for my husband. It seemed to make sense to make my pretty office the first thing you see as well as putting the guest bedroom back further in the house where my nephews usually nap. Plus after I downsized all of my stuff, I really did not need the larger room anymore. Having to deal with a space almost half the size was a great creative challenge for having less!
Plus the room is so much closer to the kitchen so I can see my husband in my office on the computer and continue to carry on a conversation with him without him being all the way in the back of the house. Now that we have made the change, the space is a no brainer as to how we function in our home. If only I had thought of it sooner!
In my old office I had two dressers holding all of my stuff. My purging goal was to get it all into one dresser. After some tough love and serious evaluation over how much I really craft anymore, I got it all into one storage spot.
I also painted the top of my desk/old dining table white. It has helped lighten up the space and makes for better office Instagraming! I would like the legs to be white but I might just be too lazy to actually make that happen! For now the white top is enough of a change to keep me happy!
I still wanted the space to be kid friendly so my nephews can hang out with me while I work. I kept their small table from my old office and just have it tucked underneath the desk a little. It is still easily accessible but slightly out of the way when not being used.
The main decoration is this great big gallery wall behind the computer. I have always loved the look of this set up and it gives me something inspiring to look at from my seat. I can also see the reflection of the gallery wall from the closet mirror giving me plenty of pretty views all around.
The gallery wall is one of my favorites. It is super girly and full of all my favorite things...Paris, photos of Brent and I, and lots of pink and navy.
On the opposite wall I have a smaller gallery wall as well as my nephews' chalkboard.
The wall that you don't see from the doorway has the more functional and less pretty stuff. A hand me down TV, my one dresser for storage, and our printers.
We have one printer for printing high quality photos and another for everyday paper stuff. I have two binders that store current paperwork. One is for home and computer information while the other is for the moms group I coordinate. All other paperwork is filed away into one file box (another thing I downsized). Having all current paperwork in once place makes finding things much easier but also helps keep the clutter off of my desk.
I had a side of the road chair for my office previously. But after all that purging I allowed myself one splurge item to finish off the room which was this grey chair. Having a nice chair just makes the room feel so fancy. Plus it is a cozy place for reading or watching TV while I fold laundry.
One of the things I learned from my purge was to give everything a place. We now have an official place to store the laptop where it gets recharged and out of the way.
Having cute things on a desk is sort of a trend now. While I had even more cute desk accessories, in order to have a clear work space, I needed to not have it all out all the time. Everything is now in the dresser put away and only the most commonly used items are left out. I don't even leave my gold scissors out anymore! But the open desk space is so much better plus it looks nicer cleared off.
Here is a look into what I have stored in the dresser. It is pretty full but everything I felt like I needed to keep somehow fits! I also use some of the drawers for toys for my nephews which could be given up if necessary.
For the printers, we have a Canon Maxify for everyday printing and the Canon PIXMA PRO-100 for professional photo prints.
While I love the pretty details of the room, it is in having less stuff that I can have a truly productive space while keeping it clean on a regular basis! I am so happy with how it came out and that I was able to take a risk at living with less in hopes of creating an even better and inspiring work space!
