Imagine sharing your work space with a 7 year old........you get the idea, right??? That's one of the main reasons why our master bedroom redecorating project has been stalled to prioritize our home office makeover. But I must tell you that this makeover has been a fun family project. Even my 7 year old has pitched in to complete this space. As a result of which he claims this space belongs to him now.......so we are back to square one.
I'm going to let the space wars sought themselves out, but for now, I'm going to walk you through the thought process that went into creating our home office space aka my blogging headquarters/adda. We started off by looking for a large sturdy work table to house our desktop and much needed office supplies. We try to run things on a more or less paperless system where ever we can. That meant filing was not a big issue to deal with. After scouting around for the desk, we zeroed in on the Linnmon workstation from IKEA. A quick trip to IKEA and we came back with the desk, desk lamp, RIBBA frames and matting (imagine matting for $0.99 each). I love IKEA !!!
Next came the paint color.We went bold this time around. Our workstation is an extension of our bedroom so we wanted a look that was cohesive with the rest of the space. To contrast the Amber Wave (Sherwin William) in the bedroom, we headed in the direction of Relentless Olive (Sherwin William). And what's not to love about green.......said to have positive connotations and referred to as the color of rebirth and energy, we knew it would come to our rescue in the cold winter months, when the outsides are sporting nothing but a dry monochromatic landscape.
As the paint took its time to cure, we got cracking on the "Inspiration Wall" (as we like to call it). The the purpose of this wall is to provide visual stimulation. By marrying original artwork, color, inspirational quotes and other prized possessions such as favorite photographs and travel memorabilia, we were able to achieve the look we wanted.The credit for the original artwork has to be given to my son. He was experimenting with my photographs on the Waterlogue App, and the images he was churning out looked absolutely beautiful. On the spur of the moment I decided these would look perfect in my blog adda. Voila! With a printer at my disposal, I had original art in no time.
Since I wanted an eclectic vibe to the space, I went with the idea of adding a shadow box, a Sri Lankan mask and a paper mache alphabet "G" to personalize the space. The shadow box is filled with my favorite pictures, my son's artwork and my grandmother's silver key bunch. Making the most of the shadow box frame, I used it as a mini ledge to display small brass nick-knacks. Our favorite family inspirational quote (the one you see here) was created using PicMonkey. It's another great way to add inexpensive customized artwork to your walls.
Once the inspiration wall was dealt with, it was time to accessorize. Instead of buying the conventional office organizers, I shopped around the house and found containers that I could put hard at work to organize my office clutter.
Knowing me, a touch of green was a must. Low maintenance plants like the money plant and succulents are perfect for an office space. In colorful ceramic containers, they add an organic element to the space.
Task lighting came next. The table is set up by a large window that back up into a tree save line. So there's plenty of light flooding the space during the day. However, we added the IKEA Tertial lamp to throw light on the task at hand once the sun goes down. (Another important aspect that should be considered while adding lighting to a work space that is a part of the bedroom is, that the lighting does not hinder your partner's sleep in the room. Care should be taken to choose a light that would illuminate only the required work area.)
And finally, we placed the Anthropologie Terai chair (I found mine on Craigslist) and a love seat from World Market that was perfect for this space. A couple more embellishments in place and we were all done.
We love how this space turned out. I now spend long hours here studying, working on assignments, paying bills, painting, editing photographs, day dreaming and blogging. All you need is a little imagination and a comprehensive list of what the space needs to function as. The rest will fall in place......... well not really, I'm yet to deal with the 7 year old usurper ;)
Hope you enjoyed the tour of my home office and found inspiration to create your own.
Have a fabulous day !!!
UPDATE :FEATURED ON IKEA FAMILY LIVE FACEBOOK.
Images:Clicked by me. Please do not use without prior written permission.
Images are the property of Sruthi Singh and subject to copyright.
