This past year, like many people across the world, I decided to update my home office. I usually do most of my work either on my sofa or my dining room table. The dogs love it, but I found myself needing a dedicated space in my home I could operate out of that didn’t feel like a chaotic storage room. As an interior designer, I have a lot of samples. Fabrics, trims, woods, tiles, etc. Then I have all of the beautiful accessories I find and store until I can find the perfect home for them. Plus, as a small business owner, I have a ton of office and shipping supplies to help serve my in and out of town clients. While I have gotten really good throughout the years finding random cabinets in my house or places in my warehouse to store all of these things, the time finally came, I needed to focus my efforts on making my home office a place where I could organize all of my samples, supplies, and office needs.
So where did I start? Where I usually start with most of my clients, how does this space need to function? That was obvious, storage, storage, storage! But as a designer, I needed it to also be a space that I felt inspired in. I didn’t want to work in just a large walk in closet. I wanted a space that made me feel happy and inspired to do my work every day, something I think most people can relate to when they are thinking about their ideal office space. For me, that means color. Surprised? I didn’t think so.
I knew I wanted a storage system in most of the office but in order to make the fun space, I called one of my favorite local artists, Jujmo, to do a custom mural on the large remaining wall. I love her work and she happens to also be a good friend, so I knew I could trust her to just go into that room and create anything. At the time, I had a rug in the room that was a gradient of pinks, corals, and reds. I told her that I loved the color palette, so she took that direction and created this amazing custom mural that still makes me happy every time I walk into the space.
So with my custom mural done, next came planning the storage system on the opposite wall. I decided to go with a fairly simple design. Cabinets with doors on the bottom and then open shelving above. You knew I couldn’t just have all white cabinets and shelves in my space, especially with that gorgeous mural opposite. So I found this incredible wallpaper form Livettes. It is removable, so I can change it out as I want, but these gold pineapples just felt right.
The bottom cabinets allow me to store all of the samples, office supplies, you know things that look more like clutter. Then the open shelves allow me to display some of my favorite items. The items are either family heirlooms, thrifted items that have traveled with me for many years, or some of the latest products that I sell. Since these photos were taken, I have added a small desk where I can sit and get work done, the space is exactly what I needed, functional and fun.
Here are just a few of my favorite pieces scattered throughout the room:
Custom fabric rack for all of my samples: This is truly the best way to store fabric samples and it just makes me so happy to have a piece like this vs having all of these samples live in random cabinets throughout my living room.
Thrifted hanging light: I actually found this at a store in Athens, GA on a trip to see my brother Carson and his band (Merchandise) play Caledonia lounge back in 2013. We had no room in the car so I had to hold that light fixture on my lap for the whole ride back to Tampa (its an 8 hour drive).
My custom Lazar chair: the fabric is Stroheim (Apermont 04). This is actually my favorite color.
Coffee table books: I actually collect coffee table books when I see them (especially if they are on sale) so I can style and give to clients as needed. It is very hard for me to pass up a good coffee table book when I see one.
Ballerina in a liquor bottle: This is actually a vintage piece from my grandpa’s house. I’ve always just loved.
Postcard: My great great aunt (1920s) was friends with Grant Wood. This postcard was from him and he designed it himself. Just always loved the design and the story behind it.
Spice Girl candles: This was a gift from my head of marketing, Krista Hillring. A group of our friends have a Galentine’s Day celebration every year. Last year we did a Spice girl theme (I was scary spice, she was baby). She found these on on Etsy and everyone got to take their favorite home.
Metals leaves: These are from Selamat and one of the items that I sell. I have been very into them lately, they probably look familiar…
Shells: These shells and vase were my grandmothers, just something that remind me of her.
Black and white vases: another item I sell from Cyan. I like to have product on hand so I can pull for different designs. These are interesting and also timeless at the same time.
Laser printer: Not the prettiest thing to look at but I am obsessed with it. It truly helps with all of my presentations. If you are a small business owner I highly recommend investing in one of these.
I would love to hear from you all, what does your ideal work space look like? Are you a person who needs inspiration or do you need a clean space that allows you to focus? Everyone is so different, that is why I love designing for someone’s unique situation and needs. Let us know in the comments below what your dream office space looks like.
Cheers!
Annie