How to reclaim your office space

Byljanning@dukemanorfarm.com

Truth be told, my office wasn’t a complete pit, but slowly was on the verge of getting out of control.  For some reason my fairly organized, everything-has-a-place kinda personality, would use my office as the catch-all for everything that needed to be put away in the house, filed away, returned to the store, toy repair or something that needed to be donated. Unlike the rest of my home that stays fairly clutter free and neat, the office was turning into ‘that’ place.How to reclaim your office space

Before I give you some tips on how to reclaim your office space, I wanted to show you a before picture of my bookcase. So not to be totally embarrassed, I did tidy things up a bit.

How to reclaim your office space

Again, not a complete disaster but you can begin to see the accumulation of stuff on the floor, the lack of organization and the below average pretty factor. So after a few changes, additions and deletions from HomeGoods  this is the bookcase today. How to reclaim your office space

office-chair

Nice improvement, don’t you think? HomeGoods has the perfect selection of home decor and organization products that my office space was lacking. So how exactly did I reclaim my office?

How to reclaim your office space

Make your space pretty to look at

If you spend a lot of time in your office or other dedicated space be sure to create something visually nice and pretty to look at. I added pops of green to a fairly all navy and white space. The additional color adds some interest and also helps to warm my space up a bit.  In addition I added my favorite chair from another room to the corner of my office.

office-chair-1

Organization is King

This is probably where things go south for a lot of us and before you know it out of control. Am I right? Previously I was just placing magazines, papers and stuff that I needed to put away on my bookcase. I picked up some containers in green and navy from HomeGoods to not only conceal stuff, but also to keep it organized and labeled while sitting on the shelves. Stuff that doesn’t belong needs to get put away elsewhere.

How to reclaim your office space

Keep it clean

Chances are if your space is organized, everything has a place and is kept cleaned, it will stay that way… or at least it needs too. Set aside some time each week to clean, declutter and file. Keeping your work area neat and tidy will have you thinking twice about letting that mound of paper that needs filing to get out of control. Refresh your shelves every so often for a fresh new look. Find new artwork for your walls. I got the print behind the chair from HomeGoods and it’s perfect to tie in all the colors from my space.

office-view

And this goes without saying… treat yourself to some fresh pretty blooms. Flowers can instantly brighten any space. I hope these tips on how to reclaim your office space will help you with your own space or area in your home that is getting close to that out-of-control zone.

 

 

laura_black

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Just a gal that loves to share my family, home decor, design and life around here in the country.... on my real life funny farm at Duke Manor

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164 Comments

  2. The office is beautiful and looks so fresh. I love to change up the throw pillows in my living room and bedrooms seasonally or according to the holidays to add a small but fresh look to the room. Since we live out in the country (not far from you ) I’m constantly looking for new foliage and flowers as the seasons change to bring inside. And 1other little thing I like to do is in the guest room -I try to add a photo of the family member or friend that is visiting on a little side table in the guest room prior to their visit. As we have lots of visitors these days the photos are constantly being rotated.

  3. Tidy and organized or a bit cluttered, stunning cerulean blue on white pattern with key lime accents – what’s not to love?

  4. Tidy and organized or a bit cluttered, stunning cerulean blue on white bold pattern with key lime accents – what’s not to love?

  5. Love the blue in your office, makes everything bright and motivating!! Lovely your office space!!

  6. I think my favorite way to liven up a space is with fresh flowers and greenery. Your office area is gorgeous! Thanks for the opportunity!

  7. Blue and white is my favorite color palette. Everything always looks clean and fresh. Great job, Laura!

    Betsy

  10. Usually for us that means painting the room! It gives me a blank’slate and then I can decide where I want to go with the colors from there especially since I’m going lighter everywhere in the house now. I’ve always loved your office by the way Laura!

  13. I usually stick with neutral, natural colors and add a pop of color with accessories! I love the wallpaper in your office. I would hope to brave enough to try to wall papering one of these days!

  14. I think the best way to liven up any room is to have fresh plants and flowers! They are always such a gorgeous sight.
    Thank you for the chance to win

    allisonrsdswain(AT)gmail(DOT)com

  18. What great tips and tricks! Your office is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing such great ideas!

  19. You have such a wonderful office! That makes working a little more fun! I’ve never met a basket, box or bin I didn’t like. I think we are more motivated to work when we don’t have the clutter. The artwork and flowers you have really personalizes the space and that’s the way I like things, too. Pillows and something ‘alive’…dried flowers, a wreath, plants and fresh flowers.

    Great post!

    Jane

  21. I can’t think of any better way to liven a room up than to add pops of color. You’ve done a great job of that with the green that you added! So, so pretty, Laura!

  30. I like to add seasonal colors to add a pop to my spaces, I also add small accent pieces that are seasonal.

  32. Change out pillow covers & when dusting shelves sometimes I just change same items around lol.

  33. Your office is so pretty — love what you have done! Blue and white are my favorite colors! We have a basket on top of our antique filing cabinet which is where the “to be filed” goes until I get around to doing it!

  34. Your office is so pretty — love how you’ve done it! Blue and white are my favorite colors. We have a basket on top of our antique filing cabinet where all the “to be filed” items go! This keeps our antique desk free of clutter.
    Hubby is getting really great at tidying up — now that he’s retired!

  35. My favorite way to liven up a room is to add new artwork on the walls and lighting! The right lighting can really make a room pop!

  37. Love the colors in your office and the the pretty way you have everything organized. If my home office looked like yours I probably would not leave all day and get all my business taken care of and never be late with my work or get behind on my projects and bill paying etc.

  38. I like to add fresh flowers to a room or just changing a room around to liven it up!
    Your office is beautiful! I enjoy your blog!

  39. I love to add fresh flowers or change the furniture around to liven up a room!
    I love your cheery office and enjoy your blog!

  42. Fresh flowers! Love what they do to a space and I know you love them too. Your shelves look fantastic. I thrift much of my decor, but if not, def HomeGoods! XO

  43. Awesome advice, Laura! Nothing like a clutter free space to get creative. I love your office, that wallpaper and all the newly accents are beautiful!

  44. I clear the paper piles that always seem to pop up, clean the dusty surfaces, launder pillow covers, treat myself to some flowers, and then kick back on my couch with my dog and admire my refreshed space. We can spend so much time fussing over and not enough time living in our homes, don’t you think?

  46. I like to add stunning decor items that I have seen on HomeGoods site and your office space that you spruced up looks amazing! Also redoing some wood pieces that I have really helped spruce up my living room and a nice area rug really helps.

  53. Beautiful office space and maybe one day when my office grows up it will look like yours. 🙂 I love to add new lamps and new accessories to renew a space. And getting rid of the dust bunnies helps too. Ha!

  54. I understand you comment about office area being a catch-all place, it happens to me. I do want to get more organized, thanks for the tips.

  56. Changing my pillow covers with coordinating accessories several times a year helps to liven up my spaces!

  58. What a beautiful space you’ve created for yourself! That’s got to get your creative juices flowing!
    I like to buy myself a bouquet of fresh flowers at the grocery store every week and usually split them up and arrange them in 2 of my favorite vases, one is just a big ole mason jar! I think fresh flowers breathe life and coziness into a room.
    Thanks for all the inspiration and the chance to win!
    Candy

  61. Change of decor is always in play at my house. Amazing what a small vase filled with anything that brings a smile to my face can do for my office, kitchen, or any other room.

  64. to liven up a room i like to move furniture around and add new things like fresh flowers or new photos

  66. It is so beautiful, Laura! Love the pops of blue, white, and green! I like to liven up my spaces with a bit of the unexpected. I love black and white, then throw in one hot pink item. Or as in my kitchen, it is black and white but then I stenciled my desk drawers with a white Moroccan design. I like a bit of the unexpected. Thanks for the great giveaway!

  69. My favorite way is with throw pillows and putting decorations on our coffee table, along with seasonal runners on the coffee table. Thanks so much.

  73. Very nice! I think my favorite way to brighten things up is to add a plant. I LOVE PLANTS! They add such life to a room. I have a mix of real and fake through my home. If it’s in a hard-to-maintain space: go fake; beside the kitchen sink: go real. : )

  74. I would love to redecorate our living room — we spend a lot of time in there and it needs some sprucing up! 🙂

  77. My favorite way of livening up a room is adding flowers, pictures and decorative pillows.

  79. I want to redecorate the master bathroom…more like it needs a major re-organize! Thanks for hosting the giveaway and show your office. love it!

    amy [at] uTry [dot] it

  81. I would love to spice up the living room with a new look 🙂 Everything could use a bit of a spruce, to be sure, but I’d start there 🙂

  83. Your office is so lovely! I would without a doubt re-do our family room/my home office in our lower level. We moved in over a year ago but this space has been put on the back burner repeatedly with other projects. My husband and I were down there last night dreaming of the day it’s done. Thanks! 🙂

  84. I most want to redecorate my master bedroom or the family room which doesn’t really have much of a style.

  88. I would love love love to redo my half bath. It is just plain sad! I would also love to replace my sliding back door. But, these things are not in the budget right now!

  89. The green really makes the office vibrant and appealing! And thanks for the tips; they are timely and useful. especially now with holidays approaching and too easy to just stash things! To answer your question, I would most like to redecorate my family room….needs new paint (big chore) and better storage. Thanks for the giveaway.

  91. Your office is lovely…in fact it was even before you changed it up! I really love the blue and white print fabric on the chair!! Thanks so much for the generous giveaway….I am new to your blog and I look forward to seeing it arrive in my inbox!! Diane

  92. love to redo my family room. don’t know where to start….i go around in circles in my head every time i think of it, ARGGG!

  97. tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/794522943938117632
    jslbrown2009 at aol dot com

  111. I have desperately been needing to redecorate my bedroom. It has looked the same for more than a decade now.
    pixelberrypie at yahoo dot com

  113. I would really like to redecorate our kitchen, its outdated and just so happens to be the room I spend the most time in. I love to cook, bake and overall just prepare foods. Eating also tops the list!

  117. I have a fervent wish to re-organize my living room and office – yes, they are one and the same. It could be pretty, it could be more functional I know it! Really it might just benefit from some shelves and maybe a bench with storage in it. Then some pretty pillows and basket drawers.

  119. The master bedroom in our house is one room that I would really love to redecorate. It’s dark and not very inviting, and I’d love to brighten it up and get it more organized, to make it a welcoming space.

  123. My home office is terribly disorganized and cluttered. I need to do a huge makeover to improve it both for use and appeal.

  127. I would love to redecorate our living room – so in need of updating and color.
    thank you

  134. The room in my house that I most want to redecorate is my kitchen. I do most of my living in it, so it need the most attention.

  139. I also need to reclaim my home office space. It’s such a mess! I procrastinate going in there because of the disorganization.

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