Work. Do you love what you do for work? The word itself isn’t a pleasant thing in my opinion. Even the word “job”. I like to use the word “werk”, because it has a bit of a kick to it. And also because I don’t ever feel like I’m working when I’m working. A big part of loving what we do is do we love the space we’ve created to in which to actually do the work in?
I redid my office last year if you recall, I shared it HERE, and I never really finished polishing it up until recently. And still I might find some treasures to add to it, but for the most part, she’s all prettied up now. I loved my office space before, but I love it even more now, which makes “werk” even more enjoyable. As you can see, it’s been polished up a bit with the help of my dear friend Kassie with The Kassie Project. She’s been a lifesaver with lots of projects for me!
Here’s what my “werk space” looks like today….
So I’ve put together a How-To guide to help you design your werk space so that you can enjoy it while you’re there.
Know your budget. I knew I didn’t want to spend a fortune creating my space. I had this beautiful big room that use to belong to The Mister, and he never used it. It was designed for him a long time ago, so I took it over and said, “It’s MINE baby!”. Being that it had all that dark wood in it, I was really torn at do I repaint it and ruin this expensive beautiful wood or leave it. Obviously, I chose the latter. The dark wood isn’t my style, but it IS a classic timeless look for an office, so I left it. And we did spend a fortune on it back in the day. It felt wasteful. Same goes for the desk. This monstrosity of a desk with huge storage space. Yup. I kept it and made it work. I still might explore the possibility of painting it. I don’t know if that’s quite an option for it. The chairs are old club chairs from my family room, and my personal chair was an inexpensive find from. A fresh coat of paint, some inexpensive fabric into curtains, and voila! Note about the fabric… I wish I had thought about how BRIGHT and NEON it would look as the light shined from behind it! I NEVER thought about it, but I still love the crinkly iridescent pink that it is. Is is functional for photography and video? No, but I’m making it work!
Get comfortable. Find furnishings that are comfortable for you. A desk that you feel good with, the direction you’ll be facing and how it will be positioned in the room, the storage, all needs to be considered. The chair you’ll be sitting in… Is it comfortable on your back, your elbows?
Pick things that can compliment each other. You can see everything isn’t the same. I have accents of the same trim on both window treaments with complimentary fabrics. I pulled the pink into a throw pillow. I added gold accents into some of my desk accessories and some of my artwork and accessories in my bookcases. Things don’t have to match exactly, but pull elements from different things that are complimentary.
Make it personal. Put in things that you love. I have geodes and crystals that I obsess over BUT did you know that I got them at my daughter’s campout? I have artwork displayed from my kids and from friends who are artists. I picked up that Wonder Woman book at a flea market on the side of the road in Arkansas… isn’t that crazy? … side note… I’ve always wanted to be Wonder Woman! (wink!)
It’s the little things. It’s those little things like those crystals that make my space MINE. I took an old monitor and have turned it into a note board where I can put up notes to myself or cards if I want. Make it YOURS.
Drink up! Really? YES! Ok, as silly as this might sound, and because my home office is far away from the rest of the house, I put a tiny refrigerator underneath my desk! Insane? Maybe! but not as insane as always getting up to get water. Now I always have bottles beneath my desk, along with some cheese, and some tiny bottles of wine if I MUST admit! (wink!) But in all honesty, keeping hydrated is important, so why not do this one little thing to make it easier on you. I got a tiny one for the dorms at Walmart for like $70. Gotta love that! Put water bottles or whatever else you want to have for a drink or snack handy right at your side.
So there you have it. Step inside my office and follow my tips to design yours.
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