Home Office Inspirations

Now this is my idea of a home office.  It's especially great for those hectic days when you need to sign the cheques for all your servants and look at your decorating magazines.  Some folks have such a hard, hard life!

Photo:  Shoot Factory

Sadly,  I suspect that your home office doesn't look like this.  I know mine doesn't.  Regular folks have offices that look more like the room below (or not, but at least this is the realm of possibility!)  With a simple Parsons table (say, from Ikea), you're off to the races.  This wee office has lots of storage and the open-backed bookcase serves as a room divider while still letting the light through.  I think this idea is brilliant, since offices are often stolen spaces in other rooms and privacy is king.

Photo: Living Etc.

I really like this Martha Stewart office wall idea (below). This is a novel twist on the plain vanilla office chalkboard!  With a lot of painter's tape and patience (and Valium), this amazing wall can be yours very inexpensively!  I just love Martha.

Photo: Martha Stewart

This is a picture-perfect office for me (below) - all white and nothing out of place.  But sadly, this just isn't my reality.  I would need a lot of bins and baskets and drawers to keep this serene space looking stylishly uncluttered, but I still love it.  See, I really do have some modern genes.

Photo:  Living Etc.

In this handsome office (below), I don't love the furniture, but I like the arrangement - with a big side table for staging and sitting stuff.  I'm finding that a large side table is vital in a home office for transitional papers - the more surfaces, the happier I am.  But what I loved most about this room was the artfully-arranged vintage photography collection, whose framing and style belie the modernity of the room.  The photo collection takes this room from generic to chic-unique!

Photo:  Living Etc.

This office (below) is the cat's pyjamas in my book, in terms of ingenuity.  You don't need a ton of space - just one long wall to install a big slab o' desk!  This idea is pure genius, and it looks utterly amazing in front of a big graceful window.  Practical and simple, and elegantly executed!  And the glossy spring green makes my heart go ka-thump!

Photo: Living Etc.

I like the wee office below, as it appears to be tucked in behind a headboard or other room divider.  You don't need a ton of space if you have a laptop!  It looks like the owner used a small table and flanked it with two simple storage units to yield more surface area.  My favorite thing in the room is actually the clear Plexiglas file holders (to the left of monitor) - does anyone know where to source these?  I also like the big shallow bowl for newly-arrived mail.

Photo: House to Home

This office (below) is super-clever if you're building from scratch - as in kitchen design, a long, galley style office is a great use of space.  I would do all closed cabinets on the bottom (except for the kneehole of course) and all open on top for display and photos. 

Photo:  Source Unknown (House & Garden?)

Next is a typical home office which I've included because it makes great use of space (an extra table for the printer always helps unload your desk) and I really liked the little shelf next to the bigger shelf.  Corkboards are also de rigeur for your magazine clippings and postcards!

Photo:  Cottage Living

Modern shelves never cease to please.  I think home offices make great display areas for family photos and an ever-changing collection of eclectic art.  Give yourself lots of shelves and surfaces for your art collection and your photos.

Photo: Source Unknown

This is a dining room (below), but I just adored the shelves and think this would work equally well in a home office.  Heck, there's no sense having one shelf when you can have six.  Stack 'em to the ceiling and show off your collection of thingamajigs. 

Photo: Apartment Therapy (Anastassios Mentis apartment)