We sometimes think that bloggers, especially interior bloggers, live in perfect homes – spaces that are always tidy, free of clutter and where every room is perfect. I can promise you the reality is quite different. My home is as untidy as yours and just like you I have unfinished rooms and unfinished projects. And one of those unfinished spaces was my small home office which had become a dumping ground for stuff. Don’t we all have at least one of ‘those rooms’ in our life?
When Brabantia got in touch to partner with me, I had a compelling reason to do something about it, after close to 3 years of doing nothing. All this time I’ve never even used it as a home office because it was such a disorganised mess and the longer I left it the messier it got.
Today I’m excited to show you the result of my small home office makeover but also the before – warts and all – it’s not pretty! My home office space is small so I had to think carefully about how best to use my little space. I’m sharing exactly what I did and if this inspires you to do something about ‘that room’ in your home, great! If not that’s fine too. But know that if I can fix my worst room, so can you.
And do you know what? Since I’ve done it I’ve felt a weight off my shoulders. It’s like it’s cleared some brain space – y’know when something keeps weighing you down because you know you should do it but you don’t. But you still keep thinking about it and feeling bad for not doing it. That.
Now I’m so happy and excited to grab a coffee and go in there and work. I used to work in the kitchen which is a communal space full of distractions. Going in to my little workspace has cut me off from the rest of the house and has increased my concentration and productivity as a result. When I get to my desk I know it’s work time and I’m ready to concentrate and create. And the transformation didn’t take long – it definitely wasn’t the mammoth project that I had built up in my head.
My home office is not a whole room but one end of a small and fairly dark room. To keep things as bright as possible, I decided to go for all white walls. As you can see from the top before photo, I had started doing a few bits when I first wanted to decorate it like getting a desk but thats kind of where it ended. Well that and the random shapes I painted on the left wall – not sure what I was thinking there?! I didn’t even have a proper chair to go with the desk. And soon after that I started piling stuff in there.
For the colour scheme, I wanted to go for monochromes because the cleaner the look the better I can concentrate. But I did want to soften the look a bit so I did that by adding pale wood touches throughout – a monochrome desk with a wooden chair, white walls with wooden floors, and various other bits and pieces of light wood mixed in with the black and white. That is pretty much the colour scheme of my home so it also made sense to keep it the same.
While I had a desk and computer, I didn’t have much else. One of the first things I got was a bin. Up until now I had left my scrap papers lying around until I could be bothered to transport them to the kitchen bin. I went for a Brabantia waste paper bin because their minimal and simple looks worked perfectly with the look I was going for and I’ve always had in my kitchen so I know they last forever.
I also liked the size of the bin that is big enough so that I don’t have to empty it all the time and it still fits snugly under my desk, without taking up any of my leg space. Finally it was the matt black that sold me because nobody needs a shiny bin (they also have a matt steel one). After all it is a bin and it should be subtle not something that screams for attention.
I did ideally want closed storage behind the desk as I’m not the tidiest person. So I prefer something where I can close the door on my mess. But as the space is so small, having a closed unit would have looked too heavy. So instead I went for open shelves and got lots of storage boxes to hide my mess. Being a diy blogger, I have loads of little crafty bits and pieces so I needed somewhere to hide it all. I mixed the boxes in with a bit of open storage to break up the boxy look and allow the shelves to breathe. I also added a poster and a plant to make the space feel more than just functional.
I’m a very visual person and love having things like , pictures, my to do list and my current list of ideas in front of me. I wanted a few places where I could display my inspiration on the walls. It also had to be easily changeable because I’m constantly changing my eye candy. For now I went with a display hanger above my desk and a metal strip to my left. I’m planning to add more displays as the more places I have to display my visual inspo, the more inspired I feel each day.
For the chair, I couldn’t bring myself to go for a typical office chair. I think it’s important not to have anything in your space that you dislike. And after all this is my home office, not a corporate space. I did go for an ‘ergonomic’ chair that was sold as a desk or dining chair, as while beauty is important, so is comfort. When you create your space, never have stuff you think you should have, instead always have stuff that you love and won’t tire of in a hurry.
If you need to carve out a small workspace at home, I hope these ideas have inspired you. It’s entirely possible to create a home office in any little corner of your home and having a dedicated workspace has increased my concentration so much as I’m able to cut myself off from the rest of the house and the distractions that come with it. It will do the same for you.
I can honestly say getting this room sorted took far less time than I had imagined in my head. So the best advice I can give you for any unfinished rooms in your home is just do it!
If you’d like to check out the waste paper bin featured here or some more minimal bins, head on over to , where you’ll find loads of choice.
In partnership with Brabantia. All ideas, opinions and images are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support my blog and keep me sharing fun ideas with you.
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