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I can hardly believe the amount of time I have spent looking at home office pictures on Pinterest. If you have an account, there's a 105% chance you've pinned an apple monitor in front of a black wall that's covered in white frames, or a gorgeous all-white-and-gold office set up.
Well, for me, the time is now.
In our new digs, I finally have an office. My job is mostly spent indulging in the creative process, so it was imperative that I get the design aesthetic right for me. It had to inspire me to be creative and encourage me to push through mental blocks without distracting me from getting things done.
Let's talk about color.
Oddly enough, I have learned that I don't like color too much. I find it distracting, and sometimes it makes me stressed out or hyper (I'm looking at you, red/yellow/orange). In the room where I work on branding, create artwork, and brainstorm book ideas, stressed-out-and-hyper is not a good mood.
Instead, I have gravitated to whites and grays. Then, I worked in some colors that are calming to me - light shades of purple, blue, and pink, for the most part.
Flowers.
One office staple is the presence of a small bouquet of flowers. A large vase with a high gathering of flowers would overwhelm my small desk (and, honestly, I would probably knock it over). Instead, something small adds just enough color and interest to my space without overwhelming me.
I don't always have pink flowers, but I tend to stick in the pink/purple/white hues, because it works so well with the painting above my desk, which was a find 4 or 5 years ago at Cooper-Young Festival in Memphis, TN.
Furniture finds.
I am currently using a desk that was a vintage find back in Chicago, and used to be owned by the U.S. Railroad Company. I have paired its antique, industrial look with the sleek, contemporary look of a white and gray setu chair.
White and gray.
The combination of white and gray is echoed in a silver-framed floor-to-ceiling mirror across from my desk (similar here), as well as the white and gray Urban Outfitters rug that lines the center of the room.
Natural elements.
I also try to work in natural elements, wherever possible. I started by re-using a piece of birchwood that held the table assignments at our wedding. It now holds a stack of my business cards for Createlive Consulting. (Guess what my colors are? Black and white.)
Inspirational pieces.
I have also been trying to work in tiny, inspirational pieces. I fell in love with this sea urchin-like pink candle, this orange citrine (which is not typically my color, but it is soft and meant to encourage creativity, so I bought the darn thing), and this tiny "it's a beautiful day" pencil.
Underneath my second monitor, I have a pair of miniature Dutch wooden shoes, which were an early-relationship gift to me from my then-boyfriend, now-husband.
In front of those shoes, I have a small slip of paper with a quote that is extremely important to the creative process and, specifically, the publishing process. The road to being a published author involves a lot of criticism and failure, but this reminds me to dare myself, to push forward, and to continue to allow myself to fail.
Whitewashed bulletin board.
I also have a large bulletin board in my office, where I put up special cards, notes, and pictures. It was originally your average brown board, but I decided to paint it with the same paint I used on the walls, because I didn't want it to break up the space. This echoes the white background of my artwork above my desk. In short, I wanted to keep things clean.
And yes, as you may have surmised, both the walls and curtains are white.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
- What colors inspire you?
- Would you ever paint a bulletin board?
- What kind of flowers do you like most?
