For many, home workspaces have become a necessity over the past year. How are we reimagining our spaces to accommodate a new lifestyle? How do we support our productivity and efficiency while at home?
When we went into quarantine last spring, I spent many days sweatpants clad and wandering the house with my laptop, hopping from one spot to the next. Long story short: it was a disaster.
I know many understand this tale; the one where you get half of the things done, eat twice the amount of snacks and let’s not even start with the distractions and interruptions. When it became clear that this work-from-home model would be more lasting, I took down the makeshift standing desk (aka ironing board) I had resorted to setting up in my bedroom. I considered a design that would be most conducive to the demands of work and productivity, and equally important to make this sustainable: a space that would bring joy to the day-to-day
Over the summer, we met with a kindred spirit. This mama was working from home with two young kids and a demanding schedule that required a high level of focus. She needed a calm, clutter-free workspace, free from snack requests and Nerf bullets. In addition, the space needed to provide a spot for the occasional overnight guest. She already had the idea to free up a bedroom and wanted support aligning the spaces with her wants and needs.
Before: An underutilized bedroom.
After: A light, bright double-duty home office and guest bedroom.
When designing this space, the primary focus was to support clarity and focus as well as calm.
We began by tearing out the carpet to reveal hardwood floors and painted the walls Egret White by Sherwin Williams for a bright and clean feel without being too stark and cold. It offered a slight contrast with the existing white woodwork in the room. We maintained simple lines, whites, creams, and grays in the furniture, textiles and accents.
We were able to reuse two larger furniture pieces the family had: a futon and desk. Their neutral gray futon worked perfectly, providing another seating option for long work days and doubling as a guest bed. We originally planned on sourcing a desk, but when we saw the color of the wood floors, we knew the desk they had would be a great match and would give more warmth to the space. The in-house finds allowed us room in the budget to play with lighting and other finishing touches!
We played with different textures in the pillows and art. Our client mentioned that the violet color family was a favorite so with just a few hints of purple, we brought in more personality and added joy! Introducing elements inspired by nature like plants and rocks gave the office a grounding energy and the gold in the accents added sophistication and just the right amount of elegance.
It’s now a room with options: to shut the door and get to work or light some candles and have a “Calgon take me away” moment minus the bathtub. It brings us so much joy to know how much our client loves and uses her fresh space!
