Ok, so, here we are staying at home during a pandemic. What is this life?! Some of us were thrown into working from home almost overnight. Maybe you have never worked from home and this is all new to you. Six weeks into this work from home thing and you might be a little sick of your current “home office” situation.
While working from the couch in sweatpants is pretty nice, let’s just be honest, it’s probably not super productive or a long term solution. So unless you want to shell out some big bucks to your chiropractor in a few months it’s time we get you a proper work space.
I’m not talking about a fancy office behind a closed door. I mean if you have that kind of space, great lets work with it. But if you live with housemates or you live in a studio you can have a nice workspace too!
Here are my quick and simple steps to creating a workspace that inspires you to be more of whatever it is you want to be…productive, creative, inspiring, boss, innovative, kind…the list goes on and on.
Step 1- Location Location Location
First things first find a spot in your home for your “desk” <—- we’ll come back to this. An area with natural light is always best. As you can see from my example I only needed a 27” wide space with some height. Make sure you pick an area that you will want to work in. If you live with other humans and you choose the living room, you might not be as productive as you hope. So take some time to think this part through. I once carved out a work space in the pantry of my college apartment. Whatever works.
Step 2- Find a desk
Here’s the deal, you don’t need an actual desk. I mean you’ve probably been working on a kitchen table this whole time anyway, ama right? Let’s not get picky now. If you want a proper desk checkout Wayfair for lots of different size variations. My wall desk is a Crate & Barrel knock off from Wayfair. Target and Amazon have affordable finds too. If you’re not looking to buy, get creative. Do you have a folding table hiding out somewhere? How about a console table that isn’t really being used?
Step 3- Shop your house
Ok, so let’s go shopping for FREE! I want you to go around your house and look for a couple pieces of art or wall hangings to hang above your desk. Do you have a cute white board calendar or wall shelves that you could borrow from another area in the house? Think inspiring and decorative but also functional! Next gather 3-4 decorative items like vases, crystals, salt lamps, ceramic pieces in varying heights. A small plant is great too if you have one around! Maybe a lamp too? 4-6 good size coffee table books, books that motivate or inspire you just by looking at them. Now that you have all your items let’s get setup!
Step 4- Setup Shop
This is the fun part. Hang your art, wall hangings or shelves above the desk. Now add any decorative items or books to the shelves. Make sure to group items in vignettes of 3, it’s more appealing to the eye. Also, height is super important. When decorating shelves add a taller vase to the outside corner of the highest shelf. Keep items on the desk minimal. Perhaps a salt lamp and a cute pen holder (mason jars are great for this!). I also love magazine holders for stashing loose papers and notebooks. Nothing is more distracting than a messy desk!
This process should take you no more than an hour, probably less. So there you have it a simple way to carve out a workspace that you’ll actually like! I’d love to see what you come up with, post a picture in your instagram story and tag me @the_lovely_mama
XOXO- Amanda
Leave a Reply