Home Office Inspiration

Well today I turned 29, earlier this week Austin turned 30, and a little less than a month ago, we closed on our first house. Lots of adult milestones happening all at once around here too. Like Austin learning the ins and outs of kitchen plumbing, me implementing more self-care and limits to keep healthy, me setting up a dignified home office that isn't in a sunroom, and both of us getting real about saving more for house projects and taxes.

Speaking of my office, it's full of boxes right now. It's still functional with a bookcase, all my Moglea product neatly organized in the closet, a desk and my shooting area. But it's kind of sad otherwise. It's one of the few rooms that has wallpaper and not just wallpaper, but 50 to 70 year old wallpaper that was applied to straight plaster. The backing stays on the wall when the paper itself is removed. It's going to be like peeling a barcode sticker off the bottom of a plate but the plate is 100 square feet and the barcode covers the whole thing. Miserable to remove. So obviously, I've been putting it off. Half of the room is wallpaper and the other half is wallpaper backing. Glamorous. 

I can't even complain. Austin's office is full of all of the power tools, shop vacs and miscellaneous things that can't be put away yet. And his is the room that needs the ceiling to be torn apart to get to a broken pipe. And it's lime green. And the popcorn ceiling was also applied to the crown molding. So there's that. But more on Austin's office some other time in some other post.

Yesterday, I was killing it in my office. Getting all the things done. All the things. I felt invincible and like a boss lady. And was especially proud of myself for staying focused on work while Austin and the electricians worked on the house. My office is so great in that way. I'm far enough removed that I can focus but not hidden in a corner somewhere to make me feel antsy and restless. Today was not so much like that. Chronic health problems don't care it's your birthday or that you want to feel like a boss lady again. I was in my office for a couple hours but then retreated to bed (which is another perfect thing about it, it's right off the master bedroom). While today wasn't the productive, healthy day I was expecting, it did give me more motivation to get ideas started for how I want this space to look and feel when it's done.

I don't know how to explain what I like about all of these. I really want to create an original, inspiring space to work from. My goal with this room and the rest of the house is that I don't want to have seen it before. I want to really push and design, not just replicate what others have done.

These images have colors, styles, techniques and general vibes I'm drawn to. I like the mix of modern and feminine. I like the monotone color palettes in some of the images. And no matter what, I want artwork for the walls and minimalism elsewhere so that my workspace feels functional and beautiful.

My desk is floating in the room, which I love. I can't stand having my face inches away from the wall. I want to see out into the room. The space has a really deep closet for all of the props and product I shoot on a regular basis but there's not much in the way of paper storage yet. I want to find a closed cabinet that is wide but not too deep and has some style to it. I'd love to put artwork or an inspiration board above it.

As the design comes together, I'll share more concrete design elements and the floor plan. Even though my birthday wasn't the productive, inspired day I anticipated, I'm still grateful for it. I turned 29 and had a bad health day in a home that is allowing me better good days and more restful bad ones. I'm incredibly thankful to even have the opportunity to dream up my ideal office and see some of it come to life in a few months.

lauren

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