Wednesday, October 24, 2012

His Office Space

I took a quick break from decorating on the home front this week to tackle a new space...my husband's office.  He recently moved into a larger office (movin' on up)  but he so lovely describes it as "the meth lab". His words, not mine.  But I kinda see where he is coming from


No windows, fluorescent lighting, gray, gray and more gray.  And this is coming from a girl who loves gray - this place needs help!

But before jumping into the undertow I thought I should do a little research.  And although I don't always follow design protocol I felt like getting a lay of the land was important on this one.

An office has to strike such a delicate balance.  You don't want to be the person with family photos filling every inch of wall space.  But you also don't want to be the schmuck who doesn't have a single shot of the kids.  You don't want to accessorize with your grandmas spoon collection but you want a little bit of you in the space.  And you want to have a comfortable spot for co-workers and / or clients to visit but you don't want the lazy-boy that encourages them to stay all day.

So here is where I have decided to focus...

1. Lighting.  I set out to ease the florescent as well as provide my husband with options.  One great way to help tired eyes and brains is to have the option to change the lighting.  Turn off the overhead and just work with lamps or turn off the lamps and let the overhead light act as your morning coffee or turn everything on allowing the lamp light to soften the overhead light.

2. Feng Shui. Yup you read that right - I'm a little bit hippy and a little bit rock and roll.  But really, I think flow and energy can really set the tone in a professional environment.  If you sit with your back toward the door you are unapproachable and cut-off.  If you have a huge desk top between you and your client you are cutting off connection.  But if instead you can create an open welcoming flow that still sets a professional functional tone then heck yeah, feng shui it up.  Here is a link if you want to read more about this.

3. Plants. You all know I have a love hate relationship with plants.  I love to over-water and they love to die which I hate.  But luckily my husband is not blessed with this same curse.  And plants are a great way to not only bring color and a natural feel into an office, but they can bring great air purifying qualities indoors as well.  Check out this list of top air purifying plants!

4. Art.  Ah art...your role in an office is so demanding.  You must not only bring color to a usually colorless space but you must also convey personality and professionalism at the same time.  The pressure is on!  I think a good way to strike this oh so challenging balance is to add some art that represents either the place you live or maybe a place you once lived - for example a picture or painting of a local theater or of local street signs.  But maybe not the beer list from your favorite drinking spot.

So this is what I am working with.  I am hoping to spring my husband from his gray dungeon as soon as possible so the conclusion to this post wont be far behind.  But in the mean time I would love your tips on decorating a business office or home office.  Just comment below or on FB!