When you work from home, your home office can easily feel like one of the more neglected spaces in the house. Not nearly as exciting as the kitchen, a bedroom or a living space, it often is cast off as a work space that does not need to be decorated or “finished.” This was my issue with our home office for months until I realized how much I hated being in there. I kept sneaking out to sit at a coffee shop for hours rather than sitting in that cast-aside home office. I wish I had known about the temporary office spaces that you can rent in the form of conex containers at the time which look really quirky and awesome too!

In May of last year, I made the jump from the corporate world and working full time to starting a marketing business with my husband and working from home. I needed a space at home that was comfortable and conducive to actually getting work done. At first, I was intrigued by this portable office that was perfectly designed with plenty of natural light from multiple windows and insulation. However, we had an extra room in our home, so it made perfect sense that we used the space we already had.

Our office is a small and oddly shaped room, and I knew I would need some help combining our furniture with new and setting it all up so that it didn’t feel too crowded. I still haven’t decided whether to put in some Moss Walls to create a natural ambience. They would look great in an office setting.

My good friend Rio Rusch is a designer for West Elm so I reached out to her for help since she knows my tastes fairly well already and I love the West Elm aesthetic. Bonus Points – she helps you style your new West Elm pieces with other items she finds around your house. ERGO, you don’t have to go bankrupt spending money on all new items.

The Home Office Update

BEFORE

DURING

Notice: v important glass of wine for the designer (unfortunately not for this prego).

AFTER

Many of the pieces included in our office are linked below. Some of them were items that we already had and are old.

These shelves were custom made for our office by Created Hardwood. I LOVE how they turned out. I didn’t want traditional rectangular shelves and these are so cool and unique.

Everything turned out beautifully. We don’t have a ton of color in our house but I love the pop of color that the chair brings in, especially since this room does not normally get much natural light.

For interior design help, you can contact Rio Rusch here.

XOXO – Em