Home Office

Endless entertainment, working and shopping from home, Facetiming and sending gifs of a cat in a monkey suit eating a banana: it’s an enchanting time to be virtually connected. But as we’ve learned from every Disney movie ever, everything tantalizing comes with a potential dark side—in this case, things like malicious viruses, eye strain, and crappy battery life. But fear not!

The little nook at the bottom of these stairs wasn’t really serving a purpose. The steamer trunk is undeniably cool, but it couldn’t do the heavy lifting of filling out the otherwise blank question mark of a space. Suzanne was transitioning into her new life as founder of a design company and really needed a place to work until she could move into an office. She thought about using the basement, but it was dark and sparse.

After living in her house for five long years, Kate felt a burning need to shake things up. She admits her style has a tendency to change and evolve, and periodically needs to explore a completely new aspect of her personality. This time, she scratched that itch in her home office. The home office had a lot going for it, with its soothing gray-green walls, comfy furniture, and plush shag rug.

This unassuming bit of wall doesn’t necessarily scream office built for two, but two desk chairs, eight shelves, and countless colors later, it is now a bright cheerful office suitable for two professional adults—and Rainbow Brite. Here’s a bit of background about what was needed, and what the limitations were: My boyfriend and I moved to Brooklyn last year and needed a solution to the problem of having two computers but no designated room for an office.

This blank wall in a home office is about to become its own room, thanks to just $600 and a bit of hard work. The room before is pale and pleasantly beige—and the now is anything but. Let’s pause a minute before admiring the finished product to learn a little more about this space: Before we started working on this room, it was just an office space for my husband.

When it came time to renovate the orange-hued room in her 1920s Michigan home, Patti Mapes had a vision. She wanted an office that was inspiring, conducive to productivity, and, most importantly, that didn’t look like what she calls, “the inside of a cantaloupe.” Over the course of a year, this teacher transformed her spare room into a bright and organized office space with a hint of playfulness to get her through grading mountains of student essays.

This “useless” little closet looks like somewhere the Dursleys would make Harry Potter sit whilst wearing a dunce cap, but one creative homemaker saw the potential for so much more. This is so cute and efficient, and that green paint is delicious. This makeover was done by Molly Sikora of My Sweet Lilac, and let’s back up to get a full view of the project.

Mike and Kate’s home office had slowly morphed into a home office slash dumping ground for stuff. They both work from home and felt that they had enough space for a functional office, but they just weren’t making the most of it. They called in their good friend Christina, and she helped the space do a total 180. From Christina: My friends Mike and Kate had a great space for a home office, but the dark paint and cluttered walls made the room feel tiny, especially for two people!