Working from home 100% of the time has made a home office that sparks joy super important. Here’s the full office reveal!
Welcome to my very first post! I wanted to launch with an actual room reveal, and I hope you get some joy from our home office. I promise my photography skills will get better, but I’m also learning to let go of perfectionism. For now, can you spot Bo, our cat?
Working from home: Sometimes a dream, sometimes depressing
By day, I’m a marketing writer and creative director, and spent 90% of my job in the office with my teams, and the other 10% traveling for photo and video shoots. March 13, 2020, that all changed. And while a lot of what’s changed has actually been easier on my introverted heart, being on Zoom all day is somehow more draining than being in a conference room. In the beginning of COVID lockdown, I worked from wherever. The couch, the dining table, the bed, and sometimes the desk. My back hurt, the cats were confused, and I never had a good place to plug in my laptop. I always dreamed of working from home, but I didn’t realize how much structure I would need to do it well – both physically and mentally.
When my husband and I bought our house in June 2020, one of the rooms we were most excited for was the office. It has big windows, original hardwood floors, and room for a chair. Andy is a craft beer sales rep, so he doesn’t need a workspace, but occasionally edits video and writes. So we needed one desk, a chair for when I just can’t imagine sitting at the desk any longer, and places to display art and decor that makes us happy.
Here are a couple before photos from the listing:
Terrazzo Removable Decal Accent Wall
The first thing I wanted to tackle were the walls. And while I’m normally a white walls girl, I was dying for some terrazzo walls.
Did I plan on covering most of the walls in this room in terrazzo? Yes. Did I severely underestimate how many wall decals that would take? Absolutely. But I had the perfect amount for one accent wall, so why not the one I stare at all day while working at my desk.
These decals from The Lovely Wall couldn’t be more simple. They come in big sheets and you just grab a piece, peel, and stick to the wall. I started with the bigger pieces, spreading them out evenly across the wall. Then, I went back through and placed the smaller pieces. They’re removable, so if you don’t like what you’ve got, you can act like it never happened.
This wall gives me plenty to stare at while I try to think of good ideas at my desk. And it gives me plenty of colors to work with in the rest of the room. So, bonus.
Sources/links:
Secondhand display cabinet for dust-free decor
Trust me that if I could afford this piece from Restoration Hardware, I would have it right now. I am not above superfluous decor spending.
But that’s not the budget right now, so I scoured Facebook Marketplace for a while and found this display cabinet for $40.
I was looking for something with glass doors because I. just. hate. dusting. This piece is a great size but needed some help. I replaced the original silver handles with brass knobs, added some shelves inside from leftover wood, and left it purposefully minimal inside.
Next to the cabinet is a faux olive plant from Studio McGee. And this feels like a good time to talk about plants and the cats. The SECOND we bring live plants into this house, BoBo, who normally sleeps all day and fights a consistently stuffy nose, smells it and runs for it. He pounces, eats every part of the plant, and throws it up immediately after. “Get a plant that’s cat-safe,” they say. But what about the other way around?
For the most part, we’re a faux plant family. We have a few live boys in this room in strategically out of reach places, but the rest is fake and we like it that way. Bo still chews on the olive plant, and still barfs faux leaves onto the rugs. But the plant “survives.” So it’s a win-win.
Sources and links from inside the cabinet:
Jug Vase : Studio McGee
Dough Bowl: At Home
Books: Half Price Books
Cozy chair and superfluous decor shelf
I’ve made a deal with myself to stay in the office for the whole workday, and this chair from Article and ottoman give me a second zone to *mix it up* when needed. And when I tell you I stare at it quite often…I’m underplaying it. The sconce is a faux wired DIY that I’ll share soon!
These wedding photo prints and Framebridge frames were a wedding gift from friends. I never thought I’d be the type to hang giant wedding photos in my home, but the joy on our faces is too good not to get a moment. Our wedding was only a few months ago, so I feel like as time goes on I’ll be more and more of a softie for these photos.
On the shelf are some faux plants, books, and some little wooden meerkats I got in Cape Town several years ago. Under their feet is Museum Putty (basically sticky tack), to keep the cats from knocking these down literally every single day.
So that’s our office! Having a visually pleasing space has made it 1,000 times easier for me to stay productive, creative, and just, sane. What changes have you made to your home since 2020? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
On Instagram and Pinterest, I post photos, reels, links, and more. If you’d like, I’d appreciate a follow (@thehouseofjazzy):
