Creating a Functional Work From Home Space

Going on a year working from home and I have realized that I function best in a space that is formal - like an office would be - rather than another cozy room in my home. Which is exactly the problem I have with my current home office set up.

My space as is has a comfy couch, coffee table and t.v. set up and a desk kind of in the corner as an afterthought... which when I designed the space I was actually going into an office and it was perfect! It was meant to be a nice space for me to come home to, to decompress from work and knit or write a random blog post. It was never meant to be a space I worked 9+ hours a day in.

I forced myself for the better part of this past year to try and make it work - afterall I had spent money and time to get it to where it is. I do love the way it looks and I felt bad that I wanted to change it all after only just finishing it in February 2020. But YOU GUYS it's not serving its purpose and has now just become a dumping ground for random shit I need to get rid of. I hate working in there so much that I'm now working in my dining room so I can get something done throughout the day. THAT IS A SIGN! While it does suck that I'm going to be tearing down the shiplap wall I installed and selling the couch I bought - it will in the long run serve me better, because who knows when/if ever I'll be returning to a traditional office again.

So what's the plan?

Well, I will be building built-ins for where the shiplap wall is currently. I decided on that wall because 1. we installed the shiplap wall with liquid nails which means when I go to take it off there will be drywall damage... and 2. it's also the longest wall in the room. The built-ins will provide me with storage which we desperately need in this house and will hopefully trigger my brain that this is a formal space where work is done (lol).

I also plan on ripping out the carpet and installing vinyl flooring - I'll probably get into this in another post, but the carpet we chose when we first bought the house is a pain to maintain and does not age well. Outside of those two main changes there will be cosmetic changes as well - bigger desk, putting doors on the closet, new paint, mount the t.v. etc.

Demo begins in March - the sooner I can get this updated the better I'll feel. I 100% believe that a space can impact your mood and your productivity... and you guys all I feel when I look at the room is anxiety and distraction, but when I look at my moodboard I feel accomplished and professional!

So I suppose my lessons learned for you this time is... if a space doesn't feel right to you, change it. It's okay. Don't feel guilty like I did. Your home should bring peace and joy and serve a purpose - if the room doesn't meet that purpose you have for it then it's kind of a waste you know? You're not using the space, avoiding being in there and just overall unhappy with it.

I want to point out though, that changing a space doesn't mean you have to do a whole huge reno like I'm doing... I remember when I first did the shiplap wall in the office what felt off to me was that it wasn't cozy enough and needed to be painted something other than white. As soon as I painted it darker it felt so much better.

So ask yourself, what do I need this room to be? What is its function in the overall home? How do I get it to that point? What do I want to feel in this room? Those are the questions I forced myself to answer before I made the decision to update... hopefully if a space is giving you trouble they can help you too.

My answers:

I need my office to be structured.

I need my office to be more formal than the rest of the home.

I need to remove "cozy" and implement professional. (Sell couch, install built-ins)

I want to feel productive in this room.

Until next time,

-XO- Natasha