Every time I open my closet doors, I discover another article of clothing that doesn’t quite feel like me anymore. I can’t get dressed in the morning without first scrutinizing my wardrobe.
Why did I buy such a colorful top?
Will I every really wear those patterned pants?
When did this sweater get so tight?… READ MORE!
After months of working from the living room sofa, the dining room table, and select local coffee shops, I finally realized in December that I needed a dedicated office space in our home. I couldn’t have a room of my own since our townhouse doesn’t have any to spare, but there was an unused wall in our basement begging to be turned into an office nook.
Working with The Land of Nod, I picked desks, bookcases, and chairs that I could share with my four-year-old son, Levi. He takes his art very seriously and wanted a place to “work” just like mommy. So cute, right? Eventually, I’ll let Asa have my desk, but he’s not quite old enough to need a proper workspace yet.
But there’s more than just furniture to a stylish office. When it came time to decorate, I learned that there are many ways to upgrade your home office. Read on for 5 easy tips that’ll take your workspace from standard to chic.
1. Set the mood with a candle. Candles are the easiest way to add a decorative and fragrant touch to your home office. I also love the idea of a candle-lighting ritual every time you sit at your desk to get you in the mindset to work. Anthropologie has some of the prettiest and best-smelling candles, including this cut-work candle and this patterned candle tin. PS: Don’t forget matches!
2. Add some greenery. Studies have shown that working in an office with plants can help reduce blood pressure, lessen stress, and increase productivity. Plus, it’s just nice to have a bit of nature nearby when your home office is in a basement. For smaller plants, I’m digging these small clay urns and this hanging pot from Terrain.
3. Make a statement with wallpaper. When you work from home, you can use all of the energy boosts you can get — and there’s just something so energizing about a patterned wall, isn’t there? I’m so grateful to Chasing Paper for sending me several rolls of their removable wallpaper for my home office makeover. While The Land of Nod desks and bookcases looked fantastic on their own, the geometric star pattern took the space to the next level.
4. Frame some artwork. Sure, you could use washi tape to secure small prints and postcards to the wall, but hanging framed artwork makes a room feel more finished. This framed Minted print was actually hanging in our dining room before I realized that my workspace’s blue and white color palette was begging for a pop of orange. This abstract and this birthstone print could also work in my space — and maybe yours, too?
5. Introduce decorative objects. Once you’ve organized your pens, notebooks, and paperclips, it’s time to add a bit of flair. When my friend Jeran suggested I add something gold to my workspace, I hightailed it to Target and picked up this metallic sheep figurine. It may seem totally random, but I’m an Aries, so I think it works! You could also try decorating with chic bookends or a geometric sculpture.
Would you try any of these easy ways to upgrade your home office? Tell me about your workspace. If you work from home do you have a dedicated workspace or do you curl up on the couch with your laptop? Or does your job happen in a corner office or cubicle?
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I’m sharing more photos of my home office makeover, plus additional details about Levi’s side of the workspace, over on The Land of Nod‘s blog, Honest to Nod. Please check it out!
If you remember, my intention for taking a blog hiatus this past month was to get out of my head and back into my body. I’d been neglecting basic self-care essentials like sleep and exercise simply because I didn’t have time.
(No time to sleep, you wonder? Well, I have the bad habit of staying up late to get work done . . . and then zoning out in front of the TV instead. Maybe you can relate?)
But I had an ulterior motive for taking a break from my blog. By spending the month getting out of my head, I was hoping I’d somehow make more room in there for creativity.
The past couple of months I’ve felt increasing uninspired and, truthfully, a bit lost in the blogosphere. There are sooooooo many blogs out there, and I wasn’t sure how to make mine stand out from the masses.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to continue blogging. More and more frequently, I found myself wondering, “What’s the point?”
No, really. What’s the point?
So my underlying goal was to somehow set the stage for a lightbulb moment about what I should be doing with my life — by not thinking what I should be doing with my life.
Unfortunately, inspiration doesn’t necessarily work that way. Turns out you can’t simply schedule creativity on the calendar or plan an epiphany within a specific time frame.
I might not have had any major insights about my professional ambitions, but I did learn two important things:
I’ll admit that it’s been a struggle to articulate my thoughts into words and to organize those words into sentences for this post. My brain feels mushy returning to my computer after a month away. I was hoping the process of reentering the blog world would be similar to riding a bike, but I can’t lie — this time around the block has been pretty painful!
As for the blog, I’m still playing around with the idea of creating a totally new website or maybe a newsletter. At the very least, I’ll be tweaking the content here on A Girl Named PJ, introducing new topics that interest me and phasing out ones that aren’t as exciting anymore.
Psst… Stay tuned for a reader survey. I’d love your input as I plan for the future.
So what was I doing when I wasn’t working on a post?
What didn’t I do? Besides figure out how to become rich and famous (or if I even want to become rich and famous), I didn’t go to sleep much earlier than midnight. I didn’t commit to a meditation practice. I didn’t clean the top of my bedroom dresser nor underneath the bench at the foot of our bed.
But I was busy. Really, really busy. The trick moving forward will be determining how to fit the blog back into my busier-than-before schedule. The goal is to post three times a week — possibly Monday, Wednesday and Thursday — while still making self-care a priority. Obviously, something is going to have to give, but I don’t know what yet.
To everybody who reached out during my break to send a note of encouragement: thank you. Having readers who appreciate what I have to say is really what makes this job so rewarding.
I may not know where I’m heading, but I’m certainly glad to be back. Let’s see what happens next!
(Photos from my Instagram feed. I’d love for you to follow me there, too!)
Happy New Year! How have you been enjoying 2016? Are you working hard on your resolutions or have you already given up on working out, eating healthfully and organizing your home? You can tell me; I won’t judge!
One of my New Year resolutions is to take better care of myself. That includes… READ MORE!
