wallpaper

The home office can easily become the home dumping grounds if you’re not careful.  Piles of this and boxes of that get scattered hither and yon, and before you know it you’re typing amidst chaos with nary a space to set a cup of coffee.

Believe me when I say you’ll be much more productive, and will enjoy a lower-stress atmosphere, when you decorate and organize your office in style.

7 Tips for Decorating and Organizing Your Home Office

Keep your home office stylish and organized with some of these simple tips.

1. Choose the right location. If you have the luxury of a extra office room, lucky you. Most homes, however, incorporate their offices into existing living spaces. Try to find a space that is somewhat our of the way, perhaps under a stairway or in an unused corner in a family or living room space. Many clients are opting to add a home office as part of their kitchen remodel, building it in to the end of a wall or as part of a kitchen peninsula or message center.
2. Focus on ergonomics. The more you use your home office, the more you will want to focus on ergonomics. Make sure that your desktop and workspace are at a height, angle and position that is healthy for your body. Research is showing more and more how unhealthy the seated-and-working lifestyle is for the human body. Check out OSHA’s eTool regarding Computer Work Stations and then set up your work space accordingly.
3. Think about color. If you’re home office is situated in another living space, your color combinations may have already been decided for you. In cases where you can repaint and decorate, think carefully about the energy you like to have around you while working before moving forward with color combinations you like. Different colors have different effects on human psyche. If you prefer to work in a more calm and soothing environment, choose blues, greens, whites or more neutral color combinations. If you want a home office environment that has a pick-me-up vibe all on its own, opt for brighter colors like reds, oranges and yellows.
4. Prioritize organization. As I mentioned above, the home office space – like any office space – can get cluttered pretty quickly. Is your office also going to be the place where the family’s art supply will be stored? Will others be accessing its drawers and cubbies? Think about how the space will be used and what will be stored there. You may find you’ll benefit from custom shelving and storage that will accommodate your needs. Add a few open shelves or cubbies so you have a place to add a few (a few – not a cluttered collection!) sentimental mementos and/or photos.
5. Define the space. Again, if your office space is located in part of the main house, you’ll want to define the space a bit more. Ideas for doing this include using area rugs to anchor your office furniture or adding an accent wall with a cool wallpaper print that is slightly larger than the outline of your desk and/or shelving or book cases.
6. Give yourself a little sunshine. If at all possible, make sure your home office space has access to natural light. It’s the best light source for reading, writing and computer work. Don’t have a window or skylight nearby? Consider adding an affordable solar tube. Otherwise, upgrade your lighting plan to prevent tired eyes or a dim and gloomy workspace.

Tired of the same old paint? Wish your walls, ceilings or architectural features were dressed up with little bit of pattern? Then it’s time to reacquaint yourself with wallpaper. For some reason, wallpaper fell out of favor with interior designers and I’m not sure why. It allows a form of creative expression that is impossible to accomplish with paint unless you are an incredible artist in your own right.

For example, look how the addition of floral wallpaper transformed this small powder room into a whimsical and beautiful space. That simply isn’t possible with paint unless you purchase a bunch of colors, have unique artistic abilities and/or are very precise with stencils. In other words, wallpaper opens creative doors for your interior design.

Modern Interpretations for Wallpaper in Any Room in the House

Here are suggestions for modern wallpaper applications – it doesn’t always have to go on the walls.

Look for metallic prints and accents. Look for wallpaper with metallic accents. It adds elegance, shimmer and a little reflective light to any space. Some papers are 100% metallic, which makes a bold statement. Others are lightly laced with metallic stripes or accents that add just a hint of glamor and interest.

Use it for an accent wall. One of the most powerful uses of wallpaper is for an accent wall. Papering an entire room is a bold move; you have to like that pattern a lot because stripping the wall again to re-paper or paint is fairly labor intensive. So, if there is a bold, bright or wildly stunning pattern you love – but feel won’t last forever in your taste book – use it on a single wall. It will achieve the look you want and will be easy to re-move and re-do when you’re ready for a change.

Try a wallpaper backsplash. There are plenty of attractive tiles out there, but without getting into pretty cost-intensive mosaic work, it’s not easy to get the colors and patterns you envision for a stove’s backsplash. This is especially true in smaller kitchens where a window wall, or cabinets and the fridge, prevent you from gaining a burst of color or pattern elsewhere. In this case, look for wallpaper that is heavy-duty and designed for bathrooms or more moist environments so it can handle steam from the pots and the occasional wash down with a sponge.

Use it on the bed wall. Wallpaper can make an excellent backdrop for your bed. Rather than covering the whole wall, simple measure, cut and apply wall paper in the shape or dimensions that suit your room and bed. If you’re feeling bold, it’s a fun way to play with color and pattern layering, combining the print from the paper with the patterns on your bedding and accent pillows.

On the ceiling. There is something stunning about the right patterned wallpaper on the ceiling. In bedrooms, it gives you something interesting to look at while you lie in bed. In the dining room, it can provide an echo of the table’s shape or highlight a stunning chandelier. In the living room, it’s a place to add a print or color that you may have felt was too overpowering for a wall.

On architectural features. Finally, you can use wallpaper – or leftover scraps to decorate architectural features that aren’t normally decorated. These include the back walls of book cases, the risers on your stairs or the sloped ceiling of a stairwell. Use eye-catching patterns and colors.

Contact me at Kristina Wolf Design for more modern ideas for using wallpaper in your Bay Area interior design. (510) 848-8773.