When we moved to Arizona from New York in July of 2013, we thought we knew our style. We made some impulse purchases and set up our dream space rather quickly only to find out that we may have pulled the trigger a little prematurely. We found ourselves bringing things into our home that we liked a lot without thinking about the big picture. Does this piece work with everything else? That’s a question we wish we had asked ourselves. When we decided to tackle our office space and do a complete refresh, we asked ourselves that question a whole lot. We knew we loved the rest of our home, but the office just always felt unfinished. This time around, we looked at the entire space. Will this work with that? Does this color belong here? Does this even fit? We think we asked all the right questions this time around, and finally we have an office space that makes sense, makes us feel comfortable, and most importantly inspires us.
We knew when we were designing this new space, that it was completely essential to include a place to sit back and relax. It’s almost too easy to plop down in front of a computer screen and not move for several hours. We get sucked into projects, editing photos, or just simply surfing the web, and some times the day goes by without ever having any real personal time. Having a chair nestled away in the corner of the room, with a stack of inspiring books close by is such a nice way to step away from the screen for even just a few minutes.
west elm side table (similar) | chair and stool c/o The Citizenry | pillow c/o Mae Woven
We partnered up with The Citizenry to finally create that spot in our home to just simply zone out. Sit back and relax, throw your feet up, read a book, close your eyes, gaze out the window. These things are so important to clear your busy brain. The Palermo Tripolina chair was the answer to all the questions we had been asking, plus it’s pretty easy on the eyes. Its gorgeous design had us swooning from the start and the story behind each handmade piece really drew us in.
west elm bookshelf, throw and accents | basket c/o Plum & Sparrow | sandals c/o Madewell
The Citizenry’s philosophy really resonated with us…
“We believe our homes should be reflections of the journeys we take. Our personal spaces deserve designs with a soul, a story, and a purpose.”
Our surroundings are so important to our state of mind each day. Creating a pleasing space for the eyes, creates a pleasing space for the mind. We made sure to continue the same theme as in our living room to create a natural flow throughout the apartment, while bringing in personal pieces that would spark new ideas and calming vibes. Above our desk (which was the one piece of furniture we kept, along with the desk chair), we hung a simple floating shelf, full of some trinkets like the wooden hand figure found while thrifting with family up in Sedona, desert rose rocks, a brass prism sculpture from our sweet friends over at Sisters of Nature, and a fun print we found on etsy a while back which used to hang in our old living room. We love that fun cycling duo!
Speaking of bicycles! We decided to hang our bikes in this room, as well. They’re just as much of a piece of artwork as anything else in the room and we didn’t want them getting rusty out in the desert sun when they weren’t being used. We threw around quite a few ideas about how we would do this, and finally came across this bike rack from CB2. The wooden design fit perfectly into the space, and the blue and black colors of the bikes blended in, rather than becoming a big eye sore. Overall, we’re happy with how it turned out and its super convenient for when we want to take a ride around town.
Love these natural bolga baskets by Plum + Sparrow. They’re perfect for holding little odds and ends and blankets to curl up with. We have one in almost every room. 🙂
To complete the room, we added a printed shag rug with tassels, switched out the vertical blinds for some bright white linen curtains, and added some greenery from our local nurseries and flowershops. It’s amazing what some bright light and a few plants can do to pull a space together. 🙂
You can see some other home + design posts here:
Workspace Inspiration | Our Dining Room Progress | Living Room Makeover
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I have a question for you about hosting in your apartment. I also have a two bedroom but am still experimenting with ways to host people without a guest bedroom. Do you have any tips or solutions that have worked for you? I
Hi Julia – We used to have a sleeper sofa in this space (here are some photos from our old apartment), but it fit better in our old space and felt pretty cumbersome in this smaller room. We have family and friends visit at different times of the year, but it’s not every weekend, so we didn’t feel bad getting rid of the sleeper sofa. In place of the sofa we brought in the chair and little stool/ottoman, which was more practical for us. When we do have friends and family in town, we either give them our bedroom for the night or bust out the air mattress. We’ve invested in one that is a bit more expensive, but more comfortable than the norm, and works just fine for visits — plus it folds up small and stores under our bed. There’s always the option of bringing in a sofa to your living room that pulls out to a bed. From our experience, when visitors are in town, everyone is just happy to be together, going out to eat and sightsee, and less focused on the actual guest room. Hope that helps a bit! 🙂
Thank you! That is very helpful. I love having my small space. I do worry about making others comfortable, but forget that it’s the atmosphere that makes all the difference.
Congratulations! Redesigning a space is always so rewarding. My husband and I moved about 6 months ago and I wanted to rush into buying everything but he was good about holding me back. We’ve now added items to our bedroom that I wouldn’t have picked out just a few mi the ago because we lived in the space for a while and learned what we needed. Your office space looks like it will be perfectly balanced – inspiring, energizing and calming. Love what you’ve done with the place ;]
I love your home and how you’ve decorated everything! This gives me so much inspiration for my home.
Your office is so chic, love the screen saver
xo
http://www.laurajaneatelier.com
My boyfriend and I relocated houses around this time last month and we’re still getting everything together, but the next space I want to work on is my office, so this was perfect for inspiration.
Unfortunately we’re only renting so there is no chance of painting walls or nailing anything into the walls, which is a shame, because I have a ton of ideas!
And you’re right, a room should tell a story, and I always try and do that with each room I decorate.
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed this post!
http://jesandbleu.com
I love how everything looks like it came there piece by piece and is part of a story instead of just collected for a “look”. Great job!
You blog is the best!! Your taste in interiors and fashion are impeccable,keep up the good work guys! x
Your space looks fantastic, from the color scheme to each little item that seems to fit so seamlessly! It is amazing how uncluttered you are able to keep your space. That is something we are always working on. I absolutely love that you have your bikes in the room (they are gorgeous!) I wish we could do the same but that would mean carrying them up 3 flights of stairs! Not going to happen.
Christina
http://www.asentimentaladventure.com
Can you tell me the name of the clock wallpaper/screensaver? I would like to download it. Thanks!
Thanks its from fliqlo.com 🙂