As I mentioned in my last post, I’m bang into office decor at the moment. Since moving into our flat I’ve been working downstairs at our kitchen table where we have a big window and some special light bulbs to maximise the day light and keep the old SAD away. This has been nice, but it means I haven’t really been able to settle in so to speak.

We have a big desk upstairs that was an absolute bargain from IKEA (we bought the legs and table top separately) so when my iMac arrived yesterday we decluttered the desk and set him up. Now we’ve moved a few things around, this little corner of the bedroom looking over the mezzanine and on to the living room, feels a lot more like a separate space than it did before. So I’ve been searching for inspiration and thinking about what the perfect workspace is to me. And these sort of moments are, surely, what was made for.

Home office necessity #1: Inspiration Boards

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Every place I’ve lived in so far has had postcards, pictures torn out of magazines, song lyrics, tickets etc all over the walls. Now that I’m a bit more “grown up” (?) and I live in rented accommodation I guess I can’t really get away with that anymore. I do, however, think it’s really important to surround yourself with the things you love to look at and get inspired by. “Mood boards” are a concept that many of us with a creative inclination know and love. It’s a great way to not only be repeatedly smacked in the face by the things we love most – who wouldn’t love that, eh? – but also to brainstorm ideas for a current project or for something you can’t quite get your head around. Matt and I have plans to put two huge cork boards up to the side of our desk and I can’t wait to cover them with things which will prompt me to write when I’m feeling stuck or bored. Mood improver for sure.

Home office necessity #2: Organisation

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Given the time, I’m a bit of a compulsive organiser. Actually, it’s kind of a virtual thing. I love the idea of organising, I even follow a blog called I Heart Organizing and last week contemplated dividing my fridge into individual crates with labels. This however, as always, didn’t go ahead. I can’t seem to make it happen. It requires money, friends. Money and time. And currently I don’t have a lot of either. When I am a mother though, believe me, there will be snack stations, play organisers and colour coded lunchboxes fo’ rizzle. Or at least that’s the way I hope it’ll turn out. In reality, probably won’t.

So, I digress, but essentially my point is that I like stuff what is organised. I totally swooned at the middle pic in this section when I saw it but in reality I know it can never be. I can reach a happy medium though, I’m sure. I’ve been lusting after those little hanging pots from IKEA in the first pic for months and I think I’m finally going to get my hands on them in the not so distant future. I look forward to a future where everything I own is categorised and labeled.

(A little bit of both #1 & #2)

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Home office necessity #3: Light, light, more light! & a little bit of nature, perhaps?

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 As I mentioned before, I’m a big fan of light. It brings me joy, makes me productive, lifts the weight of the daily grind so I don’t get bitter over things like homelessness and David Cameron. Luckily my flat has a lot of great components to make it my ideal workspace – big windows, high ceilings, white walls, a mezzanine layout etc. In fact a lot of things that were mentioned in my interiors wishlist a while back. I think plants, for me, are always something that make a workspace better. They obviously bring in life, movement and seem to prevent a sort of stuffy, overheated stagnation that I associate with corporate offices I’ve work in before. A whole lot of white with natural touches is the ideal space for me, with clean surfaces, hardwood floors and a good view of the outside world.

I’m going to continue, always, to find inspiration for interiors on the internet even when I have my perfect home. I find it so interesting to see how other people choose to surround themselves and the clever ideas they think up. I’ve found some such amazing places through Pinterest so do  over there and have a good look around my boards. Be sure to click the links to the sources too because Pinterest has lead me to some of my favourite blogs full of ideas and beautiful things. The sources could be websites or blogs you go back to again and again, just like I do!

Coming up over the next few days I have a similar post about kitchens which will be brought to you by a guest blogger. I also have a cute Christmas DIY which was greeted with very wide, welcoming eyes this morning when it was unveiled.

 What would your ideal home office be like? Where do you go for inspiration for interiors?