JuBella.com – Get Your Creative Dose

Most of us have a space or room set aside for your work, whether it’s a creative space or a space where you may write or do lot’s of paperwork, there are tons of ways to keep your home office organized and chic. Here are a few of my tips. Hopefully some of these tips and images can help you get your workspace moving towards organized, and check back soon for part deuce!

Decorate Around your Habits: I cannot tell you how many times I have arranged and re-arranged my work space. It was not until I took about a week and evaluated and jotted down notes of how I tend to use my workspace and where I tend to put things. Many times when we compose our office we tend to be very unrealistic with how we arrange our tools and décor. If you know you tend to not put things that you use often back up on a high shelf, then it would be very unproductive to put your storage baskets up high for everyday materials. So, take the time to evaluate what comes natural and the arrangement of your office will follow properly. Be Realistic!

image source: living etc. & kimhascats

Task Worthy: If you do a lot of different things within your office, then it’s probably best to keep the tools for each task together in one spot instead of having tools all over the place.

Comfort: Having a comfortable chair to work in is quite important within your home office. Chairs with no back or armrests are not ideal for a workspace that is used often, especially if you work at the computer. Having a super comfy chair will motivate you to want to work in your office rather than finding yourself spread out on the couch or in bed! Also, if you have hardwood floors, then I suggest getting a chair with caster wheels on them. I have a long work table and I wish that I could just slide from one end to the other without having to get up and move the chair each time I want to move to the other side.

image source: apartmenttherapy.com & livingetc.com

Color: Whether neutral or neon, incorporating a color scheme into your workspace is essential to the sense of motivation. Instead of grabbing up supplies and décor that you randomly see, take the time and plan out a color scheme and coordinate your furniture, décor, and office supplies. You will be surprised at how having a “no clash effect” will put a little bit of pep in your work!

Personal Ambiance: Above making sure you come up with a color palette that you love, you also need to make sure that you add elements to your room that brings out your personality or the personality of your work. Swatches of fabric, mood boards, trinkets, candles, pottery, art, mirrors, etc. Incorporate your character and the things that make you happy within your space!

image source: living etc. & balibro

Lighting: Lighting can make or break a room. Soft lighting is the best for a work area. Hey, it’s your home office, so spare yourself the bright flourescent lights! Using a table lamp on your desk is great for the work you do there, having a floor lamp is great for little nooks where you may do your reading, and overhead lighting will bring it all together. The lighting you use in your office can really effect your mood, and for the creative spaces, it can definitely effect the outcome of your work.

Hidden Work Spaces: If you are limited with space, then you may do best with setting up a “hidden” work space. In this case office armoires are great! Especially if your work area is located in a room that is not solely dedicated to a home office. Closets transform exceptionally into hidden work areas!

The Unexpected Decor: When you go out to shop don’t limit yourself to shopping in the home office section. Use your creativity and you will be surprised as to where you can find some super unique and chic ideas for decorating your office. For instance I love vintage suitcases from the thrift store for storage, umbrella holders to store gift wrap or rolled paper, cups, mugs, & aprons with pockets for holding pencils, pens, and brushes, clear bathroom containers for storing supplies, portable clothes racks for hanging fabric, and thrifty/vintage totes to hold magazines and random paper, etc. A visit to your local thrift or antique store is a great way to find little trinkets and tools that you can transform into office treasures.
image source: lowes: creative ideas

image source: saqanaga

Clear Jars & Containers: Having storage is a necessity in your work area, yet, it is important to have proper storage. For this case I suggest grabbing up lots of clear containers, whether they are jars, glasses, or large cookie/pasta containers. Being able to see what you have makes it super easy on your time. I’m sure we all hate looking through decorative containers, trying to remember where something is, but don’t get me wrong, decorative containers are great, but for your everyday materials, I think clear containers are best.

image source: living etc. & potterybarn

Bookshelves: Bookshelves are great if you take the time to organize them accordingly. If possible use stackable bookshelves or ones with dividers so that you can separate your resources easier, instead of having them all in one spot. For instance, if you have a ton of décor magazines and lots of craft books, and business books, then it would be more ideal to section them off.

To Do Lists: While this is not anything that you can buy, having a to do list is an essential tool in your workspace. Keeping a to do list will most likely keep you motivated and will offer up the pleasure of not forgetting that next task!

header image source: dominomag.com

Hi everybody. I just wanted to pop in to let you all know that I am still here. I decided to take this week off to catch up on some serious organizing and scheduling. With so many things on my wish list of things to do, it is a necessity that I have as much order possible around me so that I can achieve them with a clear mind. So I have devoted this week to making our little ablode feel fresh, clean, and pretty as well as to finalize a decent daily schedule for myself, our home, and our little ones homeschooling adventures!

So I will be back here Monday with some lovely posts, a few interviews, and hopefully a post all about organizing. YAY! Okay, I am signing off now and I hope you all have a wonderful week and upcoming weekend. Wish me luck with organizing…it’s a never ending task!

Let’s go visit a lovely little home in Stockholm, Sweden where you will feel a pure essence of cleanliness, simplicity, beauty, and creativity. It’s sweet and cozy and is filled with as much charm as a well adorned charm bracelet.

So, many of you have probably seen photos already of Benita Larssons home, but I could not resist featuring her comforting and well organized home here on JuBella. I am beyond speechless and inspired at how organized she keeps her space and I love all of the white she uses amidst her rooms. It truly does make you wish you were really stepping through her thresh hole for a cup of tea and biscotti and a day filled with admiration of well thought out nooks and crannies as you take note of all of her clever organizing tips!

Let’s Go Visit: Benita Larsson

Occupation: Visual merchandiser for a chain of 150 shops in Sweden.
 
Home Location: Stockholm, Sweden.

Style of Home: Clean, white, organized, and comfortable!

Favorite Room: The living room. The house is really small but the living room has a pretty open plan. It’s where we spend most of our time. It’s light, sunny, and really comfortable.

Design/decor challenges when it came to decorating: I love rearranging furniture. As a little girl I’d move my furniture around my room all the time and previously in our city apartments I used to do that too but in this house there’s just nowhere to move anything to. The sofa fits one space, the dining table another and the bed in the bedroom can only be placed where it is. I love our little house, but sometimes I wish the rooms where a little bit bigger.

Favorite shops/boutiques for decorating her home: We have gotten a lot of things for the house in thrift shops, dumpsters and some where left in our house by the previous owners. We also build a lot ourselves. Most of the storage is self built. When I do shop it’s usually storage related, like boxes or containers and fabrics to make cushions out of. I like the Swedish department store Åhléns where they have some great inexpensive things for the home. They also carry Muji, which I love. For fabrics I either get them online or again at Åhléns or at Svenskt Tenn. I’ve been “accused” by some to having an IKEA home but there are actually not very many IKEA pieces in our home. The sofa is, the beds are and there are a few book cases. That’s more or less it. Probably less than in many homes. Oh, I do get storage boxes there and my laundry hampers are IKEA too come to think of it… When I go to the States I love shopping at Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware…

5 words that describes how she would want you to feel when visiting her home: At ease, comfortable, relaxed, inspired and well fed!

Thanks so much Benita for inviting us over, it was quite delightful! See more of benitas home by visiting her flickr sets.