Easy Home Office Upgrade Ideas that will make you want to get back to work!
- Jade Lewon
- Sep 2, 2024
- 6 min read
Design ideas for your Home Office upgrade inside...
-- Welcome September!
Mediterranean-sourced Home Decor products with links to Med Shops
Welcome September!
Do you get the Labour Day back-to-school / back-to-work blues?
Are you wishing your summer holidays could last a little longer?
Looking for some inspiration?
September is one of my favourite months. For me, September has always meant an opportunity for renewal - like January. I feel excitement for new projects that I’ve dreamed up over the summer - and I’m ready to get to work.
Yes, my Mediterranean Lifestyle also includes sit-at-the-computer style work.
“Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -- Mark Twain
I would add that where you are working - your work space - is equally important. I want to feel inspiration walking into that space.
This Labour Day weekend, I’ve given my Home Office a makeover with easy, and economical upgrades. My new Home Office is already inviting me in to unleash my best productive self.
In case you are looking for some back-to-work inspiration, check out these Home Office upgrade ideas.
2. Home Office Organization - The Bookshelf, The Mobile Office Caddy
3. The Lighting (and Shades)
1. The Desk
My Home Office upgrade ideas started with a desire to upgrade my desk.
I was in the airport, returning from my holidays in Croatia, and picked up a few magazines for the flight home. An ad from a gardening magazine spoke to me. (Photo below). I loved the clean lines, and expansive space, of this wrap around work-station design.
Previously, I had my desk sort of in the middle of the room, facing the windows. I had wanted to be able to have a view of my garden while working at the computer…. However, I found that those windows, and the bright Mediterranean sun that flowed through them, was creating quite a glare on the computer - and became quite hot in the long (and glorious) Med Summer.
My Home Office room does have a wall space without windows, and that is protected from the rays of sun. I decided that my new desk should go there - and to create a more expansive work-station style space, that I would get a super long desk - to create a space where I could spread out my idea boards.
So, where to find a new, long desk that fit my budget, and Med Home style?
I started with my go-to for Med Home design, Zara Home (Spain).
I found a beautiful, and large (2 meters), desk that was exactly my style (Photo above),
However, it was quite substantially outside of my budget.
So, I went online to search for a similar design of desk, with a more digestible price.
I found this one, The LINCOLN, at El Corte Ingles (Spain) online store. Very similar in style to the Zara Home desk I loved, at a fraction of the price. The only thing was, it was also half the size of that expansive 2 metre Zara Home desk….
So I decided to buy 2!
The effect is perfect - and didn’t break my bank account. Loving my new double desk!
2. Home Office Organization
The Bookshelf
The next item of critical importance to my new Home Office upgrade was some Home Office organisation. My office was starting to feel cluttered - and I cannot work in clutter.
I needed a place to hide all of the paper, reports, and I’m-not-sure-how-they-got-there knick knacks that were taking over my desk space. I wasn’t ready to part with all of that “stuff” (yet), but I didn’t want to see it.
The best place for any home organisation, in my view, is IKEA. It is economical, instantly available, and has a lot of choice to fit any style.
I found the KALLAX shelving unit. A simple, clean and modern design that would also add some height and depth to my office space. IKEA also, cleverly, has several choices for baskets that fit perfectly into the shelves, to hide away my clutter.
The white shelving unit seamlessly disappears into my white walls - exposing only a few chosen items that exude a feeling of calm and serenity: A mood lamp, a candle, and a plant.
The Mobile Office Caddy
To keep your workspace tidy, and for easy transport of Home Office essentials I found this handy Mobile Desk caddy from Gustav, to house my laptop, iPad, pens, files....
A de-clutter dream!
And a neat trick to hide away your chords - woven baskets!
3. The Lighting (and shades)
Leroy Merlin (France)
Just as many Hollywood actresses attribute their beauty on screen to “the lighting” - Lighting, for me, is an important feature to bring out the beauty in any room.
I am not a big lover of overhead lighting. I do have overhead lights in my rooms, but mostly as a design element vs. to provide overhead (or what I call, interrogation) light.
I much prefer accent lighting, lighting up accents in the room, which I find much softer. The design of my house has many wall nooks, which I love, and are perfect for accent lighting.
Zara Home has a great selection of stylish lamps. I chose 2 earthy white lamps from Zara Home to light up my new workspace.
Before we leave this section on lighting, I have to mention shade. - To block out the hot and bright Mediterranean sun (so that I can get some work done…)
I chose blackout blinds from IKEA, and white washed bamboo shades from LEROY MERLIN, for my Med Beach House design aesthetic.
4. The Daybed
I love a sofa in my office, for the option of more relaxed working on my laptop - and that can double as a bed for guests.
What you see here is the simplest IKEA sofa-bed, LYCKSELE LOVAS.
This was actually the first item of “furniture” I purchased for my Med Home - the day I got the keys actually. To be able to sleep in my empty new dream home, to start to map out what would become my Med Beach House meets Countryside Cottage design.
It fits perfectly here in my Home Office, with a natural cover.
While I was looking for my new desk, I also found this more designer Daybed at Zara Home. It is beautiful, but sadly, not in this year’s budget. I will save the design idea for my next upgrade….
5. The Coffee Machine
Ok, I love coffee. So, the coffee machine directly in the office, is key. After all, I don’t want to risk distraction when I am on a brain wave in my office by going to the kitchen….
Nespresso is always ready to go, for really good coffee while you are in the midst of creating your masterpiece.
I have the Nespresso Vertuo POP in the kitchen. For the office I chose the Original and classic Nespresso CitiZ in white.
BONUS: Med Style Designer Pieces
Portugal
Every room can benefit from a few designer pieces to make your own style statement.
Most of the world’s cork comes from cork trees native to the Med. In Portugal, you find cork shops everywhere. It seems that you can make almost anything out of cork - from shoes, to handbags, and… furniture.
My partner has an amazing eye for design, and found these office pieces made of white painted steel and cork. I chose the office chair with cork seat and back-rest, “coffee-machine” small shelving unit with cork on the sides, and the waste basket with cork on the bottom.
I hope that these Home Office Upgrade ideas are helpful for all looking for some September back-to-work inspiration.
Click on the photos for direct links to the products - also check out my Med Style products page.
A few back-to-work quotes that are inspiring me right now:
“Know your talent, your special gifts, and go out and do that. Success will follow.” -- Oprah Winfrey
"It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness." -- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Sitting at my computer in my new Home Office, and feeling inspired…
Jade
Lewon
Med
I love how you showed us your inspirational pieces and then how you sourced out more economical choices.