The Home Office

Hi Christine,

I forgot to ask you what the focal point is for a home office.  Is it the desk?

I very much enjoyed the webinar and I look forward to attending more of them.


Mary

Hi Mary,

Great question.  There is not just one answer to that one.  Sure, sometimes it is the desk, but it certainly doesn't have to be. 

In a living space I would say that the furniture all faces the focal point, such as the center of the dining table, or the fireplace or television.  In a small office, there might be just one chair, which faces the computer monitor.  ;-)  A larger office which has guest chairs facing the desk would have the desk, or wall behind the desk, as the focal point.  The question is, when you enter the room, what do you want the eye to go to? 

Feng Shui would say that the chair should not be facing the wall, but that rather the desk should be in the center of the room, where the chair is in a position where you can see a guest enter the room, not have your back to them.  This setup would again have the focal point be the desk, or the wall behind the desk. 

Here is an example where the focal point is the chair:

In the seminar, I talked about breaking a pattern, and creating a focal point- This office below is a good example of that:  Notice above how you have bookcase, break, bookcase.  The break lines up with the cute zebra chair and the mirror, creating a central dominance.

Here again, the focal point is the wall behind the desk, created with an accent of wallpaper: 

In this small space, the focal point is not the desk chair, or wall behind the desk, but rather I would say that the focal point is the art:

In the office below I would say the focal point is the rug:

What I find as an interior designer is that I do have an "ideal".  I like the focal point to be the wall behind the desk, with a secondary focal point in the chair and the desk itself.  (the photo with the beige zebra chair is a good example)  I like the main office chair to face into the room, instead of face the wall.  This is how I have designed my personal office space. 

However...  I frequently have clients with restrictions that prohibit this.  My cliet will say, "we need two chairs, two computers, six file drawers, two bookcases, and a sofa sleeper. " The restrictions are too many to also be able to treat the office with the focal point that I would like to.  Sometimes function has to come first, forcing me to design some built-ins rather than be able to put a pretty desk in the center of the room. 

Which home office photo is your favorite? 

New Selections for Nancy

This post is in response to the previous post- for Nancy's office, in which the selections were centered around a fabric that Nancy didn't want for a chair that doesn't fit.  ;-)  I selected a different chair- this one from Overstock.  I know it is nothing like the papsan.  I'm not big on the papsan chair anyway- too much like a college apartment for me.  This one is only 33 inches deep- which means that it will fit.  Even cocked on an angle it should be alright. 

Now- I love gray and gold together.  A bold gold rug like this one from homedecorator.com would be great.

Repeat the gold in some art work.  The piece above is from Z Gallerie- and comes with a second coordinating piece.

These drapes are West Elm- accent them with a gold tie back.

Solidify the overall feel a little more with a couple of throw pillows on your chairs- the pillow above is from Crate and Barrel.

I still hear kids talking so I'd better leave the computer and get back to work. 

XOXO

Christine

Storage Meets Style

Hi Christine,

I just recently moved into an apartment, from a home. I have an open living/dining area that is not large to begin with, and I want to add a computer desk that can fit two monitors as well as dining and living room furniture. What do you think? I like a more modern look. Can you make it look less like an cookie cutter apartment and more like a cool NYC apartment? BTW- my husband likes black leather...

Thanks,

Shelly

Hi Shelly,

I made some plans for you.

1. Window treatments. Add drapes. They will do tons to make your place look finished. The panels above are on clearance from West Elm for only $15 each.
2. Area Rug. Don't think that just because you have carpet- you don't need a rug. A rug adds texture, style, pattern, and helps to separate areas in an open floorplan.
3. Use a bookcase for a sofa table. You can use it for books, or put baskets on it with any type of storage. It's like adding another wall to your room. Also add some wall shelves in the dining area. Lowe's sells some great ones- 36 inches wide- only $27.
4. In small spaces- nothing works so nicely as mirrors to open up space, reflect light and honestly make a room feel larger. The mirror above (uttermost) is 30 x 60- I would use two- and hang them horizontally on top of one another.
5. The console table above would make a great computer desk. It is 87 inches in width- giving you some good elbow room- but only 20 inches deep. Not to mention that it is the latest washed finish.
6. Use stools at the computer desk. They tuck away nicely- but can also double as extra dining seating.
7. Watch your scale on your furniture- don't go too deep- 4 inches really does make a difference in your room.
8. I would get a dining table that starts pretty small- but will open up larger. Then use a chair out of a clear translucent material. I found this cool one that comes in translucent black or clear. I think I'd use black.
9. No- I have not forgotten about your husband- let's make your chair in the corner a nice black leather one. ;)

I can see the place in my mind and it looks fabulous! I am sure it will be the best looking apartment in the complex! Don't forget lighting. Add some wall mounted swing arm lights at the desk- an uplight on a timer behind the plant- and a pharmacy floor lamp by the chair, and a cabinet light on the top wall shelf. If you have a hanging light in the dining area- consider replacing it with a cooler one than came with the apartment.

As a side note- my sister Jackie is a fabulous cook- and has started a blog sharing her amazing recipes- check it out! She also has sprinkled in some fun stories from when we were kids.

The Home Office

Dear Christine,

I am a huge fan of your blog. I think you need to have your own TV show… you’re too good and funny not to!

I need your help! I have family coming in for Turkey Day and I have a study that has been empty since we moved in LAST YEAR because I don’t know how to design it- and FEAR of regretting how I do it has frozen me. I’ll be mortified if it’s empty still when they come over- they know we moved in a year ago!

I wanted to incorporate bookshelves somehow- maybe put accent lighting at the top of them so it’s pretty at night :) (I like the storage and I like the cozy feel they give a room). We have 9' ceilings which helps the space look larger. I need a desk in the room for our laptop and a place to put a printer. Obviously I’d have to attach the printer via USB port to the computer, so they have to be near each other. I like the look of a floating desk in the study (as opposed to up against the wall) but this poses the dilemma- where to put the printer? Trying to hide the laptop power supply and lamp cord is already a challenge- but a bulky printer on the desk would just look hideous and all of those cords… tough to hide. How do you make a study look good- and FUNCTIONAL at the same time? I’d like to have a place in the room for a cozy chair to sit in (so that if my hubby’s at the desk, I can sit in the chair and hang out while he works). The struggle is making this space functional for its purpose as an office, but also making it pleasing to the eye since it sits right off of our foyer and is one of the first rooms you see when you come in. Generally speaking, I like transitional spaces- classic charm and clean modern lines, cozy. I pretty much love everything you post ;).

Here’s the BIG challenge! Enter: digital piano. It doesn’t have to go in the study- I just don’t know where else on the first floor to put it and I play it semi-often. The study isn’t big, so if it doesn’t fit there, oh well I guess. Here are its dimensions: (W x D x H) 52.05" x 11.26" x 5.31"

And, as a final note- we haven’t done our formal dining room yet either- which sits directly across from the study. So, should I have the paint colors in those rooms match? I have a lot of tans through the home- mostly warm tone tans. I have a bronze/olivey green tone as an accent wall in a sun room off of the kitchen… other than that- no other colors. I’m having trouble finding colors that would go well with that bronzey green.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Emily

Well- let me first say that it takes me months to get to all of the e-mail requests I get. With Thanksgiving being tomorrow- you might have this all taken care of- but I will give you a few pointers anyway.

1. Your floorplan showed optional openings and optional bay windows. Without actual photos- I don't know if you have those or not- so I can't give you specific locations. However- what I would do- is do a wall of book storage- that would be behind your floating desk- with deeper storage as it nears the floor to help house your printer and other larger items.
2. Look for a desk with an open knee hole- and yet still having banks of drawers on the sides for storage. These styles of desks are my favorite- as you can still get great style- and functionality. So many of the nicest looking desks have absolutely no redeeming value as far as function goes. All fluff with no stuff. The desks at the top of the post are from Decorize and The Hugh's Collection.
3. As far as cord hiding goes- go to Lowes- there are tons of options that will hep you discreetly hide your cords. Area rugs can also be helpful.
4. Without photos I cannot begin to give you paint advice. :) But I will say to consider wallpaper. In rooms like offices there tends to be little pattern- and the walls can be the perfect place to add some.
5. If you didn't get the room finished prior to your company coming- I wouldn't worry so much about it- have an air of confidence that says, " My room is going to be perfect- I will not be rushed by arbitrary dates on a calendar."

Photos from Elle Decor and Metropolitan Home