How To Make A Small Office Space Work!

Published
June 9, 2015
By:
Lauren Ashley Patao

ikea-hemnes-deskI’ve been promising to do a blog post on my office space, but was waiting for everything to be a bit more ‘put together.’ Being a college student and having to make my small space work is something I’ve been struggling with, but I finally made this little corner in my home’s bedroom perfect for blogging, writing, doing homework and more! I’m so happy with how it came out. I love white and gold and wanted to add little touches of color here and there.

Believe it or not, this desk is actually from IKEA! My mom actually went to Ace Hardware and got gold knobs (for less than $4 each) and we switched them out to make the desk look a little high-end. Also, the shelves and brackets are from IKEA and are called ‘Elkby.’ I spray-painted the brackets because they were white and I wanted to add a golden touch! I love the way they came out and how it brings in the gold from the desk and my amazing chair from Rachel George. This chair is so comfortable and the height adjusts, which is extremely important for me.

Since my workspace is small, I decided to decorate vertically, rather than horizontally! I did add the little pink ottoman from Target and I like to put a bowl with Starbursts in it… because who doesn’t love candy?

Some tips for keeping your workspace unique and a place where you’d want to work on things:

– Create it for you. Not for anyone else. Sure, get inspiration from Pinterest, but create a space you’ll want to be.

– Remember that you’ll be spending a lot of time here… write a list of things that make you happy, and try to incorporate them into your space.

– Keep things around you that inspire you. Fashion books, style magazines, flowers, etc.

– Keep water by you at all times! You don’t want to get dehydrated. 🙂

– Make it fun and colorful! Get prints that really represent your goals, make you happy, remind you of memories, etc. I’m in love with NYC so I have that New York print by me. I also love the print I have on top which says, ‘Work Hard, Stay Humble.’ Keeping little reminders around you really go a long way.

– Have an easily accessible phone charger. I love this one that I have pictured on my desk. It looks like an old-fashioned phone, but is actually a phone charging stand!

– Surround yourself by things you love. 🙂

water-vasesI recently got these glasses and gold coasters from Renee Redesigns and I’m so in love! These glasses can be used for any types of liquid and they really keep the water fresh and tasty! I get really dehydrated so having water on my desk is a definite must for me.  I also always keep this candle on my desk because it smells so yummy and helps soothe me when I’m a little bit stressed out.candlegiraffe-ring-holderI have a lot of jewelry and way too many lipsticks. I keep them stored here and here. I also love this Framebridge frame of one of my Instagram photos. They frame your photos for you and for such a great price! new-york-marble-printFor my business cards, which I get made here, I love to keep them out on my desk on this gold zebra dish! I’ve had this dish for a while and absolutely love it. You could also use it for jewels! home-blog-officeThe print is from SS Print Shop, frame is from Home Goods and passport holder is from here. My vase is from Target.blog-officeSome decor details… H.Nichols Illustration print, The Container Store magazine/file holders, frames are from Home Goods… pineapple can be found here.essie-nail-polishI get all of my fashion books from Amazon! My favorite perfume herewhite-gold-chairblog-office-spacethe-fashionistas-diaryIf you have any additional questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below! Thanks so much for reading!