Simple & Affordable Ways We Upgraded Our Home Office Nook

The summer heat has already started, just in time for a few laborious projects at the apartment. With the pandemic has come the obvious need for some form of office space at home. Unfortunately for many of us, a teeny tiny apartment doesn’t exactly support such needs on a whim or with great permanency. In these cases we’re forced to get creative!

Okay, really creative & start from scratch.

Here are some of the recent budget-friendly + simple ways we’ve upgraded our office nook:

PAINT OLD FURNITURE

In our experience a fresh coat of paint always does wonders for reviving a space. Something about it resets the like-new quality and ties everything together. We recently repurposed this old coffee table that we made once upon a time into a desk by swapping the hairpin legs for these Home Depot substitutes.

In all honesty, we used this desk as-is for months despite the fact that these legs appeared warped; a result of cheap, thin consumer pine - but no more! We took the opportunity to use some scrap dowels to brace the legs on either side and some leftover paint to match them to the rest of the desk.

This change made a great difference to the overall look and stability of the desk; the key feature of the office.

GET ORGANIZED

Next up we did some spring cleaning that alleviated unnecessary paper that was cluttering the desktop and divided all the things we were keeping into acrylic organizers. They’re low-key and stackable which kept the space feeling sleek despite the obvious hoarding.

Another way we’re staying organized is by camouflaging the things we use frequently from stationary to electronics in stylized boxes or jars. (Or just by having fun sets of office supplies like these gold paper clips & dinosaur-shaped erasers). We found having a streamline theme or colour scheme can be less distracting which helps to clean up the look of this tight area.

RAISE THE GAZE

In our previous office spaces we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on everything at desk level, save half-hazardously throwing a much loved calendar on the wall yet there are other ways to make this space useful. To minimize the look of a full desk and balance the weight of the space, we’ve added a lightweight shelf. This can hold a couple of pretty things but also our stamps!

The ceilings in the apartment are quite short which can sometimes emphasize how small it is. We were hesitant to put too much on our walls because of this but also wanted to avoid making that area feel empty or without purpose. So, we’ve featured it with matching and useful items.

STEAL FROM YOURSELF

We've often heard the advice "When in doubt take a look around your home and see how objects look in different spaces"; this is a tried + true classic. We do this practically every other month, but what else are we to do during a pandemic?

A d.i.y greeting card organizer for our latest and greatest designs polished off this corner while one of our new sample coasters ~coming soon~ encrouages us to drink more water.

KEEPIN' IT COZY

Everything short of getting a real office chair, we’ve aimed for comfort + accessibility. All the things we should immediately need when sitting at the desk are within an arms reach but we also wanted to make sure to add in some textile elements since we’ve been spending so much time rooted to this very chair, trying to make our business dreams come true!

If it’s within your budget to get a proper office chair, highly recommend! We truly miss ours, however, this placeholder will have to do for now so we’ve smothered it with pillows and a throw blanket to lessen the imminent back pain.

We’ve also added a special spot for all the self-care comforts we love to keep nearby like hand cream, lip balm and stress balls!

Having a small office nook in our living room makes the work/life balance feel a bit...non-existent. We wanted this zone to feel like a productive area in our home as well as something that flowed with the rest of the apartment opposed to a huge eye sore of chaotic paperwork. These simple upgrades have definitely made us more excited to crack down and work. It’s where we’re writing this blog post as a matter of fact.

What are some of your tips for making your workspace feel top-notch? Let us know in the comments or by tagging us with a picture of your #workfromhomeoffice on Instagram @thelevendart.

Stay Creative,

The Levend Art