Decor for the Office — Inspired Living
A few months back, we finished the process of moving to a new building at work. My previous handed down desk in an office with the rest of my department was traded up for a nice open workspace with cubicles, bright windows lining the walls (hello, plants), a mountain view, concrete and natural wood, a larger desk, and a VariDesk to give us the option of standing or sitting throughout the day. Going to work in a space that feels fresh and aesthetically pleasing does wonders to make the workday so much more pleasant.
To make it just a bit more inviting, happy, and me, I brought along some new additions to my workspace. So I wanted to share some of my cubicle / desk decor and give you a peak at my 8-4.
Desk Clock
First up, I picked up this clock from World Market (one of my faves, I literally go to just walk around and look at cute home stuff sometimes). I just like to have a clock that’s easily visible no matter what I’m doing on the computer, and I really loved the black metal clock with gold distressed accents that’s inset into a natural wood block.
Day Planner
Where would I be without my planners? It’s really satisfying to have my week and major events for the month laid out to where I can flip through and see what I have going on. I’m a big planner, and while I do use my Apple calendar on my phone and computers, I’ve just always liked having a physical planner. This simple, cute, and clean planner is from Target (Blake is actually the one who picked it out). I’m sure the selection there changes every year, but they always have nice simple ones if ya want to check them out.
Sticky Note Holder
I seriously feel like Rae Dunn has something for everything, and I really like the look of the not-completely-perfect ceramic that makes it look like it was hand-made. My mom gifted this to me, and it’s the perfect way to keep my sticky notes out and easily accessible, while still looking tidy siting out on my desk.
Mail Holder
Along the same lines of making things convenient and accessible, and not causing my desk to look cluttered, this mail holder is another pick-up from World Market. I think it’s technically for holding mail, but I use a lot of these small notebooks, so it’s perfect for those, and my planner of course.
Plants!
Okay, you all knew this one was coming. Remember those nice big windows I mentioned that let in lots of natural light? Well that of course means that I’m going to try to get some plants to call my desk home. I brought with me this bella palm, which is should do well with natural, indirect light, and is a slow grower so it won’t go wild on my desk.
I also have a tiny cactus that I kept in its original plastic planter, found this Magnolia Hearth and Hand ramekin to put it in, and filled in with these white rocks (I also put a little plastic drip tray at the bottom of the ramekin to make it easier to water).
Last but not least, I brought my first propagation project, perfect little monstera leaves (I’ll be doing a post on propagating plants soon!).
I set all of my plants on olivewood coasters (again…from World Market) just to be extra sure that no moisture ruins my new desk!
Picture Frame
Pictures are the best for adding small personal touches, I love getting my favorite pictures printed to put up throughout my house, so I wanted to bring something to the office. I saw this Polaroid idea somewhere and I thought it was the perfect way to be able to have multiple pictures without taking up a ton of space with a bunch of different frames. I do have an Instax Mini Camera that I can take Polaroids with in the moment, but if I have pictures on my phone that I want to turn into a Polaroid, I also have an Instax Printer that I can make quick prints with. Here's the gold frame I used.
Desktop Whiteboard
The last thing I added to my desk was a keyboard sized glass white board to set on the space under my monitors. I’m usually in the habit of using excessive sticky notes, and to curb that a little, I bought this whiteboard for jotting down quick notes that I only need in the short term. The glass on this is so easy to clean, it doesn’t leave annoying residue or black smudges when I go to erase like a lot of regular coated white boards tend to do. It also comes with a small sliding drawer tucked underneath for your markers and other things you want to hide away.
Varidesk
A little bonus one here; my desk came with the handy adjustable height desktop VariDesk, but it’s been such a great change that I have to at least give it an honorable mention. I tend to get lower back pain if I sit all day (we’re really not meant to be sitting for 8 hours at a time—I say as I’m on a 13 hour flight) so having the option to stand has really alleviated a lot of that pain. Plus, having my monitors propped up when I’m sitting helps reduce my neck tension (and the headaches that go along with that), which I used to get from angling my head downward. My monitors sit at a good eye-level when I’m sitting or standing, and the keyboard/mouse sliding tray situates my arms and shoulders in a comfortable position. If this is an option, even for your home office or study, I’m definitely sold on this one.
It’s nice to have a workspace that I can look forward to showing up to, that feels personal, and makes me feel somewhat at home. What are some of your favorite desk decor items?
