Though BEHR sponsored this post, as always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.Â
Your home is your haven. Or at least, it should be. Yet, sometimes those areas which we set aside to get stuff done end up absorbing all the stuff we don’t get done. AKA clutter, which is anything but inspiring.
After a recent move, Darling’s Online Editor, Ziza, was very much feeling the latter. Her home office, where she spends a bulk of her time, had accumulated all those leftover moving odds and ends and was in serious need of a creative kick. See how working with Behr PREMIUM PLUS® paint gave her the boost her space needed.
Keep scrolling for the full before and after, plus find the three essentials any good workspace needs to have!
From Ziza:
BEFORE
Lazy. That’s how I felt every time I entered my home office. After organizing and rearranging every other room in the house, for some reason all will left me when it came to my office, which isn’t the greatest feeling to have when you need to work.
While the original grey color wasn’t particularly bad, it felt cold and a little drab, and those bird decals, though cute, didn’t really feel like my style anymore. Overall, this room just stressed me out.Â
AFTER
Not wanting to repaint the entire room, I focused on just one wall to experiment with. While I know that the white-wall look is very much “in,” I just love how color can evoke emotion — particularly calming ones. I went with a duo side stripe (darker Flapper Dance #T13-13 on bottom and lighter Mountain Peak #N430-1 on top) to blend a little modern with a touch of the unexpected. I love how it turned out.
I had been looking for a way to display this painting from my grandmother’s home for a while and once I decided on these colors, I knew it’d be the perfect backdrop for it.
I’m drawn to pieces with a story, so almost all of the furniture in this room has been sourced from estate sales or thrift stores. That chair and ottoman I scored for $20 and still pinch myself about it. The French writing desk was won at an auction, and that chair is a part of a fold-up card table set from the 70s. My sister drew the framed picture of our dog, and the black and white sketch is of my husband. We met an artist on the side of the road in Slovenia, and he offered to draw him. It’s probably one of my favorite travel memories to date.
I’m a sucker for a good collage, but to keep the walls from feeling too messy I limit my thumb-tacking to just one section of a wall. The rug is a few months old from Urban, the pillow from Loom + Kiln, and the desk lamp is from Target.
Thinking of revamping your work space? Whether you have a room devoted to an office or just a cozy corner for dreams and schemes, here are three easy essentials you shouldn’t forget to include:
1. Color
Don’t underestimate the power of a color change to make a space feel brand new. A fresh coat of white paint always works wonders, but so can a subtle mix with green or purple to get those creative juices flowing. If you don’t want to commit to an entire room of color, or even one wall, try doing a border around a window or large square to frame out a gallery wall collection.
And make sure to select a paint that’s environmentally friendly, with low or zero VOCs. I appreciate how companies like BEHR are making it easier to choose paints containing zero VOCs, such as with their Premium Plus line’s GREENGUARD GOLD certification. I was able to get my project done that much faster and felt good about putting it on my walls knowing it was safe for the environment and myself!
2. Texture
Different textures help to engage the senses, which is helpful when nose is to grindstone. Having a cozy spot — be it another chair, a blanket, even a rug — can help break up the monotony and offer you a quick break to unwind when you need to.
3. Life
Prevent your workspace from feeling isolated or sterile by breathing a little life into it… literally. Even if you don’t have a green-thumb, you’d be surprised at the joy (and oxygen output) the smallest succulent can provide. Having houseplants can help lower your blood pressure, purify the air, even boost your memory and concentration. All of those things are welcome in any work environment.
Another option? Adopting a pet works, too.
This post is brought to you by Behr. Find Your True Hue.
Do you have a home office? What do you love about it? What would you change?
Images via Crystal Martel
9 comments
Hi there! I’ve been hunting everywhere for the source of the photo of that pink velvet chair. Where did you buy it from? I’d love to get myself one <3
I know I’m a year late from this post, but I am in shock because I recently bought the exact same velvet chair at a flea market!! Though mine did not come with a matching ottoman, I would have loved that addition! I have been on the hunt for another chair like ours, but I am having dead ends. I would love to know details about your chair and how you keep it clean.
You found just the right accents and know how to put them together in an inviting way.
That’s really beautiful. I love the floor! I try to buy myself fresh flowers for my studio and can’t recommend Ikea plants for those who aren’t great at remembering to water their plants…! Two years of intermittent watering and Hannibal the Houseplant is still alive!
hope to have a home office one day and do this!!
I really love this!! A technical question – how did you go about creating a perfect line for painting? Did you use tape from the top to the bottom corner? Just wondering, so I can use a similar technique 🙂
Hi Sara! I used a chalk line (also known as a carpenter’s chalk line, you could find it at Home Depot) to make the line from top to bottom corner, then used frog tape to tape along the chalk. I painted the top color first, then once the top color dried, then painted the bottom color. Hope that helps! — Ziza
As always, Darling is Just in time. I have a verrryyyy small living room and I just moved my desk from up against the wall to directly looking out the window. That few inches of movement has made all the difference and I have sat at my desk more in the last week than I have in the last two months.
I will be incorporating these elements in my little office corner! Happy creating! 🙂
Love the way this turned out and that pup is SO CUTE!