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This article is all about simple ways to make your home office more cozy because after all, you are spending a lot of time there!
If you are like me, you do your best work in a cozy and peaceful environment. When I sit down at 8:30am with my coffee in hand, I don’t want to enter a cold and uncomfortable environment. I’d rather be met with a space that feels like I’m getting a giant bear hug.
And now that we live in a world where many employees are working from home, the stakes are higher. We as humans now spend so much more time in our homes, and it’s important for our work productivity (and mental sanity) that we love where we reside and that our environment brings us joy.
For some people, this can be particularly challenging. Especially if you don’t have a partitioned room in your home or apartment for an office. For most of us, we’ve just found the most logical corner of our space and plopped a desk there and called it an ‘office’.
And so it begs the question – how can people like us – who have our ‘workstation’ in the corner of our kitchen – possibly create a feeling of serenity? It doesn’t seem possible.
In this article, I share 5 very simple ways to achieve coziness and comfort no matter where your working station is in your home or apartment. I hope you enjoy it!
5 Ways To Make Your Office Look Super Cozy
1. Avoid Clutter
- In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining a clutter-free workstation has become more essential than ever. Research shows that clutter can significantly contribute to feelings of stress and anxiety, hindering productivity and creativity. Therefore, creating an organized and tidy workspace is crucial for fostering a calm and focused mindset.
- One of the primary sources of clutter, especially in small apartments, is the plethora of gadgets, electronics, and cords. With limited space, it’s easy for these items to pile up, creating chaos around the person trying to get work done. In fact, cords are probably the worst offender. They get tangled into messes and not only detract from the aesthetic, but also create potential hazards.
TIP ONE: Invest in smart yet stylish organization containers
They not only hide the mess, but also contribute to the appeal of the space. These containers can store papers, gadgets, office supplies, notebooks… anything!.
- Open-faced Storage Boxes from Amazon – These neutral white containers with brown leather straps provide the perfect space to store notebooks and binders. The open top design makes it easy to quickly grab what you need.
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- Magazine Holders from the Container Store– These neutral linen magazine holders are great if you have a large desk. You can place these in the corner and they will neatly hold all your notebooks / papers in an up-right fashion for easy access.
- Marble Storage box from Zara – This gorgeous box looks so chic and so much more expensive than it is. It’s the perfect size to house ‘knick-knacks’ that tend to fall on your desk and create clutter.
TIP TWO: When it comes to tackling cords, cable management solutions such as cable clips, sleeves, or cable boxes are going to be your friends.
These nifty inventions help keep cords neatly bundled together, eliminating unsightly tangles and tripping hazards. Additionally, opting for wireless alternatives wherever possible can also help minimize cord clutter.
- Cable Organizer from the Container Store – It comes in black and white and is the perfect low-key cord organizer that won’t detract from your desk aesthetic.
- Surge Protector Box from Amazon – Place your entire surge protector into this modern and aesthetically pleasing box. We love this product because you can still use the cords while they are in the box – they just pop out of the little slits on the side
TIP THREE: Storage solutions such as drawer organizers, shelves, or multi-purpose trays are always a good idea.
According to many professional organizers, the act of assigning a designated spot for each item trains your brain to maintain organization. It not only prevents clutter pile up, but it also helps your productivity because you can locate and access your essentials faster.
- Gold Metal Mesh Drawer Organizer from Amazon – Place inside your drawer to easily organize pens, post-its and all your other one-off gadgets. We love the look and feel of this one.
2. Add textures and mixed materials
- One of the best ways to create a cozy space is to integrate mixed textures and materials so everything is not so monotonous. Think about the last time you entered a room where everything was the same pattern, color, and texture. It probably felt cool – sterile even – and lacked that inviting embrace that allows you to really unwind. Contrast that to a room where the textures and materials mingle together harmoniously. Suddenly, the space is super warm and inviting.
- One way to incorporate textures and materials into your space is through everyday objects like containers and dishes. The next time you are shopping for these items, look for various patterns, colors, and materials such as glass, metal, marble, fabric, or leather. By doing so, you introduce nuanced layers to a space that engage the senses and create depth.
- A word to the wise! Too much texture and material can quickly go south and turn a cozy space into a chaotic space. To avoid this, limit yourself to 2-3 contrasting materials or colors in a space. This allows each element to shine while maintaining an overall sense of cohesion.
- To actualize this a bit for you, picture the below scenario.
- A space with a clean, white or cream-colored base that primarily contains marble or glass pieces. To add a coziness factor, accentuate the space with dishes and blankets in various shades of brown. Introduce leather containers to juxtapose the starkness of the white backdrop, and drape a soft, two-tone brown blanket for an extra layer of comfort.
3. Add a wall collage
- This is done a lot, but I think for a good reason! Wall collages are so fun and really allow you to express your personality. The key to a good wall collage is to build it with different patterns, pictures, and frame sizes, but position it in an organized way.
- Begin by selecting an even number of frames, such as 4, 6, or 8, and categorize them into pairs of matching sizes – small, medium, and large. For the coloring, they can all be different, but make sure they are in the same color family. When you position them on the wall, imagine an invisible line that splits the wall in half and make sure you have symmetry across that line to create that ‘clean and organized’ feel.
- For a cozy feel, create a wall collage with frames that share a common theme (such as “types of flowers” or “feminine elements”). To elevate the cozy factor even further, mix and match themes within the collage. For example, instead of 6 pictures of different flowers, 2 of them can be flowers, 2 of them can be geometric shapes, and 2 of them can be real-life frames. This contrast just adds a more ‘mismatched and authentic’ vibe versus ‘perfectly-engineered’ vibe.
- Avoid quotes or any sort of words. It tends to give off a college dorm vibe and we want to create adult elevated spaces here!
- Thrift Stores: Thrift stores are a great place to find picture frames. 1) Frames tend to be pretty expensive, but at the thrift or antique store, you can usually find them for a fraction of the cost. 2) These frames tend to look more worn (because they are!) and that adds to the cozy factor. Perfectly engineered frames from Ikea don’t exude the same feeling of warmth.
- Etsy: When it comes to the pictures themselves, Etsy provides very affordable collage sets that you can buy as a packaged deal. You don’t have to think about what matches well – they do it for you! You can always buy a set like this one, and then add other elements that you have to make it more personal and YOU.
4. Add an area rug to make your office look super cozy
One of the easiest ways to create the illusion of a separate space is to add a rug. Even if you don’t have walls to divide the area, but putting a rug under it, you sort of trick the human eye into thinking it’s a separate space. To create an extra sense of coziness, make sure the rug feels good on your feet! This way, everything you walk over to your desk, you instantly feel warm.
- Shag Rug from Amazon – The price of this rug is TOO good and the quality is spot on. Plus, by choosing a neutral colored rug, you can get more creative with decorative pieces.
- Chevron Design Rug from Amazon – Same as the above, the price and quality are on point. This is just a slightly different pattern.
5. Add little lamps to make your office look super cozy
- Lighting is often hailed as the unsung hero of interior design – and it’s because it has the power to take a space from ordinary to extraordinary with just the flick of a switch. And in our opinion, little lamps are the best way to achieve that cozy factor, even in the smallest of spaces.
- Not only are they practical because they quite literally provide more light for you to do your work, but by strategically placing these small fixtures, you can create sub-areas of space where the light shines. It tricks the eye into thinking that there are multiple spaces in one, which creates dimension.
- Little lamps are also great if you want to draw the eye to a particular part of the space. For instance, adding a lamp next to a decorative vase automatically draws the eye to that vase.
- To maximize the impact of little lamps, consider incorporating a variety of sizes and styles into your lighting scheme. Mix and match floor lamps with small desk lamps to add layers of light at different heights. Just remember to hide cords and cables to maintain a clean and clutter-free look!
- Delicate Flower Lamp from Amazon – This tiny flower-shaped lamp is so cute! It’s the perfect size to add to the top of your desk.
- Modern Clear Glass Lamp from Ikea – For a more modern touch, opt for a lamp like this one from Ikea. It’s petite enough to also fit on the top of the desk, and we love the mixed materials of glass and metal.
