Candice S.Today I’m showing you how to maintain your personal style in a shared home office by using strategic furniture pieces and decor to hold your style. Even if your office has been invaded by virtual schoolers.
*Thanks to Wayfair for sponsoring today’s post. All personality and opinions are 100% my own.
Here’s how I styled and organized our dining room so that it could be used for 3 different purposes.
- My home office
- Our virtual school spot
- Where we eat meals as a family
I also threw in some great productivity tips for those of us working from home with small kids. Because we all know it’s not easy!
Three Rooms In One
Many families, just like ours, have had to make accommodations in our homes for virtual learning. For us, this meant my home office/dining room would have a new 3rd function. A virtual classroom.
If you’d like to read more about how we prepped for virtual school and set up our routines and space, click here: https://naturallystellar.com/2020/08/10/prep-for-virtual-school/
My Office
My home office style is sort of contemporary. I’m a sucker for sleek lines, metallic accents, and glass. My area of the room is directly in front of the window. There, I have this chic L-shaped desk that can be positioned with the wing on either the right or left.
The Dining Room
The entire dining room in our apartment is only 9′ x 11.5′. While I do wish we were in a big house with a dedicated dining room we still make it work.
The dining set by Corrigan Studio (Wayfair 5 Piece Dining Sets Section) in the room is contemporary and there’s this large gold mirror by All Modern (Wayfair Accent Mirror Section) on the wall that catches your eye when you enter our home.
Virtual School
When school is in session, the room can get a bit stuffy and cluttered with laptops, notebooks, school supplies, and cords.
So, here’s what I did to tie together all 3 spaces.
How I Maintain Style In A Shared Home Office Space
I added this Damon Etagere Shelf (Wayfair Bookshelves) to the room for extra storage and to work as an anchor to tie in all 3 room uses. It’s muted gold with glass shelving and super easy to assemble. It even came with a safety mount to secure it to the wall.
I dedicated the bottom 2 shelves to the kids. This gives them a place to store their laptops, cords, and large binders after school as well as their school supply organizers.
For the bottom shelf, I bought a large wicker basket with a lid to keep their papers and things hidden when not in use.
The upper shelves are for displaying some decor items or family photos. I like to keep my oil diffuser at the very top since the shelf is an open style.
Next, I added some new semi-sheer curtains by House of Hampton (Wayfair Curtains & Drapes) to the window to brighten it up a bit and keep the gold metallic theme going. These are double layer with pretty gold threading accents.
I love how my desk gets awesome light coming in from the window. Especially whenever I’m in Zoom meetings or attending virtual events. Natural light does wonders for webcams!
7 Tips For Maintaining Productivity While Working From Home With Kids
- Have a good motivational music playlist on standby – need some song ideas? This list can help (fun fact: I’m #48 on the list).
- You can hire a helper or nanny to handle the kids while you work. A nanny?? Yes! You’d be surprised at how affordable these services actually are! Check your local parenting groups for hired help (including tutors and virtual school helpers).
- Invest in some good noise-canceling headphones. They are great for blocking out noise and distractions from kids.
- Try to stay consistent with eating a good breakfast and don’t skip lunch!
- Take breaks!!
- Plan or organize your work while everyone sleeps.
- Set boundaries – You need to work too. Let the kids know when it’s “my time” so you can get things done.
For more work from home tips, you can click here: https://naturallystellar.com/?s=work+from+home
Home Decor Featured
- Brigit Geometric Semi-Sheer Thermal Grommet Curtain Panels (Set of 2)
- Damon Etagere Bookcase
- Riesner Modern & Contemporary Accent Mirror
- Goodspeed 5 Piece Dining Set
Hopefully, I’ve shown you that you don’t have to lose your personal style in a shared home office. You can still maintain the look and feel of the room while adding arrangements for other uses.
Let me know what you think about my home office or our virtual learning space and be sure to check out Wayfair for your next redecorating project.
Do you share office space in your home?
Have you redecorated for virtual learning?
Candice S.
