“Oh, I’ll just set up here for a few weeks until this Thing blows over.”

Said everyone everywhere in March 2020.

Let’s take my husband for example: Julian works in finance. In March 2020, we figured this would be a pretty temporary set up (baaaahahah). It needed to be done quickly, so we grabbed my Costco folding table and set it up in the corner of our family/tv room.

The Costco “desk” is still there, now with a standing desk configuration on top, and 1000 hideous cords that I’m not allowed to touch because the table might collapse at any minute and send the scary trading floor like setup tumbling.

I’m sure we are not the only ones with a makeshift office situation that is still going. (BY THE WAY—he LOVES the standing desk piece. And I’m pretty sure I’ve lost the family room forever at this point….)

One of the many side effects of Covid was the sudden, scrambling shift to Working From Home.

Our homes were always important, of course, but as a culture we also valued(value!) GOING and DOING. We equally spent as much time out doing things as we did at home, if not more time out than at home. So if you were commuting daily….your home office (or space where you can focus on work) was NOT your focus. You wanted to chill at home, leave the work at work.

I was a stay at home mom and had just started House of Prim, so had not invested much into my home office space as it was mainly used for paying bills, housing files, and gift wrap for kid parties. As both the pandemic and my business grew, my office became a hub of activity for me and my kids (3 Kids=3 zoom calls at once, so I had to give up my office many times).

And it was REALLY not working.

Why?

1) The space wasn’t functional. It was cluttered and the dumping ground for papers and returns….then quickly grew to overwhelmingly full due to an influx of work and family responsibility. I didn’t have a good SYSTEM to manage it all (it all happened so fast!)

2) The space was aesthetically underwhelming. It wasn’t PLEASANT. I didn’t like spending time there. Pre-pandemic, I would actually go to the Westport Library to work and concentrate because it felt better than my home office space.

By the time I officially launched House of PRIM in August 2020, containers were literally bursting out of every part of our home. I felt like I wasn’t in control and the lack of systems was affecting both my productivity and inspiration. I wanted to feel great about the space I was spending time in, and the time well spent in there.

What I did to make it better

Small but significant additions and updates added up to a functional, happy, bright place that I now ENJOY spending time in. It feels like me, it feels good. All of my time, money, and energy was well spent—I am able to focus much more and I don’t feel as stressed. Your surroundings really do affect your outlook and your productivity.

And, keep in mind this didn’t happen overnight—I worked in phases….

Before

After

Where I put my focus and dollars

Updating the Aesthetic

Paint & Accessories

A fresh coat of paint always makes a HUGE difference, so that was step 1. Taking down the dated window treatments opened up the entire room. I didn’t have the budget to rip up the carpet (House of Prim is a startup and I did this ALL on my own. Ask my husband!). It’s neutral, so I worked around it.

Just like anything you wear, home accessories and small touches give a space personality and life. Pillows in designer fabric from a shop I found on Etsy brought color, pattern, and softness in. Chic coffee table books, white marble frames, ginger jars and acrylic touches all rounded out the space. Whatever makes you happy—surround yourself with that.

Desk Organization

Dining table Turned Desk

I wanted to make use of items that we already had, and amp up the space through other small changes. We had a big, beautiful glass Room & Board dining table from our NYC days, which I made into my desk.

The problem with using a dining table as a desk…there is nowhere to put your stuff! It ends up thrown into piles and gets messy very quickly. You need some type of storage unit underneath or close by to house your supplies.

I invested in 2 pieces I knew would be useful and re-usable elsewhere should I change my desk:

1) A Bisley 8 drawer storage unit

2) The Container Store’s Modular Stacking Drawers.

Both of these have been fantastic additions and solved my problem of not having supplies close by. Bisley is especially well made—steel—this thing will last forever!

I also ordered the Bisley Drawer inserts—these are completely necessary if you are using this cabinet for supplies like I did.

Storage

I feel a little like a broken record here, but for spaces that are going to be transitional or you don’t want to invest too much, I swear by IKEA. Eventually, I’ll overhaul this whole space and really invest in it, but I don’t want to be stuck with pieces of furniture that don’t fit into the updated room.

So, the ubiquitous KALLAX it was. Two configurations: 2x2 square and a 1x4 single unit (which doubles as a bench for my kids to sit on and chat!). I also liked the more sophisticated look of the EKET unit (basically a smaller 11”cube KALLAX with birch legs) and bookended them against the “bench.” I didn’t have a lot of vertical room in that area due to the sloped ceilings near the window, so these were perfect. I had available wall space, so I added a few inexpensive shelves that matched my Room & Board table.

One other area I added in: clear pocket wall files. Monday-Friday, and a To Do section. This has been incredibly helpful! I also keep active or pending clients in a stadium style incline sorter….I did this in my Editorial days to keep track of all of our shoots—it has been a great system for me!

Motivating Materials

This probably doesn’t go for everyone, but for me, I LOVE pretty paper and materials. Somehow it motivates me….having a crisp sheet of paper in a nice notebook just feels better than crumpled up materials. Same goes for your office staples…..the brand Russell + Hazel carries the most beautiful, clean, and actually functional office products. Super high quality and very chic.

For smart (and actually, attractive) cords….my favorite is from a new brand called Coily Cables. So smart, these cables have magnets built in, so it literally wraps itself and stays tidy. Genius! And, I have a code for 20% off: PRIM20.

I also discovered a great brand recently called Ink + Volt. They make goal focused products (notepads, planners) that help you focus on being productive and streamlining. My favorites are the Errand Pad, the Today Organizer Pad, and the Daily Task Pad.

I hope this was helpful and offered some inspiration! I’ve linked the items I used below, as well as a few other options in case you want to update your home office space too. Wherever you are spending your time working right now….make it HAPPY. The better you feel about your surroundings, the more productive you will be, and that is time very well spent.