As interior designers, nothing is more rewarding than transforming an awkward space into a room our clients love to spend time in. Recently, one of our clients, a busy wife and successful beauty industry entrepreneur, wanted to convert her cramped attic into a feminine and chic home office. Our team was tasked with infusing this drab space with her personality, all while making it a functional place to work. The results were both inspiring and rewarding. Read on for more on how this transformation came to life with the help of three key design tricks.

Design Trick #1: Embrace The Architecture

Like many attics, this one featured a pitched roof line that encroached into the square footage of the room. It limited wall space that could be used for vertical storage and display, and blocked a lot of natural light. When faced with an awkward architectural detail such as this, homeowners have a few options: use visual trickery (mirrors, etc) to detract from its impact, work with architects when possible to change structural elements, or embrace the existing architectural details. Yes, embrace these awkward elements. In this project, there was little to do but embrace the room’s architecture. Instead of painting the walls a pale neutral and hoping they would disappear (they wouldn’t), we covered them with a statement-making floral wallpaper. The organic pattern of the blossoms is a pretty, feminine detail for our client, and in design terms, it keeps the eye flowing around the room rather than allowing the gaze to get stuck in all of the angles and corners. In essence, it embraces the wall and roofline architecture, while softening the harsh lines.

Design Trick #2: Address the Lighting

Ample lighting is critical in any home office. In every project, our design team creates a lighting plan that combines multiple light sources on varying planes. In this office, we positioned our client’s desk facing the windows for some natural light and a view, and swapped the ceiling’s track lighting to flush mounts that bring some sparkle and glamour to the space. Finally, we added a jewel-like table lamp for task lighting.

In a similar way to accessorizing an outfit with jewelry, lighting selections can be a great way to experiment with style. For example, bring natural elements to your space with our ropewrapped Shiva table lamp, finish off a modern farmhouse look with our Atwood 5 Light Rustic Linear Chandelier, or go modern with our Dallas Chandelier.

Design Trick #3: Add Plenty of Storage

No office or workspace is complete without the right kind of storage. When designing home offices, we consider our clients workflow - what items do they need at their fingertips, what items cause clutter and what can be stored. Some clients need ample file storage, for example, while others store files digitally and need more space to hold technology and printers.

In this case, the Carta desk provided just enough file storage, and a matching Carta console behind the desk held the printer. Our Audrey Cabinet stored larger items out of sight. Because we’re always thinking about functionality and aesthetics when we design, we love storage pieces that add texture and/or color to a room. In fact, our customizable office furniture program lets you design the perfect pieces for your workflow - from desks to filing cabinets, bookcases and more, you can configure furniture to your needs. And, you can have fun with the design, using different finishes and paint colors, unique hardware, and even adding luxurious textures, such as shagreen cabinet door fronts. Our design team is always ready to help you narrow down the choices and create your perfect home office!