Home Build | Workspace Inspiration

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I'm super excited about this room. Once we've completed the build I can't wait to start transforming it into a stylish and inspiring work environment. For me that means a bright white space with bold black accents, softened by touches of pink and yellow and a little bit of copper. 

Essentially the forth bedroom, I knew from the start that I wanted it to be an office but also a guest room. With that comes a few key factors, firstly space or in our case lack of! Once you put in a desk big enough for two workstations it doesn't leave a lot of extra room for a bed. Stealing the idea from a friend who has an amazing set up in her kid's playroom, we'd love to install storage cupboards along one side of the room, with a foldout bed. You'd never know it was a bed when you walk into the room, the simple white cupboard doors look great and and of course the storage is a handy feature. Yet when it folds out, the double bed also looks fantastic. It's not something we can afford to do right now but it could easily be added in at some point in the future. In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a stylish foldout sofa bed that won't break the bank. 

The next factor is the desk. I've wanted a trestle table for as long as I can remember, but because we want to fit two chairs ideally side by side, it makes sense to do away with trestle legs to allow for more leg room. When I suggested to hubby that we get one custom made he was dead keen, however in light of our overspending on the house itself we've also had to put a hold on that idea at least for now. The good news is I've sourced this great trestle table from The Trestle Union which is a decent length and totally affordable. 

The third factor is the flooring. Initially we decided to carpet all the bedrooms, this one included but being that it's an office I quite like the idea of wooden flooring. Because it's on the same level as the kitchen, dining and living which all have the 'white ash' wooden floorboards we've chosen, I think it would create a lovely seamless look. 

Recently however I came across the home of blogger Liz Buchman of Grey and Scout via one of my regular haunts Glitter Guide, featuring her beautiful home office/guest room. Seeing how cosy and inviting it looks with carpet, I'm now undecided! What are your thoughts?

From the many inspiring images I've pinned over the course of this project I've cherry picked a few to demonstrate the features we want or are still deciding on, starting with Liz's home mentioned above. 

I'm really keen to install some shelves (1) as they provide a great place for storage boxes and even artworks. I've seen a few around lately like these ones that have white shelves with contrasting shelf brackets. A great way to add a touch of gold, I also love the black and white ones that you'll see in my wishlist collage further down. This simple trestle desk (2) is perfect, although we'd need a longer one as mentioned above. When it comes to chairs, there are several design classics that I would happily choose from if money were no object. I love the simplicity of transparent chairs (3) and one of my faves is the Louis Ghost Chair from Kartell. I especially love the way Liz has teamed her chair with a sheepskin and leopard cushion. Do you see what I mean by the cosy feel of the carpet? (4) Especially with it being a guest room...

When I first saw this room it took me a minute to realise that it was actually a guest room rather than a lounge. Both the foldout sofa (1) and rug (2) are great features. 

Spotted on Weekday Carnival, I already have my Z lamp by Leitmotiv from Let Liv (1) and although I'm yet to get my hands on an Apple iMac (2) it will happen one day! I thank Jennifer Hagler of A Merry Mishap for introducing me to artist Leigh Viner and this gorgeous print (3) which I purchased some time ago after writing about Leigh here. I can't wait to put it up on the office wall.

Another thing I'm dying to do is create a moodboard for the wall. There are some great examples in this post Interior Styling with Home Moodboards that I wrote recently. I also love clipboards (1) and purchased a couple of patterned ones some time ago for a steal from Collected. I'm not sure you can still get them but I'm now so inspired by the image above and loads more examples around the web, I wish I'd got more! I do know that the gorgeous Danish brand House Doctor have these pretty ones and even the plain ones above, which you can probably buy from any stationery or book shop look fantastic. Another great trestle table (2) and a fabulous example of pale wooden flooring carried through from the rest of the home (3). Aahh...decisions, decisions.. 

Here are three examples of how we could look at creating a workspace for two. A corner desk like this one (1) is a clever option. A long desk (2) such as this provides enough room for seating side by side. Or we could sit opposite one another, which works well with a trestle table (3) as shown here. In case you're wondering, unlike me my husband doesn't actually work from home but we'd both like an office space so sharing is the obvious solution. 

To finish off I've put together (a rather large - eek!) wishlist including both big ticket items and smaller accessories. 

Links below images 

01 Workspace details via Stylizimo
02 Eames House Bird
03 Stendig Calendar
04 Shelves via The Super Ordinary
05 Washi Tape from Sweet Pea Parties
06 Copper Cup from Ferm Living
07 Stationers Trestle Desk from Freedom Furniture
08 Workspace details via Nordic Leaves
09 Set of boxes by Hay from La Maison d'Anna G
10 Akita concrete & copper Tape Dispenser
11 Brass scissors by Hay from Hviit
12 Kasbah Wool Rug from West Elm
13 Kartell Masters Chair from Nest.co.uk
14 Unfurl Sofa by Per Weiss from Danish Design Store
15 Hay Plissé archive folder
16 Copper Tray from Ferm Living
17 Wire Basket from Ferm Living
18 Pin Board from Ferm Living

Goodness, I am a greedy girl. I wonder if I can pull it off?!