Last week I shared how I Created An Organized & Practical Office for my husband. Organization can make a huge difference in a room, but it can be a task that’s not always fun. After all of the sorting, filing and cleaning is out of the way, add a few finishing touches to make your space your own. I’m going to show you how you can easily Create a Stylish & Personalized Home Office for yourself this Spring!

Because an office is a place that work needs to get done, it’s important that it be made not only functional by adding the correct furniture like we did with our Bristol Court Bookcase, but it needs to be comfortable and most importantly… it needs to inspire you to keep doing the work you are doing when you are in there!

When I saw this beautiful framed Sailboat Art online at Raymour & Flanigan, I knew it had to go in my husband’s office. When we were on a family vacation in Florida a few years ago, we were browsing around one of the local shops and found a little sign that had Jonathan Winters’ quote, “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.” painted on it. It has been one of our favorite quotes for a long time and it’s a nice reminder that YOU are in control of your own fate and to work hard for the things you want in life.

We never purchased that little sign in Florida because it didn’t match any of our current decor. This large painting however, was full of beautiful colors and was a huge symbol for what we both believe in. There’s nothing like a little inspiration in your work space!

This painting also was what I based the rest of my husband’s office decor on. It’s always important to have a single piece with color that you can coordinate and use as a reference for your other decor pieces.

A clock is a must have in any office space. Of course you can always check the time on your computer or phone, but looking up to tell the time gives your eyes a break from your computer screen. I also like the tic toc sound of a clock in a quiet office.

This 32″ Brass Works Clock (sold in showrooms) caught my eye because it had gears in the middle of it and the bronze elements gave it a rustic touch. Even though this clock is a large piece, it doesn’t take away from the other pieces in the room because it’s colors blend nicely with the overall neutral palate of the office.

When I was at Raymour & Flanigan picking out our cabinet last month, I also picked up this neat grass piece on clearance. The green brought a brightness into the office and will look great all year round.

Because Raymour & Flanigan is constantly getting great new home decor pieces into their showrooms, you may be able to find that perfect piece you’ve been looking for at a discounted price, just by stopping in and browsing around!

I picked up these Ship Wheel Bookends when I was in the store last year while shopping for my own office! I kept these wrapped (yes- they bubble wrap and secure everything so nice for you) and in it’s bag knowing they would be a great addition to this space when the time came. We’ve kept these displayed on his desk to hold current bills neatly, conveniently giving him access to them quickly too.

*Tip: When picking out decor for your home, make sure you love it and can envision those pieces in your space. Great pieces should be able to styled different ways or in different rooms.

Because my husband is stepping into the house quick and heading right into his office, he had a tendency to just throw his coat or sweatshirt on the back of his chair. It looked messy, sloppy, and you guessed it… unorganized!

This cherry Noelle Coat Rack matched the hardwood floors and other furniture in this room and now keeps the office neat and tidy!

Last but not least, I was on a mission to find a pillow for his leather chair. It’s always nice and comfy to have a pillow in your office to prop behind your back or neck if you are working long hours. It’s also another great opportunity to bring more colors or patterns into your space.

Before I went shopping, I took a peak online at the pillows available. I purchased this pillow because the cream color looked great against the dark furniture and the navy pattern pulled the colors from the painting throughout the room well.

Because the Bookcase is the focal point of this office, I wanted a bold, but simple piece that could be placed on top of it to bring your eyes all the way up to the crown moulding when you walked into the room.

This Armillary was it! This unique and beautiful piece absolutely completes this space and adds a lot of character as well.

You may have noticed that I chose not to add any panels to the windows. As much as I love that look, this room has great lighting in the morning as the sun comes up, but the windows are smaller and I did not want to block any more natural light.

My husband and guests we’ve had over just can’t get over the new look of this space. It’s not only a functional and stylish place to work in now, but it’s a place that my husband can call his own!

What Home Decor Pieces do you have that make your house a home? 

Thank you Raymour & Flanigan for partnering with me for this project!

You May Also Enjoy:

The post How To Create a Stylish & Personalized Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

It’s that time of year again. Tax Season! Are you ready for it? At our house that usually means there a few extra piles of paper and receipts piled here and there in our offices. For the most part we are fairly organized, but we’ve never really set out to make my husband’s office the organized work space that it should be. This room easily had the tendency to look messy.

My husband kept things tidy on his desk but there were books, extra packages of computer paper and envelope boxes neatly stacked on the floor. No matter how “neat” things were stacked, it still got in the way and gave us that unorganized feeling.

Last year I partnered with Raymour & Flanigan to makeover my office, so this year I thought my husband deserved some attention in his since he spends a lot of time working in there for our family. Today I am going to show you how you too can easily Create an Organized & Practical Home Office!

I’m a true believer that everything should have a place. The computer has it’s place on the desk, the printer on a separate table, and pens and pencils in a holder. Most of our papers are filled in the desk and our books should be on a shelf that is practical and easily accessible.

Since my husband already had a large desk that organizes most of those things, we thought long and hard about what we really needed to make this office space more organized. We planned a mid week lunch date when the weather was cold and snowy and then headed over to our local Raymour & Flanigan Showroom (I shared a shopping pic over on Twitter) to browse around. We were thrilled to find a few really nice home office pieces that we loved.

If you’re looking around your office and feel overwhelmed or unorganized, just one piece of furniture can make all of the difference in your space. Sometimes buying all new furniture isn’t in the budget, but purchasing just 1 key, well needed, practical piece and adding to an existing space can make all of the difference. Don’t know if a certain piece will fit in your space? Use this cool Room Planner Tool!

For us, this piece was the Bristol Court Bookcase. It features a cognac cherry finish with a classic style that adds character to the whole room. It’s adjustable shelves are perfect for storing books and the and beautiful glass pained sliding doors subtly display accent pieces.

This bookcase also features deep built in drawers that we found especially convenient for our extra office supplies we had previously been storing in a pile on the hardwood floor. They open and close smoothly and quietly which is very nice too.

The hardware on the bookcase doors and the drawers are sturdy and the detailed lines and curves of this style bookcase are simply stunning.

Even in a room with a large executive desk, this bookcase is definitely the focal point!

We’re so impressed with this piece.  It not only has ample room for all of the books we had laying around, but there’s still space left over allowing us to display some of our other accent and decorative pieces as well.

If you can’t seem to get situated in your office, consider adding just one piece- the right piece. You’ll then be on your way to creating a practical, organized and functional space that can make your everyday office tasks that much easier and maybe even enjoyable!

With the task of organizing out of the way, I did purchase a few unique Home Decor pieces to really personalize this office for my husband. After all, any room that you are going to be spending a lot of time in should be made comfortable and stylish.

Stay tuned NEXT WEEK when I’ll share all of the accent pieces 

I purchased for this space along with a little story about why I chose them!

 Are you longing for a more organized office space?

What one piece do you think would make the biggest difference in your room?

A very special thanks to Raymour & Flanigan for partnering with me to create a beautiful room in my home!

The post How To Create an Organized & Practical Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Last month I talked about my plans to makeover my existing office space. It had been just kind of put together without a lot of thought and I was feeling like my work place needed some organization and a good flow to it. With all of my children in school for at least half of the day, I finally have some quiet time in the morning where I can really be productive. I am in love with my new space and I can’t wait to share it with you all! I hope you like it!

First thing’s first. My desk. I needed a desk that would provide me with a lot of writing space and that wouldn’t take up the whole room.

I like to spread my planner out on the desk along with my notebooks and such. With my old desk I couldn’t do this and I felt like I was constantly moving things around.

This 4 Piece Office Set fit so perfectly into my office! I love that the window is right above it so I can glance outside and even open the window to get a nice breeze while I am working. It’s refreshing!

I can put my computer on either side, as there are two fold down drawers to store the keyboard and mouse. When I’m not working, I can shut the drawer and leave everything looking neat and tidy. There are also 2 large shelves for a printer and paper if I need and an extra large filing cabinet drawer.

Extra binders, folders and books can be stored neatly in the slats available in the hutch too. The corner piece allows for a seamless, flowing look of the desk, while providing a great spot for my office lamp and decorative clock.

I chose a dark wooden swivel office chair to bring up the color of the hardwood floor beneath my colorful rug. The cushioned, neutral colored seat is comfortable and makes moving from one spot in my office to the next smooth. Speaking of color, I’m usually a neutral type of gal. I fell in love with this rug last year when I worked on my Cozy Kitchen Nook Makeover and after our home addition, had moved it into my office. For the decorative and cozy aspects of this office makeover, I wanted to use this rug as inspiration.

I touched up the paint on my walls with the same neutral Behr Toasted Cashew color that was previously applied, so that didn’t offer any more color into the space. I was looking for that one piece that would sort of pull everything together, and then I found this Cow Canvas Painting. I just fell in love with it! I really love cows and being that this is my office for Cozy Country Living, I thought it was very fitting. I also wanted something that would make me smile every morning when I walked into my office. Something that would kind of jump out at me and make me happy even if I was tired or feeling a little unmotivated. This definitely was it!

I worked off of the rug and painting colors choosing a few subtle color coordinated accent pillows to place on an older chair which is perfect for my kiddos or my husband to comfortably sit on if they need to talk to me quickly while I am finishing up some work that gives this office a cozy, warm and inviting feel to it.

I added a few flowers, old books, a vintage style lantern and a few pumpkins to the space to make it feel like home. I spend a lot of time in here so I wanted it to be a place that I wanted to be in, and it is!

My husband installed white wooden blinds to the windows along with linen curtain panels which not only look nice, but really pull the whole space together. With bursts of color here and there, but the main components remaining neutral, I’m pretty confident that I created a space that I will not only love for years to come, but that can easily be tailored to my tastes with different accents every season.

So…What do you think? 

A very special thanks to Raymour and Flanigan for partnering with me for my office makeover. 

You May Also Enjoy:

*Linking up at Skip To My Lou

The post Colorful & Cozy Home Office appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Back to School time is right around the corner and this year all of my 4 kiddos will be in school! It makes me feel really sad in a way. They grow up so fast! Knowing that I will have some quiet time during the week to get more work done on Cozy Country Living is exciting though. I’ve got so use to creatively scheduling my “work time” at home that I think I will need time to adjust a bit. The first step in making sure that my work days are as productive as possible once school starts is getting my office ready! It’s Time To Give My Office a Makeover!

I’m thrilled to be partnering with Raymour & Flanigan on my office project this Fall. They’ve helped me create a wonderful Living Room for my family earlier this year and I’m excited to turn my office into a comfortable place to work and get creative that is all my own.

Last Fall we finished the addition to our home. When we moved into our new bedrooms, I turned the smallest downstairs bedroom into my office. I moved in a roll top desk, a filing cabinet, and a shelf (all mismatched) into the room and set things up the best I could. I was happy because up until this point, I was working at a desk under the stairs in our basement off of the family room- AKA my children’s room full of toys!

I couldn’t wait to set my computer on the desk, plug it in and get blogging. One problem…it didn’t fit! The roll top part was in the way. I set the computer on the very top of the desk for a few weeks, but looking that far up started to strain my neck and it just wasn’t comfortable. I didn’t even want to work in there. I moved in a lovely antique, rustic table my husband and I refinished a few years earlier and decided to use that as my desk.

It worked, but I felt like nothing really had a place. My office fills up with school papers along with regular mail and mail and boxes for Cozy Country Living. Sitting down and planning an organized space for me is just what I need! I not only want to create a space that is functional and neat, but I want this new space to be cozy. I do spend a lot of time in here!

First thing’s first…Paint! We painted over the paneling in this room when we moved in, but my youngest daughter picked and peeled at it in places. I love the Behr Toasted Cashew Color because it isn’t too dark and it goes with everything. It gives me the option to change colors and accents around the room on a whim. Should I change the color? I’ve been looking at Raymour & Flanigan’s Design Center for tips on using different colors and it’s been really helpful. Maybe I should go with a color that’s little different but still neutral? What do you think?

I am also keeping the rug that I have in here that was previously in my Kitchen Nook. I love that this rug lightens up the dark hardwood floors and it gives this space nice, subtle, bright bursts of color. It’s also nice and soft too!

I would love to purchase a desk that I can place under the window so that I can look right outside. My office does have beautiful, natural light which is nice if I am working first thing in the morning! It helps wake me up! I would also like to add window treatments and a nicer chair. This one has definitely seen better days!

What are your “Must-Have” Items you can’t be without in your office? Have you recently purchased office furniture from Raymour & Flanigan?

 I would love some input! Leave me a message in the comments & stay tuned next month for My Home Office Reveal! 

*Linking up at Home Stories A to Z

You May Also Enjoy:

The post Time To Give My Office A Makeover appeared first on Cozy Country Living.