Home Office Decorating in Shabby Chic Style

Home office decorating created in Shabby Chic Style is a great option for any cottage style home. With more and more people finding ways to work from home on their own schedules, there is an increasing need for the home office. If you have your own home office, it's important that you learn how to decorate it for beauty and functionality.

A shabby chic style is light and casual with a touch of vintage mixed with a bounty of quaint comfort and charm. Shabby chic is actually an umbrella term for sub-categories that include coastal cottage, English cottage and other various interpretations and while these styles might differ slightly from one another, their elements tie them together.

For example, some styles are more neutral, some decidely feminine while others have a Victorian flair. As you pull together a design for your home office, consider how you might incorporate some of these elements in your decorating plans.

First Consider Space:

One of the first things you need to consider when you begin home office decorating, is the amount of space you have to work with. A lovely cottage shabby chic style home office can be created in a spare bedroom, a den, on a porch or even in an attic.

If you are like many work at home moms who has limited space, you will need to create a small space home office that is comfortable and quiet leading to more productive work days.

This can be done with room dividers or long shutter-style doors in a dining room, living room or even a closet. It's all about getting creative and making the most of your space. Just be sure you plan for a desk and a comfortable chair that fits into your chosen space. You can then work the rest of the decor around the desk using it as a focal point.

Color Your Workplace:

When starting home office decorating, a light cheeful palette with lots of pastel colors with white as the backdrop suits the cottage-shabby chic style very well. The typical mix and match of different patterns and textiles such as plaids, stripes and solids which this style is famous for will make a beautiful color scheme as well as add texture to your home office.

When it comes to wall decorating wood details can transform any ordinary office into a shabby chic cottage style. A beautiful combination of waincoting and wallpaper in pretty pastel colors and a bead board ceiling would add some unexpected architectural detail to your home office. And to complete the look, white or cream wood shutters make perfect cottage window treatments.

Vintage-Salvage and Flea Market Finds:

Finding an old wooden desk at a consignment or a flea market and giving it a distressed look by first painting it and lightly sanding it with fine grit sandpaper will give it an aged appearance.

Whether you choose heirlooms and antiques or reproductions, your office needs something that looks old and worn.

If you simply don't have time to put this altogether, you can also find beautiful shabby chic style office furniture online.

Get Organized:

It's essential that you learn to get organized in your office space even before starting your home office decorating project. No matter what the size of your space, you need to be able to find the things you want and need when you need them. Include adequate storage in the form of old cabinets, a bench with a lift up lid and open shelving to store books and office supplies.

Lighting:

The options are practically limitless for light fixtures, because even newer styles can fit into cottage-shabby chic decor. Of course nothing beats natural lighting but you may need to include an office lamp for task lighting and a beautiful antique wall sconce would add ambience and complete this romantic well loved cottage style look.

Home Office Decorating Accessories: