The trick is to marry the two, creating a space that is both beautiful and functional, while simultaneously not taking up too much of your (extremely precious) space. A home office can be a bit of a black hole in a space, sucking in bits of paper, bills, phone chargers, etc. And if you're like us, and have your "junk drawer" near the black hole, your home office can become more like a garbage can for past and future projects that you never quite get to - not the best environment to work in, is it?
Making a home office into a beautiful space can be a more difficult task than other areas of the house, due to the presence of a computer and all its working parts - cables, cords, batteries, printer, speakers, powerbar...need I go on? Keeping cables hidden is half the battle of a beautiful home office. When displaying hard-edged, modern features like your computer itself, it is important to offset those items with the presence of softer, more personalized objects. Soft lighting (to counterbalance the glare of a screen), a couple of personal treasures to lend your individuality to the space, along with attractive and functional organizers to file and display your office items will go a long way.
Our home office cost us about $100 to make. The desk is actually made of three bookshelves turned sideways, with a big flat piece of wood (measuring 5'1 x 2'6) along the top. The shelves were found at a garage sale (though I think they originally came from Ikea). The piece of wood could be found at any home building store (where). The white chair is from Ikea, though we just upgraded that from a simple barstool, which we had found at Goodwill. The shelves allow you to fit important items like the printer, cloth boxes containing cables and extra hardware, and computer speakers inside. We can still see the items, but they are very subtle and since we don't move them around too much, clutter doesn't tend to build up there, allowing us to easily maintain the area.
The third bookshelf is not attached to the desk area, but simply rests adjacent to the second shelf along the wall. It acts as an elongation of the office, allowing us to stretch the length of the space a little, while not compromising the other useable space in the apartment. Two storage files (also Ikea) are stored here, along with our record player and books. The top surface displays pictures and personalized bits and pieces. The Ikea storage boxes contain household files (we got rid of our bulky filing cabinet and replaced it with these).
On the desk sits another Ikea organizer (I think it cost $3.99) for bills and papers requiring immediate attention before filing. Mason jars containing pens and colored pencils sit atop the desk, along with an old vase and illuminated flowers. A stack of books lends the space some extra softness, plus a raised surface for very important items. Finally, a beautiful old Edward Hopper print (also from Goodwill!!) adds further softness to the space, and acting as an lateral fold to the length of the office space.
The trick to a really great home office lies not in cost, but in the purposefulness behind how you place your loved objects alongside those more functional items that you use for work. Creating a large, simple plane on which to place your belongings and to work from, will allow you to access your maximum working potential while still remaining true to who you really are.
