It may be (well) over a decade since I last saw the inside of a classroom, but something about the start of September always brings about a sense of new beginnings, knuckling down and getting stuck in to whatever new project or goal is on the horizon.
I’ve been in my flat for six months now and eagled-eyed readers may notice that its already been all-change in my living area. Things weren’t quite working out with my home office arrangement and one Sunday morning, as I sat perusing the space from my sofa, everything clicked into place in a sort-of “move this here, that there, that there“… et voila!
Everything just worked so. much better.
A desk with a view
Moved from it’s original place along the living room back wall, my desk now occupies what had previously been a length of ‘dead space’ in front of my window, and looks out onto abundant foliage and, come winter when the trees shed their leaves, Media City beyond.
I honestly don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before, with Oliver Heath’s principles for a healthier, happier home and his biophilia mantra running through my head all these months, but now I have an abundance of natural light flooding my workspace to help aid my concentration and focus – and which I can easily control through white gauzy vertical blinds —as well as plenty of biophilic elements to gaze upon to facilitate effortless concentration when my direct focus on a task begins to wane. The wide windowsill is also the perfect place to perch my growing collection of cacti, succulents and houseplants, so even during the winter months I’ll still have an abundance of greenery focused in this space.
My Tylko shelving units** have also been moved and repurposed in the big switch-around, with the taller unit which had previously been in the office area now serving as open-plan shelving in my kitchen/dining space (which i’ll be sharing really soon!), and my mid-height unit now residing in my workspace.
The lower shelves are laden with books and magazines, while the top shelves serve as a more decorative area for displaying my favourite photographs and art prints, as well as my trusty Pure Radio**.
One thing that I felt I needed to really help bring the space together once I’d shifted all my furniture was a rug, and I knew that I wanted something that was nicely tactile underfoot. I’d been thinking that hardwearing jute would be a good fit for the space and this beautiful round Faro jute natural circle rug** from Modern Rugs caught my eye as I scrolled through their extensive collection, reminding me of the gorgeous decor at my favourite Greek island getaway resort, Casa Cook. This intricate hand-woven rug has a lovely worn-in feel to it and slotted in nicely with the Scandi-boho vibe I’d been cultivating in the rest of the open-plan living space.
Last week I read a wonderful blog post by my friend Antonia, which focused on the 7 desks of highly effective people, which got me thinking about which category mine might fall in to. I definitely aspire to keep my desk neat and tidy, but it never takes long for me to end up surrounded by piles of catalogues, magazines and notebooks! That said, there is something quite galvanising when there is just the right amount of clutter around me (i.e. plenty of blog post fodder, not stacks of unopened bills!), and I love having a mood board of inspirational imagery in my workspace to help captivate and motivate me throughout the day.
There’s always a little bit of a push/pull whenever it comes to redesigning my moodboards, as a part of me can’t bear to tear pages from my favourite magazines, but the other half knows the imagery will be far more engaging and purposeful being pasted up on the wall, as opposed to being simply flicked through occasionally. This moodboard revamp has seen me run with the warm bohemian Cali-inspired vibes that I’ve suffused my living space with, with a strong focus on sunny travel vibes and a pinky, green-y, grey colour palette.
Hopefully this dreamy wanderlust aesthetic will see me through the dark grey Mancunian winter that’s looming large on the horizon..
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Some items in this post have been gifted by the respective brands and are denoted by a double asterisk (**). All photography © Kate Baxter.
8 Responses
I will always remember my first day! And I will always remember my first desk! I love your setup!
Hi Kate, it looks like you now have the perfect desk set up and I’m envious :) All that lovely natural light and the Tylko shelving is wonderful – so practical yet stylish. Love the new jute rug too and I especially like the sheepskin on your chair – why didn’t I think of doing that with mine?! And thank you so much for mentioning my recent post – it seems to have really got people thinking about the category they fall into – I think yours is a perfect balance of neat/creative! xx
Love that rug. Your apartment is lovely Kate!
Glad you found the perfect spot for your desk, mine is in front of a window with greenery too and I find it really helps with productivity. Love your inspiration wall, you’ve created a gorgeous space xxx
That’s a lovely area that you created! I love the rug and the small details that you added. I’m curently transforming one room in home office for me and I definitely can use some of your ideas here.
Your work space looks great. I love it when you have a moment of inspiration, move all your furniture round, and have a brand-new amazing room to enjoy!
And as a northener now living in the south, I love your Oasis print :)
Your decision to replace working desk near outside view in living area seems awesome. I think, it will really help you to refresh in regular intrervals so that you can work all day tirelessly,
Hi Kate,
Some great shots here. The lightning coming through the window onto the desk is a great element. Not to mention the contemporary round rug!