Welcome back to Make It Nice, Defector's best interior design advice column. Today, we have two home office cleanup situations and a delightful bird-related request.
Selene asks:
I work from home at a computer job and am a hobbyist musician. My partner, who lives with me, has done a phenomenal job making the rest of our 2-bedroom look very cute, cozy, and personal. My office, however, still looks like the apartments I lived in before I met him. While he has excellent taste in furniture, neither of us are quite sure how to best utilize this space in a productive way to be able to access the dozens of cables and cords and keyboards and amplifiers, etc.
I'm looking for ways to make this a space that doesn't feel like a cell for the 40 hours a week I spend in here for work and ideally could feel comfortable spending time in AFTER work, to actually do music and such. I have so much crap on the floor or in boxes or bags. I would like it if I had a way to access music gear and other accoutrements without them being in a big bag or simply sitting on the desk.
We rent so I'm very hesitant to paint, and changing the flooring itself is not an option. I'd roughly estimate it's about a 12' × 15' rectangle.
I'm sorry I didn't clean up more for the photo but I felt like it was important to show the truth of it as it existed.
Thanks for your sage wisdom!
My partner and I just went through a similar exercise in our home office. The very first thing you need to do is sort through what’s in your bags and boxes on the floor. What would be the ideal way to store these things? Do you need drawers, cabinets, open shelves with labeled bins, or all of the above? Once you have an idea of what you need to store and what format of storage would create the least amount of friction for you, you can start looking at furniture.
You should consider IKEA’s IVAR system. It’s modular, inexpensive and solid wood, which you can choose to stain or paint if you’re feeling adventurous.
This version, which I designed in the IVAR planner, comes out to $379. I left a gap on the left that should fit your amp. You can get bins to organize cables and whatever else you currently have in bags. I added two cabinets so that you have the option to really tuck stuff away. I like the half-open, half-closed storage because it adds visual interest and allows for quick access.
If the IVAR is not your style, I recommend a locker. Mustard Made has lockers in a ton of colors and sizes. We’ve got a tall yellow one filled with plastic organizers and a mini Bisley file cabinet that functions as tool storage.
Storage aside, what would really make this room feel finished is a Big-Ass Rug, a couple of small lamps and a few pieces of wall art!
Alex asks:
Hello! First, thank you for this column. It rules. Your piece about buying couches directly led to us buying a new couch, so: exciting times.
My office, where I work fully remotely, is basically a permanent disaster zone. It’s a kind of awkward room adjacent to our kitchen, the only door to the backyard, and a hallway. It’s also very close to our side door, which functions as our primary entrance. Consequently, it’s a pretty high-traffic area, and the layout is a bit tough to work with. This is exacerbated by a toddler and a giant dog.
How on earth do I get this space organized at all? At any given time, it’s a combination mudroom, recycling center, kitchen overflow storage area, and the place I work all day. Also, the ceiling light is dim and ugly. I really like working next to the backyard door, but it’s starting to feel untenable. The horrible closet-pile is also short for this world; we’re going to wall it off to expand the bathroom on the other side.
First: What couch did you buy? I want to know! Second: Holy shit! You are right, this is a chaotic room. My advice is similar to what I said above to Selene:
Take a weekend to sort through everything that is on the floor of that room, including the closet. Make three piles: things that need to live in this room, things that need to find a new home, things that need to be yeeted from this house. Once you have the piles, you can start to shop for storage.
I’m seeing a lot of shoes on the floor, so some sort of shoe storage situation is needed. I recommend keeping it simple and getting a slim shoe cabinet like this one. There are a billion versions of this online, so find the one that feels the right size for you. I’d put as many as you can fit under that U.S. map.
If the kitchen overflow must live in this room, get something low and wide to fit under the window. I realize this is the second time in today’s post that I’m suggesting this, but you should get a locker. The snacks and drinks I see on the floor should fit in here. I encourage you to keep the overflow limited to what can fit in the locker!
I also see a deconstructed Dyson vacuum on the floor. If it has to stay in this room, mount this to the wall between the window and door to the kitchen. If you don’t already have the docking station, please get one. It rules! I added this extension to mine so that I can store all the tools in one place. Check to make sure you’re getting the right dock for your vacuum before you buy.
Save your desk for last, but repeat the same piles exercise. My dream for you is a clear desk. I want you to have nothing but your keyboard, mouse, and monitors on your desk. Once you’ve addressed your rehome and yeet piles, what’s left? If it’s books, you need some sort of shelving. If it's papers, you need a filing cabinet. If it’s both, honestly, get a second locker!
Once your desk is clear, you should have room for a small lamp so that you’re not reliant on the overhead lighting.
The key here is to give everything a place. It won't keep this room tidy, but it will make it easier and less stressful to clean up when things get out of hand.
Commenter George Burnered Shaw asks:
Maybe I should submit this as a question, but I have a follow-up to the mirror question: Is there a classy way to cover up a mirror in common spaces? We have pet birds, and everything reflective needs to be covered up when they are out of the cage (otherwise they risk becoming obsessed with their reflection and might respond aggressively). The current solution is just mirrors staying in other rooms or occasionally being covered with a random blanket or something.
Wow, I never knew I had so much in common with birds. I love this question because it is something I have literally never thought of before. I imagine the birds go cage-free pretty often, right? In that case, I think I’d try to keep them in mirror-free rooms, as opposed to covering up all mirrors in the vicinity. If you’re adamant about covering the mirrors, you could do as another commenter suggested and cover them with tapestries or printed scarves. Measure the frames and look for pieces that are a few inches bigger, so that you have room to tack them to the wall. Again, I would simply move to a mirror-less room, but if you’re feeling ambitious there are lots of cool scarves on eBay!
Want my help? Email makeitnice@defector.com or leave a comment below.
