If you’re looking for home office organization ideas, I have lots of organizing tips for you today! I transformed a small corner of our main living area into a home office nook packed with storage and style.
A huge thanks to Homemakers Furniture for sponsoring this post. All content and opinions are 100% my own! See my disclosure policy for details.
It’s finally here! Today I’m sharing my new home office nook, organized from top to bottom! I’ve been dreaming of an organized desk free from clutter for a long time and I can hardly believe these photos are real life!
I’m currently giving our front room a big makeover to transform it from the land of misfit furniture to a modern living space (see all of the plans here). And today’s the day I get to reveal phase one of this room makeover – my home office nook!
When we first settled into this house nearly two years ago, my old desk found a home in this tiny corner of our front room. This wall is the perfect size for a small desk, but my makeshift home office left a lot to be desired in terms of style and storage.
When you enter our house through both the front door and garage door, this little corner is the first thing you see. And my messy desk did not make the best first impression.
My desk was actually fairly tidy when I took that photo above, but I’d say it was piled high with random things 90% of the time. Without any desk drawers or storage, clutter accumulated quickly! And whenever I sat down to work, I would waste time just clearing a surface for my laptop.
People often assume I’m always organized, but my desk certainly proves this isn’t always true. I think the real secret to organizing is taking the time to intentionally set up systems that will keep your space organized and functional. Because I hadn’t done this for my desk area, things were always a mess.
I’ve been working hard to turn this little corner into a beautiful, organized home office nook and the transformation is incredible! I can’t wait to show you all of the organization I packed into this small space.
9 Tips For Organizing A Small Home Office
1. Choose A Desk With Storage
When I spotted this gorgeous desk at Homemakers Furniture, I knew it was the one. It’s a beautiful statement piece made of the most stunning wood.
I have already gotten so many compliments on it and it feels like it was made for this corner of our front room! I love the rich wood and clean lines…it’s a quality piece that I think would fit right in with any decorating style.
And this desk is not only pretty, but it also has drawers! My old desk lacked built-in storage which meant that everything piled up on the desktop. Now I have a couple of desk drawers to store office supplies out of the way yet still easy to grab when needed.
When you’re shopping for desks for your home office, pay attention to size and storage. Take measurements of your space so you know what size desk will work and also think through your storage needs. I wanted drawers for office supplies, but I don’t have a need for a bulky file drawer.
If you’re ready to update your office, be sure to check out the large selection of desks at Homemakers!
2. ORGANIZE OFFICE SUPPLIES WITH Drawer Organizers
A desk with large drawers is amazing, but do you know what’s not amazing? Rummaging through a messy drawer of office supplies! Taking the time to organize your desk drawers makes all the difference.
I added clear drawer organizers to divide these desk drawers into smaller compartments. They’re modular so I was able to mix and match different sizes to customize the drawers for all of my favorite office supplies.
This desk isn’t overly large, but the amount of drawer space it has is ah-mazing! I filled the right-hand drawer with all sorts of gel pens, colorful pencils, markers, binder clips, and some of my larger pads of sticky notes.
The left-hand drawer holds a few more drawer organizers filled with things like my go-to sticky page markers and tabs, a few paper clips and a mini tape and stapler set (I don’t use these often so I didn’t want a full-size stapler taking up valuable space).
I was excited to discover that the drawers are just tall enough to fit my Powersheets goal planner and daily journal stacked on top of each other. I reach for these every day and am excited to finally have a great place to tuck them out of the way.
One of my favorite features of this desk is the raised back. It takes this desk up a level in the style department and gives me extra storage space. I particularly love the extra drawer up on top! I filled it up with sticky notes and a few small cords and electronics.
Don’t these organized drawers just make you want to sit down and get some work done?!
3. Add Task Lighting Without Giving Up Work Space
Lighting is such an important design element and useful since I work out here a lot in the evenings. But I didn’t want to give up work space to for the usual desk lamp. An organized desk means being mindful about what you allow to take up space on top.
Instead, I chose this pretty brass floor lamp from Homemakers. It provides the ambient task lighting I need when working late and it also adds major style to my office nook. That combo of brass and glass is super pretty!
4. Free Up Space With Wall-Mount Monitors
My computer monitor may not be the prettiest decor item, but it’s a functional necessity for my office. I think it at least looks sleeker when hung up on the wall, what do you think?
If you have large computer monitors in your home office, consider mounting them to the wall to free up valuable work space on your desk.
I found an inexpensive monitor mounting kit that came with all of the hardware and brackets I needed to hang my monitor. This allows me to have the convenience of a second monitor to plug my laptop into without giving up any space on my desk.
5. Contain Cord Clutter
What home office isn’t overrun with cord clutter? Bulky cords and chargers piled under and on your desk instantly makes things feel unorganized. I paid extra attention to minimizing and hiding cords and chargers in my home office.
My new desk has an open compartment along the back left with a grommet hole in the back for cords. I tucked a small desktop outlet (with a surge protector) in that opening and ran its power cord through the grommet hole and down to the wall outlet under the desk.
I concealed the power cords for the desktop outlet and monitor with a paintable cord concealer that adheres to the wall.
Now there are no messy cords hanging under my desk and no bulky power strip on the floor. And my desktop outlet is much easier to access than crawling underneath the desk to plug things in. I’m so glad this desk has that grommet hole for cords!
6. Max Out Vertical Space With Shelving
When you have a small space to organize, always look up! Adding shelving above your desk is a great way to add extra storage space. Plus, it’s a nice way to add in a few decorative things since you don’t want those cluttering up your desk.
I styled this shelf with pretty accessories that pack a lot of style into this small home office nook. The majority of the decorations on this shelf are finds from Homemakers including that pair of green flower pots, the faux ferns inside the pots, and that pretty brass box. They have an awesome seasonal marketplace that’s always full of the best accessories!
7. Get Creative With decorative Storage
Things that look like decor but are actually secret storage are so handy! Decorative boxes and bins, magazine files, wire baskets filled with books, jars of office supplies, and tin canisters filled with pens are all pretty ways to add storage to open shelving and the top of your desk.
The two painted canisters on my desk (see how I painted these thrift store finds) hold business cards and my secret candy stash ;). And that brass box up on the shelf is empty right now, but it would be the perfect spot to stash extra chargers and things.
8. Tuck A Calendar Inside A Beautiful Frame
I find it helpful to have a calendar to glance at while I work, so I framed one in a pretty DIY floating frame so it serves as functional art. Since this is a small wall, I didn’t want to add a ton of visual weight so I stuck with floating frames.
You can download my printable monthly calendars here. And here’s a great tutorial for making the inexpensive floating frames.
9. designate a central inbox
I think every desk should have an inbox to corral all of those papers and things that inevitably accumulate. I added an adhesive “inbox” label to a letter-size wire basket. I’ll do my best to regularly clean out the papers, but at least they have one place to live until I get to them!
I hope you enjoyed touring my modern home office! Implement some of these office organization ideas in your home to create a beautiful, functional, inspiring workspace.
Shop desks, furniture, and decor at Homemakers.com. (That’s where I got my new patio furniture earlier this year!)
Looking for more home organization tips? Take a look at these blog posts:
- Organizing Craft Supplies In A Small Space
- An Organized Toddler Art Caddy
- Organizing Mail & Eliminating Paper Clutter
- Too Many Emails? Here’s My Secret Weapon For Reaching Inbox Zero
Have a fantastic day!
