Creating the Ultimate Work From Home Office


I revealed our new home office less than a month ago and I’ve already made lots of changes in this room, mostly because our working situation has changed drastically. This office was originally designed with my workday in mind. I use my laptop for half the day and I find that I’m up and about taking pictures, working on projects, and doing other things for the remaining work hours. The original home office setup was perfect for me.Our office makeover and wall mural

But now that Finn is working from home indefinitely, (not sure how long we’ll be self-distancing), we knew we needed to upgrade our work from home office to make it better for his needs. I know many of you are in the same boat and you find yourself working from home for the first time – ever. I figured I would break down his new work from home office and the items we purchased to make it as functional as possible.

Finn’s Work From Home Office SetupOur home office makeover

The above photo is what the office looked like back when I was using this space.Our new work from home office setup with two monitors

Now, it looks like this! It is a tad “busier” but it is full of the necessities that Finn needs to get his job done. Let’s dive into all of the updates in this space.

Desktop Monitors and New TechTwo desktop monitors that are sleek and perfect for your work from home office

While I am totally fine just using my laptop, Finn likes to use two monitors that hook up to his work computer. He ended up buying two of this monitor from Amazon and they’ve worked great. They’re pretty sleek, which I definitely appreciate. Hiding cords from monitors in a home officeWe just hide all of the cords in the back of the desk (such a genius feature in this wood desk).use a wireless keyboard in your work from home office

Finn uses this wireless keyboard and wireless mouse (similar) with the monitors. This helps cut down on the cords and the clutter, plus they work great. He also suggests buying this HDMI splitter to spread your laptop screen across the two monitor displays. Along with those tech items, he also uses this mouse pad.Work from home office setup

Honestly, he says this setup is just as good as what he uses at work and it wasn’t that big of an investment. Once this pandemic is over, I think he’ll be more apt to work from home, knowing that he can be productive and efficient with this work from home office setup.

Office Desk Chairergonomic office desk chair

From the beginning, I knew that we would need a “real” office chair for this space. Our friends Kim & Scott (from Yellow Brick Home) highly recommend this office chair and they said it’s been a lifesaver on their backs when blogging. The chair is definitely pricey, so I was hesitant to pull the trigger. But once we knew Finn needed a good work from home office, I finally placed my order. I ended up getting the black on black one and I can’t tell you how great it is.

Ergonomic office chair for back supportFinn has been sitting in it much more than I have and he loves it. You can customize it so it fits your sitting preferences (it goes up, down, leans back, leans forward, etc.) and it’s designed to be incredibly comfortable. You can tell a lot of thought went into the design because it’s not a typical office chair. If you have back problems, I recommend this office chair!

Window TreatmentsAdding window treatments to our work from home office setup

At first, I didn’t really think I needed window treatments in the office. But I quickly realized that at night, you can see directly into the office from the two main windows. If the lights are on and we’re working late, you can see right in this window. Yikes.Natural woven shades

I ended up buying these window shades for the bottom two windows (in the color “South Beach Tan”). I didn’t want to block any of the gorgeous natural light that streams into this room, so I chose these without any liners. But, if you needed more light control, you can add that to them. At night, Finn pulls these down so you can’t see into the office. They were a breeze to install (the same install process as our blackout bedroom shades) and were pretty inexpensive.Adding window shades in the office

I don’t have plans to cover the arch or the smaller window on the left because you can’t see into them and I want to let as much natural light into this room as possible.

Space HeaterSpace heater

I mentioned this in last week’s The Break Room post, but we recently bought two space heaters for our home. I know, I know…who wants a space heater in April? Chicago problems. Our house was built in 1921 and it isn’t well insulated. When it’s just me working from home, I would turn the heat up on the floor I was working on. Now that Finn works in the office and I work upstairs, we didn’t want to waste tons of energy heating the entire house. Now, we just keep our Nest thermostat off (in the eco mode) and turn the space heaters on wherever we’re working. This has been a gamechanger for our utility bill and we both stay nice and toasty when working.

The space heater comes at a great price and we’ve loved it. It has some smart features (it oscillates back and forth; you can set it on a timer; it can shut off once the room gets to a certain temperature, etc.) and it even comes with a remote control. I wish we had bought these back in November!

New Fiddle Leaf Fig Treefiddle leaf fig tree

You’ve probably already noticed the new fiddle leaf fig tree in this room from the above photos. I actually got it for the nursery, but it didn’t end up fitting in there, with all of the other furniture. I didn’t want to return it because I loved it so much, so I ended up putting it in this corner. I didn’t have a basket to put it in, so I actually ended up using this wicker hamper that we were going to use in the nursery, but again, we didn’t have room for it.  I’m surprised by how nice it looks in the hamper! I definitely didn’t think it would work.New fiddle leaf fig tree in our work from home office

I placed the snake plant that came in this large pot in the guest room, and the smaller pot is back in the living room where it originally lived. I’m loving all of the greenery we have in our home. Droopy ivy plant

Oh, but I do have one plant that isn’t looking so great on our built-ins…this ivy plant. I neglected it for a week and then ended up overwatering. Since then, it’s been pretty droopy. Let me know if you have any suggestions to save it!

Built-Ins and Couch Area

Our navy built-ins
Couch area

Luckily, the rest of the room has been undisturbed! Our built-ins still look amazing and we’ve really been enjoying the couch. I’ll often come in here and bug Finn at the end of the day to get him to finish up work and hang with me. DIY acrylic dry erase board

He also uses the acrylic dry erase board all the time, so I’m happy it’s getting some use.

Enjoying Our New Work From Home OfficeOur new work from home office

I’m not sure how long Finn will be working from home, but I’m happy he has a space to be productive and efficient. Plus, I still have free reign over the rest of the house! Hopefully, someday I’ll get “my office” back, but for now, this is working for us. If you have any office source questions, head to this blog post.

Casey


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.