Intensive Pigment Palettes: Creating a Moody and Cozy Home Office Aesthetic

When it comes to home office decor themes I discovered that have my preferences.

I don’t like the cold, stark, hard surfaces office look. It might seem futuristic (very 21st century to us Baby-boomers). But those images used to be the standard result of search for office decor or desk style as far back into the early 2000’s.  It felt boyish, channeling teenage son lone woolf, building code and gaming in their bedroom and I just couldn’t relate.

White office chair, mac computer on white desk with view to city centre scene
Home Office” by Matt Bango/ CC0 1.0

To the other extreme I do not like the overtly feminine big frilly country kitchen table, make shift office desk and ramshackle bookshelf disorganised recipe books; propped up iPad against tiny metal pots of lavender look. That was a trend for a while, fitting in with a cottage core or rustic chic.

English country garden with green teapot and two cups of green brown looking tea in glass cups
Photo by Jovan Vasiljević on Pexels.com

There is also the girl boss look, I see with some YouTubers which is less chintzy but has neon name signs on white walls and lots of fluffy textures incorporated whether the a macrame wall hanging or stringy plants dangling from shelves or wall (for the backdrop). These are combined with sheepskin covered chairs or armrests. It does give off a dreamy fantasy of what a girl’s world of business could be like (pink fluffy and pretty). It seems to be playing at being in business and those of us women working in corporate or refugees from freelancing know that, it sure ain’t no game. However I get the need to convey the light ethereal fantastical vision contrasting the hard realities of our capitalist system.

Woman sitting at a desk with white wall and wispy flower in mint green vase. She wears baby pink dress and has half drunk coffee and white macaroon on saucer
Photo by Moose Photos on Pexels.com

Instead, I like a style that that emanates wisdom, elegance and being grounded. The moody and cozy home office style is indeed a theme on Pinterest. When you look at those images you see a bold cohesive comfortable and elegant look.

The cozy home office

Be mindful, though. This look isn’t that shining high polished look that you might find in Dubai, Knightsbridge or Belgravia show houses where our top interior professionals produce. Perhaps akin to what you see in TV show Buying London (Netflix 2024). No, this cozy home office look is somewhere that you and I will feel comfortable doing everyday business because it is as if our friend down the road was the cabinet maker and our interior design pal (old friend from local comprehensive/ grammar school) helped with sourcing of fabrics for the wall and space planning of our furniture.

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Modern Corporate Furnishings & Fittings: The Arbor, London

Clever Corporate Decor

My work as a corporate trainer/ instructor and coach this week took me for an onsite to our client in their new home in an amazing building. The Arbor Building is in Blackfriars Road in London, UK and it boasts that it is carbon neutral. There are neighbouring buildings and I’m told it is a fossil free development called Bankside Yards which is a major architectural, construction and interiors project feat. I was especially impressed at how beautifully the interiors echoed the sustainability ethos too. See the photos I took below

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ANCIENT CLASSICS: MY STYLE TOO

I realised how much I appreciate some classical English stately home decor from my trip to Ashridge House in Hertfordshire recently. I was surprised as I thought a lot of my style comes from my Caribbean heritage and London urban living and my immersion in corporate training.

But I discovered how much I love the juxtaposition of earthy stone tones with the bling of gold frames that can be found in some English Stately homes like Ashridge.

The amazing thing about Ashridge house is that it used to be where Henry the VIII and Elizabeth 1st lived. It is also famous for various films like Beauty and the Beast, Malificent, killing Eve and More.

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The Drums are not Beaten

My return to and finding new uses for the small drum lampshades have sparked fresh creativity and renewed interest.

Currently the empire and coolie (more correctly conical) style of lampshade is all the rage. This created my dilemma, as fewer people were buying the drum shades, especially in the small sizes that I make. And I had made a lot to experiment and sharpen my practice of adding more decorative elements to them like the metal upholstery studs as I’ve always loved that classic look.

But, this week I set on a spree to rediscover what the styling options were for the plethora of small 15cm drum lampshades that I have in store (not all are in the online shop).

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