Working from Home Desk Makeover

[Ad- gifted product] Before the COVID-19 Virus struck the world, I was actually trying to get my desk setup upgraded. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I work from home normally, so my desk set up is my work set up. With many of the UK’s population setting up to work from home for a while, I’m seeing lots of desk redecoration and lots of people picking places for their work space. I am about half way through my desk set up and will be posting again when I am finally finished. At the moment, I have purchased loads of items slowly since January and have set them up this week, however I still have quite a few items to pick out and to be delivered.

The Before

When I moved into this house, I picked this specific spot for my desk. As I record often, I felt having my desk in my bedroom would be the best location. I also am a huge fan of having desks in front of windows. Windows provide a bunch of natural lighting, an ever-changing view of the outdoors and tell me when it’s quite late. I know that’s a bit of a strange one, but as someone who works from home, the visual reminder of it being nighttime and time to stop working is something that I find super helpful. I’ve had previous desk areas that have been not so great due to the window there. You’ll want to make sure that the window you pick isn’t drafty or fitted in a way that when the wind blows it’s noisy. If your windows are not idea, it’s well worth getting replacement aluminium windows so that you can still have large, functioning windows pouring in natural light.

There are a couple of issues with this area, the biggest issue being the curtains, which are really long, don’t fit well behind my desk, and are just kinda ugly. These curtains came with the house, I am not sure why the previous tenant liked these long curtains. I actually have a radiator under my desk, which gets completely covered by the curtain. Another issue I had was lack of organisational items around my desk and on my desk. I did hang up a calendar right off the bat, a hook for all of my press passes from events, and set up the essentials. I’d also like to mention my chair’s butt cushion. This item really changed my life, as it’s a little cushion that literally changes the way you sit, providing more back support and just a more comfortable seat. It’s something worth purchasing if you find yourself sitting more at your desk. I also have a little wrist pillow, which is to keep my wrist from being in pain.

This is the desk I have been using for the last long while, until this month!

The After (so far)

The day I took these photos, there was a lot of light outside! The theme I am going with is black and gold – despite my desk itself being white. The first thing I purchased was some new curtains that are at a better length. We went for a black, dark curtain with some gold constellation designs on it. This curtain is very dark, not letting light in when it’s closed, which is great for sleeping in. That was my major worry when purchasing it, if I am honest. I got a gold set of desk tidies which have already done a world of difference for the top of my desk. Matching this sort of back and gold, yet wired look, I found these note boards that are grated, which you can clip items too and got one of those. They come in two panels, which fit perfectly on the side wall of my desk. I’ve started clipping up different bits and bobs to love over at, just making the wall look nice.

Due to needing more storage, I purchased a black bookshelf, but it’s not a great quality and I am not actually happy with it (hence not linking to it) but the size is very good. It’s a simple black shelving unit, that’s not fully set up yet. On top I have placed my rubber plant, which I feel fits well in that space. I love the pot, which came in the February monthly box from LazyFlora.

What’s to come

This side board grate thing isn’t finished, as I have ordered some little gold shelves to go onto the board and want to get some cactus’ and succulents to be hung there. I feel like having a few more plants would be lovely, since they bring so much joy to my room and area. Along the same idea, I have ordered some gold and black, angular hanging pots for the side wall next to my calendar and will be making a macrame hanger for a hanging plant to hang from the ceiling. Adding more plants really does make your desk feel less cooped up and less indoor, in a way.

The book shelf, obviously, isn’t done. I haven’t been able to find any baskets that I am 100 percent happy with, which means I will probably be spending some more time hunting before I am completely happy with it. I also feel like I might just get rid of the unit and get a more stable one with shelves that can be adjusted, if I find one that’s the same dimensions. I am going to be filling this shelf area with gaming items, items that need to be reviewed for this blog and flat lay items, which should be good. It currently has a bunch of stuff sticking out of it and isn’t very photogenic, but hopefully that will be sorted too.

Matching my rainbow keyboard that Dann got me for Christmas, I want to get back lights for my PC monitors, which would be rainbow as well. I think this will be cute and add more lighting for nighttime work or gaming, which is always something that I enjoy.

At the moment, deliveries are delayed because of the pandemic, so a lot of these items won’t be delivered for a while and it might take me a bit longer to pick more items I am sold on, but I am really happy with how far along my desk has come. I know a lot of people are now making their own work from home space or upgrading their space due to the pandemic, so I figured sharing mine would be welcome too.

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