I want to be More Like My Home Office -- Smart, Gorgeous, and Organized

If the kitchen is the heart of my home, the home office is the brains. Like most families, we've got homework, bills to pay, projects to do, research to complete, and varying special interests that come and go, most centering around the computer or office supplies of some sort. Jack went through a paper cutting phase a few years ago that involved multiple reams of construction paper and a box full of scissors. Now that's a project that needs its own special room!

When my husband and I bought our house five years ago, the two rooms that sealed the deal for us were the family room and the home office. We were moving from a house that had huge rooms, but not very many of them, so our home office had to be squeezed into our master bedroom. The excitement of having a room dedicated just to our home office was so exciting, we made an offer that day!

We started out thinking the home office would be just for the grownups, but then we quickly came to our senses and created a family office with a place to do serious stuff for the grownups, a place for the kids to do their stuff, and most importantly a place where any Internet surfing would be done out in the open under our watchful eyes. We knew we needed two workstations, lots of storage, and a central area that could be shared by everyone. We started by lining three walls of the office with modular file cabinets. We love the Bedford collection from Pottery Barn for a few reasons:


It has a corner desktop that allows us to go all around the room with our desk
The file cases are cheap and very functional
The system is modular so we can keep adding to it as our needs evolve
The black finish is great because it doesn't show dirt or marks

We've posted the grownups in one corner with the grownup computer, and storage for all the grownup stuff, kids in the other corner with the kids computer and storage for all the kid stuff, and shared storage in the center for office supplies, stationary and other important stuff.

Right in the center of the room, we have a big black dining table with a bench on one side that has become the central gathering place when everyone's in the office.

We love our home office for all its' functional qualities, but we also love that the kids tend to gravitate toward that room when we're in there working. Andie is kneeling on the floor next to me right now helping me write this post. Our office will continue to evolve as our lives evolve, but it will always be smart, gorgeous and organized. Just like me.

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