Desk Area Do's

One of my favorite spots in an apartment is the desk area. Whether it is small, spacious, big, wood, black, white, or a pull down from a wall, a desk is an absolute essential when it comes to college students or people who work from home aka Bloggers. The truth is no matter what you do for a living, everyone needs a nice quaint desk space to organize all of their junk or to simply read and pay bills. Some of my favorite desk areas are in apartments.

Every office needs:

1) A functional yet attractive desk to house all of your office supplies and/or hobbies. This desk should include a drawer, or cubes *multiple cubes*.

Suggestions: EXPEDIT Workstation- Ikea and Corner Desk-Target

Further reading about secretary desks from One Kings Lane

2) Desk chair- You do plan on sitting down at your desk, right? Comfort is key, but not so comfy that you fall asleep while working…not so professional. To avoid that, opt for a bright color like the affordable one below. More of a conventional worker, try one of Wal Mart’s Best Selling chairs in the normal black leather.

Suggestions: Lona Mesh Chair- Target and Wal-Mart Best Seller

3) Some kind of pencil cup (mug, cup, pencil organizer)- Try a festive (Valentine’s Day) mug or buy the basic pencil cup, whichever floats your boat. You could even do something crazy like use a mug you already own (haha).

Suggestions: Eat Cake For Breakfast- Kate Spade mug and Nate Berkus pencil cup

Only real nerds lust over designer pencils, aka me; which are also from Kate Spade, surprise right? I thought so too. Or how about some Jonathan Adler pens? Ahh now we’re talking.

4) Bulletin board- For important dates, memories, inspiration. Bulletin boards need push pins to hold items.

How about some Kate Spade bow push pins? Perfect.

Bulletin board suggestions: DIY bulletin board and Nate Berkus cork board

5) Book storage- Every desk needs books and every book needs a place.

Suggestions: Floating bookshelf- Ikea and Billy bookcase- Ikea

Monday’s blog post on Bows and Moccasins features What To Read: fashion/home and inspirational books.

6) Paper Organization: Bills, receipts, recipes, notes from the office, printed out emails…are you exhausted yet? There is nothing worse than an unorganized office with stacks of paper on every corner. It is time to tame the clutter that has been building up and find a place for every loose piece.

Suggestions: Magazine Files- Ikea and Paperboard Magazine File- Office Depot

7) Task light- It is absolutely essential that this piece has a working light bulb then whatever else is up to you.

Suggestions: Royal Velvet- JcPenney and Royal Velvet- JcPenney (I bet you can’t guess I love these?)
 Also check out Lite Source Inc. Euros Desk Lamp- Kohls and Forfar Desk Lamp- One Kings Lane

8) Extra bits and bobs- The details pull everything together and make the office area/study officially yours.

Inspirational Wall Art- One Kings Lane

Kate Spade candle

Ruffle House Desktop Calendar- One Kings Lane

Paper Sugar print

Jonathan Adler 17 month Agenda

Square Scroll Picture Frame- C Wonder

What is your favorite part of a functional office? Tell me in the comments!

ALEX

The ALEX line for the popular Swedish company IKEA is perfect for small spaces.

Furniture is an investment, but is worth every penny. Ikea's price-point is on the lower side for frugal living people like you and me, but the 9 drawer piece pictured above ranges around $120. I own this piece and it keeps my cosmetics completely organized while not taking up much space, thanks to its vertical design. Props to this little guy for un-cluttering my bathroom drawers and taming the chaos. 

The second piece pictured features 5 drawers and is really tempting to place on top of the tall one. I had no clue the desk even exists, but it also looks appealing and makes me want to buy both. 

The shorter version is only $80 and the desk is around $200. I am pretty sure the desk would be completely worth 200 dollars because it is almost like 2 of the smaller ones ($160) + a desk. I really want to make the desk my craft and or sewing table! Two hundred is a lot to fork out, but I know it would be worth it.

Have you tried any of the furniture pieces from the ALEX line at IKEA? Tell me in the comments!