1. CLEAN it! I like to remove everything from my desk except for the monitor and give it a good cleaning. In the above photo, I thorough cleaned everything you see -- the desk legs, top, lamp and shade, mouse and keyboard, speakers, cord concealer (I highly suggest one of these to store all those ugly cords!), chair legs, etc. removing all scuffs and fingerprints. As I placed things back on my desk I considered how often I regularly use each item. Anything not used daily, like a staple remover or stapler, was moved to a nearby cabinet to remove unnecessary visual clutter. What is on my desk now are things that I use daily. I also decided to remove my pencil cup because I have two drawers in my desk when I keep a few spare pens. I don't use pens and pencils daily since most of my work is on the computer anyway so why keep a pencil cup on the desk with a millions pens anyway, right?!

2. SWAP items out. I have an office space at home and I frequently rotate the lamps between rooms. Changing the lamp from time to time gives my office a completely new look since all rooms in my home coordinate which makes this easier. Sometimes I'll use my retro orange lamp, other weeks my turquoise ceramic lamp, still others my giraffe lamp from Jonathan Adler, or a number of my West Elm lamps. I love to play around with what I have so that things feel new without having to spend money. You can swap anything from room to room from art to lighting, cushions, chairs, decorative objects -- it's easy to refresh your office space using what you already own!

3. INSPIRE yourself. I suggest using a fabric covered pinboard or corkboard in your office space and switch out the "mood" on it monthly (I switch mine out religiously around the 1st of each month to inspire the mood for that particular month). The above image shows an example of what I mean, it's one I pulled together around a Summer theme. I find that maintaining a board with a particular theme monthly gives me something fun to look forward to -- but also a way to redecorate my space with new colors and visual inspiration that is entirely different from the month before. How do I pull together a mood board easily? I have a file where I add all of my clippings that I collect for the month and then I simply pull them out and tack them to the board. For instance if I want to go with green/white/navy blue for August I'll start saving things with those colors all during the month of July and then on August 1 I'll put together my new board.

4. ADD FLOWERS! Flowers are an instant pick-me-up. I like to keep them on my desk regularly, rotating the variety of bud vases that I have on hand in my vase drawer in the kitchen. Sometimes just a simple stem will do, other times I treat myself to a gorgeous bouquet. We're focusing on not spending money to spruce up your space -- so may I suggest your local park or field for a few daisies or dandelions? I'm absolutely serious, there's no shame in the humble blooms that grow wildly in your backyard. If you have a rosebush or flower garden then you can find a variety of beautiful flowers to brighten your space.

and finally...

5. MOVE IT! Your furniture, that is. I was the "space queen" growing up, my mother said she never knew where the sofa would be when she came home from work. That's because her young daughter (me!) loved to move things around and play decorator starting at a very early age. It stuck with me and now I religiously move things around in order to keep a room from feeling stagnant. Place your desk on a different wall or try floating it in the center of the room. Move your bookcase to a different wall. Just play around and see what you come up with.

I hope that you enjoyed your long holiday weekend and these fun 5 tips for freshening your workspace. See you again on Wednesday!

(images: holly becker, decor8)

 

This paper is designed by the great Marcel Wanders for Graham & Brown in the UK and I can't wait to investigate cost and shipping because I am that serious about owning it. The pattern is called Stella and in addition to white & gold you can order it in 5 additional colorways. But I'll take the white and gold please.

By the way, do you sometimes feel stuck when it comes to wallpaper? Perhaps you love it but really don't want to paper all of your walls and commit to a pattern for the long haul? If you love wallpaper but haven't a clue where to use it except for, well, on the obvious place - the walls - then you seriously will love this book called Wallpaper Projects written by San Francisco shop owners Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith. It's the best book on the topic ever because it opens up this whole world of creative uses for wallpaper that you may have never thought of on your own. Trust me, it's the best!

Have a lovely weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!

(images: graham and green)

1. Clear the sticky notes. Do you have sticky notes on your monitor, bulletin board, or calendar? Put them in a pile and enter the data into a more appropriate (and permanent) location. Write the appointments in your calendar. Type the dentist's phone number into your Contacts program. Download 1Password (Mac) or Roboform (PC) and stop showing the world your passwords.
2. Sock purge. Go through your sock drawer and make rags of any pairs that are full of holes or missing the sproing in their elastic.
3. File an inch of paper. If you have a to-be filed pile on your desk, pinch of an inch of it and make a dent in your filing. In a week, you'll notice that just a little bit every day can really make a difference.
4. Sort your mugs. Coffee mugs are like rabbits because they multiply at an alarming rate. Get rid of all of the mugs you don't use or don't need. In my house, our table only seats eight people, so we only have eight mugs. There will never be a time when we have a greater need.
5. Archive 100 e-mails. If you've read it and the e-mail requires no further action, drag it straight into your Archive folder. Don't let useless messages get in the way of useful ones.

Right now, in my tiny apartment, we keep our liquor in a cabinet above our refrigerator simply because that is all the space we have. Our wine, we keep on a couple of small racks in the living room. But eventually, I would love to have a bar cart or cabinet in my apartment for liquor and my bar tools along with a wall mounted rack for wine.

Here's the wine rack that I love:

 

It's made by Vintage View, and while these racks are actually designed to be installed in wine cellars, I think they work well as a single rack too. A four foot rack that holds 12 bottles cost $73. Yes, that's a bit pricey for a wine rack, but I'm sure that there's a way to do a DIY version as well. 

For a better look at the Vintage View rack (and other small space options) check out Apartment Therapy's post here.

As far as bar carts go, I haven't found one that I want yet, but Design*Sponge did a fantastic round up of available bar carts this week. Check out the post here to see her suggestions.

Admittedly, most of the selections in the round up are super-expensive. But once again I have a DIY option for you. Check out this before and after: 

 

See the full post here for the step-by-step on how this thrift store bookcase became a full service bar.

Those are my favorites for storing cocktail supplies. What about you? Where do you keep wine and spirits in your home?

(images from Vintage View and Apartment Therapy)

For more information about these products and more, please visit Angela Adams online or stop by her retail storefront if you ever find yourself in Portland, Maine. If you won't be finding yourself in Portland anytime soon then you can see what I discovered when I took a trip up to this seaside city back in 200 -- You can tour the store online here.

(images: angela adams)