home office inspiration

We haven't even started househunting for our next place yet, but already I find myself designing my next home office in my mind. Granted, I have been working from home a lot lately, so it's a very top-of-mind subject. But still... designing a room without an actual room to design around doesn't make much sense.

Oh well -- that's what we call inspiration!

In my overactive imagination, I would love an office layout like this (though of course it doesn't really take into account doors, windows or a closet):

Notice the lack of guest bed? That is deliberate. In my dream scenario, my home office won't have to multitask as a guest room, especially since the reality is that I will be working from home and don't want to barge in on guests at 7 a.m., announcing, "Move over! Time for me to work!"

My current home office, really just a corner of the guest room, and also Mark's full-time home office. Too much going on in one room.

But even though it wouldn't be a guest room, I do love the idea of having a sofa or chaise in the room so that I can lounge more comfortably while reading longer documents, or for the occasional change of posture while sitting on my many daily hours of conference calls. Though I am not a fan of the whole "cave" terminology, with the sewing area and sofa, you could kinda sorta call the vision for this room a "woman cave."

(Sheesh. I can't believe I actually wrote those words. Next thing you know, I'll be casually throwing around terms like "zen" and "spa-like.") :-)

But back to the inspiration. Here are some home offices I love, from all over the blogosphere:

From Honey We're Home -- I love the x-leg desk, the use of the Ikea Expedit cube bookshelf, and the feeling of openness in the room. I do NOT want my desk to face the wall like it does now.

I love the x-leg desks in these cool, gray settings, from Life in a Venti Cup and the UK Daily Mail. I find cool grays very calming, and calming is a must for a home office.

Love this color scheme, and more of the beloved x-leg desk, from Centsational Girl.

Oh, to have a gorgeous view like this, from the Decorista. Even without the view, I love the softness of the curtains, and the overall vibe. Yes, it's very purple, but it reads as very calming and almost neutral in context.

I would feel smarter working in this space, from I Suwannee.

After x-leg desks, white cabriolet-leg desks are my favorite. This one is from Life in a Venti Cup.

From loving. living. small. -- such a great, "finished" space with just the right amount of color.

The perfect credenza, from Apartment Therapy. And great use of the bargain-priced ($69) Ikea Expedit shelf.

More great Expedit organization -- white boxes in cubes -- from Google images.

Do you like any of these? What would your dream home office or (gasp!) woman cave include?

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xoxo,