Home Office

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For the past few years, I’ve made New Year’s resolutions that have fallen by the wayside within a few weeks. This year, I’ve decided to make a few resolutions throughout the year in hopes that I’ll be able to start the new year with most of them already complete. One of them has been to do a better job of organizing my work area. I’ll have to start over pretty soon as we prepare to move to a new state in a few weeks, but one of the things I know that organized work area will need to have is a great calendar. These would also make great, inexpensive green gifts for those on your holiday list. Here are 5 stylish, eco-friendly options I’ve found:

Ever since I got an iPod for Christmas a few years ago, I have rarely bought CDs. There’s some stuff I just cant find on iTunes, but for the most part, I just download the songs or albums I want. I’ve also converted most of my CD collection to MP3 format, so I don’t use them much any more. However, I do have quite a stack of software CDs on and around my desk. I keep them on hand in the event I ever need to reinstall. I also have a sizable supply of blank CDs and DVDs so I’ll always have one on hand to provide native files to my design clients.

I like the idea of being able to go green in every room in my home, from the kitchen to the bathroom and everything in between. In my home office (more of a work area right now), part of that is going paperless whenever possible. I also repurposed a utility table to use as a desk. But the major green work solution? My gorgeous Amia chair by Steelcase.

A few months ago, I featured the Amia for its features on paper. It really looked to be the ultimate in sustainable design: Gold Cradle to Cradle certification for indoor air quality, 97% recyclable, it can contribute to your home’s LEED certification…the list goes on. But, I wondered, how would this chair stand up to real use?

When it comes to my graphic design business, there is little that I print on paper. I use eFax and keep electronic copies of my faxes, keep my accounting records on computer and have a couple of sketch books for putting design ideas down on paper. Still, this doesn’t stop the top of my desk from becoming a magnet for clutter, mostly from mail, magazines and my daughter’s endless toddler doodling. I have one of those old plastic trays for sorting paper, but it is small, so most stuff ends up on top of it rather than sorted neatly inside it.

We all have them: cell phones, iPods, PDAs, organizers…and all those essential electronics have to end up somewhere. If you’re anything like me, they wind up in a pile on top of your desk, cords tangled on their way to the nearest outlet. I haven’t been using my iPod a whole lot anymore since I’m working from home, but there’s still the cell phone, and occassionally my PDA since I don’t have a Blackberry that does it all.

If you compiled an archive of my Google searches, you’d find a lot of them like this: “insert-month-here 2008 calendar.” I never remember what day, or date, it is, and I’m always working on projects that require me to know. Sure, it would be easy to just buy a calendar to stick up on the wall near my desk, but I haven’t gotten around it it — and cute kitties and cartoon characters aren’t really my style.

I know how much of a pain it can be to work in small spaces. We lived in a 2-bedroom apartment when my daughter was born. It was a beautiful apartment and very spacious…that is, everything but the office. It was really more of a closet. In fact, it was smaller than the walk-in closet in our bedroom. When I was in there, it took a lot of strategy just to turn around without running into the walls or my desk because it was such a long narrow space. My only solace? There was a window.

Today’s Room: By reader’s choice, a stimulating eco-friendly home office under $2500!

I like to think of a home office as a space that is bright and cheerful — a place where you love to go and where its easy to get work done. This office is colorful and eclectic, and perfect for any creative home worker.

1. Kennedy Bamboo Grommet-top Panels, 48″ x 84″  |  $84/ea., $168 for 2  |  Made of 100% bamboo
2. Large Karma Vase, Mustard  |  £30 or about $55  |  Made of stoneware and hand-finished with non-toxic paints

UPDATE: The entry period is now closed. Good luck to everyone who entered! The winner will be announced soon!

One thing I love about creativity is that it is limitless. You or I may see an object, like a piece of paper, and see it as nothing more than something to write on. Your child may see the same piece of paper, and see an airplane or a blank canvas for some great crayon art. And yet another person, like Susan Connor, a Manhattan artist and designer, will see that piece of paper as a way to inject bold patterns and colors into your home — all in eco-friendly style.

There are lots of ways to green your home office, including going paperless as much as possible and turning your computer completely off when it’s not in use. Of course if you already have office furniture, there’s no need to get rid of it in favor of something more eco-friendly unless there’s a viable reason (ie. it’s too small, too big, not functional, falling apart, etc.) But if you’re in the market, you will love this affordable, eco-friendly desk by Legaré.