Project My home Office: That's right I've become my client

I've been working from home for over a year now, and up until now that's meant working at the kitchen table, going to Starbucks or working at a desk in our less than inspiring guest bedroom upstairs.Needless to say it's not the ideal situation. My client files need proper homes. I need organization in my life! So I'm turning my second (useless) guest bedroom into my home office.I am so freaken' pumped I can't even stand it.Let's just say the current state of my "guest bedroom" is shameful. Calling it a guest bedroom is a generous term. It's more of a hoarders paradise. Here's some photos, which perfectly illustrate my utter shame. Just because I'm an interior decorator doesn't mean I don't have my own problem areas in my home.I recently hosted a workshop outlining the five steps I take anytime I tackle any decorating project. I can't stress enough how important these steps are, and I use them even when decorating my own home.Why?Well, because I want to ensure that I create the best space to suit my needs, ensure I don't buy stuff that doesn't fit (aka waste money and/or time), and I want it to reflect my personality and have the right vibe!Step 1: Establish must-haves for my officeThis step is SO IMPORTANT and the pictures above, perfectly illustrate this. If I had taken the time to think about how I want to use that room before going guns blazing and making it a guest bedroom, I wouldn't have wasted money on a bed that never was used and a bunch of other stuff that was never used in this space. To be clear, I already have a guest bedroom. It's been used a handful of times, guess how many times this SECOND guest bedroom was used.If you guessed none you'd be right.So, please, take the time to figure out what you need from your room!(This picture was taken at 4pm. Yes, those are pyjamas. This is the life of an entrepreneur!)After becoming one with my room, I determined my must-haves.

• A desk (duh)
• I'd rather not have my desk bumped up against a wall
• A chair that is going to keep my back happy
• Storage
• A dedicated space and storage for clients (inspiration photos, fabrics, notes, paint swatches, etc)
• Wall filing to have my clients files at my fingertips
• Spots for my printers
• An area to sit and read or relax
• An dedicated area that allows me to keep my video set-up ready to go, whenever the mood to film video hits me.

Wow. I'm a demanding client.

Step 2: Find inspiration

It's always good to find some ideas to get your creative juices flowing, but be careful not to spiral in this stage. I simply did a quick check of some interior design home office on Pinterest, created a board and pinned a few images to get me started.

Step 3: I prepared a floor plan and drew elevations

Yup. This magical step is my favourite. It's the most important in my opinion. It's what ensures you find appropriate sized furniture and design a space that works for you.I took the time to measure my room, and any furniture I am keeping.From there drew out the space in roomle.com. I started to place all the furniture I wanted. When I'm in this step, I generally will search the internet to see if furniture in the sizes I'm inserting exist.Here's my final floor plan...Step 4: SourcingThis is the step that can become overwhelming, and you might find yourself paralyzed with decisions. This is when you'll want to review your "must-have" list, your inspiration and your floor plan to help make tough decisions. Stick to your plan and make decisions accordingly.I took the time to scour some of my favourite (affordable) websites and here is the design schematic I landed on.[A design schematic is a complete room design similar to a mood board, but it includes all the selected furniture and decor for the space]Structube: Chair  |  CB2: Light fixture  |  IKEA: Filing System  |  IKEA: Frames  |  Art: Lila & Lola  | CB2: Magnetic Clips  |  Structube: Desk  |  Structube: Lamp  | IKEA: Filing Cabinet  | Structube: Red Chair  | Tonic Living: FabricsNext step is implementation! I'm sooo excited to start making my home office come to life. I'll keep you posted on the progress.