My Eco-Friendly Office Refresh


Finally, it’s time to reveal my office setup with you. There’s no doubt that a tidy, clean, functional and cozy office space helps get me inspired. I found that I used my office as a junk drop space over the summer and realized I can’t keep doing that. I truly need a place for everything so it always looks and feels good. Plus, my goal was to make it as eco-friendly and non-toxic.

Redoing my office is bittersweet as I should be organizing it to be a nursery but my body had other plans for me. SO here we are, a new refreshed office space that I can’t wait to share with you! I have a little new, pre-loved, repurposed and some DIY elements.

A brown faux leather backpack hanging on a hook, next to a window, in the corner of an office space.

When you first walk in

My office is the first room right beside the front door. We have a front closet for jackets, shoes and baskets full of winter gear but I wanted to have a space I could grab my Fawn backpack from so I decided to hang a hook on the first wall. The heart shaped hook is secondhand. I scored it for $6 from Kay’s Korner in Cook St Village, Victoria. I love having my backpack, wallet and sunglasses all in one safe place away from Quinn (my 2 year old son). I also decided to put my boots and flats on the ground underneath so they don’t get dirty in the front closet. Am I the only one that treats the front closet as a shoe throwing area? Lastly, I hung a trailing plant from the ceiling and family photo.

A grey pillow sitting in a light brown wicker basket next to a grey couch that has a light-neutral leopard print throw blanket draped off it.

Textiles

Next, added some textiles to soften the space. I reused this basket I already had in the home and placed it on a box where I have books stored in. The pillows are from Be Poedik and the throw is from One Wednesday. I was lucky I already had this beautiful chair from Max Furniture in my office which is Zoe’s (our dog) lounge chair while I work.

Corner of a space showing a vase of garden flowers sitting on a side table next to a grey couch, with three framed images hanging above on the wall.

Corner nook area

So many goodies right here. For the wall I chose to get two metal frames from Indigo and fill them with two photos that bring me joy. One is slow mornings drinking coffee at our family cabin and the other is Zoe licking her face after a veggie dog. The third picture frame displays flowers I pressed from our garden. Holding onto a little slow living and summer vibes. Beside the couch I repurposed the table from Quinn’s nursery and added a candle and fresh flowers. When I asked my followers what is their favourite way to decorate their office to make them feel good the most popular answer was, fresh flowers! So, I listened, this spot is now dedicated to fresh flower bouquets. Lastly, the vintage crock pot on the ground was secondhand and gifted to me by my sister in law. I am trying to revive my ZZ plant as it needed more light. EEK I am not the best with plants.

The corner of an office space, with a white shelf hanging above the desk. The shelf has various items on it including framed photos, a candle, a wicker basket & a plant.

The desk area

Looking to the right as you walk in you’ll see my desk is in the middle of the room. It used to be shoved in a corner where I starred at a wall and I have to say, having the desk in the middle and looking out the door makes me feel like a CEO. Oh wait, I am a CEO!! The desk is a white stand up desk from Ikea, nothing fancy and the chair we’ve had for ages, I don’t even know where it came from but it works. On the desk I used a cheese board I’ve had for ever to display some items that I grab every day. My computer, content planner and Tav Ceramics mug live on my desk everyday too.

A wooden tray sits on a white desktop holding pink blue-light glasses, a cup filled with pens, a vase with dried florals and a bottle of essential oil spray.

Wooden carousel

I added a vase full of florals & grasses from the garden, keep going spray from K’Pure, Jillian Harris X Poppy Peonies blue light glasses, pens from Love Powered Co and the little heart dish is from a local store called Surroundings. I often add a candle to this space too from Ash Refillery!

Close up of framed images and art on the shelf.

The shelf

The shelf I had in the office before but I moved it to this wall and hung it a little shorter so I can actually reach the items on there. The basket is secondhand and I put random papers, tags and things I need for the blog since I don’t have drawers on the desk. The green ceramic is secondhand from Kays Korner and it’s my branding colours and houses my essential oils. The frame of Quinn is one of my favourite pictures of him eating dirt in the garden and the other picture is a pin board. I highly recommend getting a mini pin board and make a live Pinterest board where you hang items that inspire you. I am going to decorate this pin board every month to switch it up with seasonal items. Next I have my journal, a book, a plant, a candle and matches. All these items make the office cozy!

Close up of a pin board with a dried floral, and various paper items attached to it.

Eco-friendly wallpaper

Saving the best for last… Eco-friendly wallpaper! Finding eco-friendly wallpaper that will last that didn’t break the bank was a challenge. I came across SpoonFlower where they make eco-friendly wallpaper that is non toxic, support small artists and it’s recyclable! That was a big one as most wallpapers have to be thrown in the landfill afterwards. Knowing one day when this wallpaper is changed because let’s be honest, wallpaper usually isn’t forever, I wanted it to be easy to take off and not thrown into the dump so I am happy I achieved that. I chose their pre-pasted removable smooth wallpaper (good on drywall NOT on textured walls). It’s a durable paper with a water-activated adhesive backing so Conrad and I could install ourselves (saves huge bucks!). It’s long-lasting, but fully removable, making it great for homes, rental spaces, accent walls or temporary art installations. Don’t forget – recyclable!! :)

An out of focus shot of some garden flowers, showing a sage patterned wallpaper behind it.
A woman sitting on a couch, holding a cup in one hand, while resting her head in her other hand, smiling at the camera.

The only item I didn’t touch on was the rug. This rug was in this room before, I got it for Quinn’s nursery but I don’t recommend. I have done a lot of rug research lately and that is an industry that’s tough to navigate! I would look at your local shops first, if they don’t have the rug you need try Indaba Trading Co, a mother and daughter business that supports local artists and fair wages.

I am so happy when I walk into my office as I see my vision is coming to live for this blog. The wallpaper is a resemblance of my logo and all the little details make the room feel purposeful. I hope I can inspire you to make your office not only look good but feel purposeful too. You deserve it!

Tasha
 

* Note: Some links featured in the above post are commissionable/affiliate links. Image credits: Kinzel Creative.

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