Distracted - again? Working from home has its perks, but can also be extremely challenging. Take it from interior stylist, blogger, houseplant enthusiast and MADE.COM customer, Tiffany Grant-Riley. Having built her career from home over the last 8 years, her interior tips will kick-start your new home office mindset and mood. Now, let’s get to work.
Name: Tiffany Grant-Riley
Blog: curateanddisplay.co.uk
Location: Rochester, Kent
Size: 5 bedrooms
A wife, mum of 2, and proud owner of a black and white tuxedo cat named Rafferty Moe. Tiffany Grant-Riley of interiors blog curateanddisplay.co.uk has her hands full. When she’s not busy being published in a gorgeous coffee table book, she’s head down and working away from her home office. Tiff tells us how to have a workspace that allows you to think, create - and be productive. You’re going to love these ideas.
My home office style is minimal, bright, airy and extremely bijou. There are just a few bold features with a mix of vibrant plants and natural textures.
My inspiration for this workspace grew from a need to have a quiet space that didn’t shout at me too much - although I work with colour all the time. My personal style is very muted - so I wanted the room to give me space to think and create.
My favourite Dutch interiors magazine VTWonen often features the most stunning minimal inspiration shoots. I particularly like anything styled by Cleo Scheulderman, with crisp white walls, pale wood, touches of black and grey. So I pulled ideas from some of her work - and from Pinterest of course.
Before, my workspace was pretty ‘meh’. It was a hotch-potch of everything with magnolia walls. It took me nearly seven months to complete the room even though essentially the biggest undertaking was painting the walls white. I had to make sure I had what I needed, in the style I love.
When we moved, my taste was completely different - that’s what comes from moving from an Edwardian terrace into a Mid-Century build. I found my style very gradually before I made any decorative decisions. You can still see small traces of the pieces we had before we moved here such as the 1920s bureau, which I use to store fabrics, various bits of my kit, and the black Singer sewing machine, which I’ll always love.
Essentially my home office is a 2m square box, so space is at a premium. The biggest challenge was in creating a feeling of space and as we’re currently renting there were restrictions. I couldn’t pull up the awful carpet and paint the floorboards so I put in a large rattan rug, which covers the majority of the floor and makes it appear roomier.
I didn’t want to over-crowd the walls. I went with two long shelves to house the majority of what I needed and utilised the drawers in my desk, a wire hamper for paper and the bureau for fabrics. My Nikki Kreis wall hooks are brilliant for keeping the day-to-day ‘stuff’ off the floor too - it’s usually my camera, tripod and blanket. I like to feel snuggly whilst I’m blogging in the evenings.
My top tip for creating a productive home office is to position yourself near natural light. Not only does it make it easier for you to work, but will also lift your mood. Directional lighting is best if you’re doing desk work, although ambient lighting from a string of festoons will make a space feel cosy and welcoming. Failing that, candles. I always light a scented candle when I’m working, it’s a welcome distraction.
Consider the most important elements you need when putting your workspace together. Particularly, if space is limited, how will you use the space? Try to integrate storage into your furniture as much as you can - desks with drawers to access stationery easily and stylish boxes and files to pull a cohesive, functional look together on your shelves.
Leave a section of wall blank and use it as a moodboard. Tearing images out as I find them and sticking them up with washi tape is a quick and easy way to add visual interest. It allows me to work on ideas for up and coming shoots on a larger scale. If you need an area for similar activities, a chalkboard or pinboard are ideal.
Choose a calming colour. White works well if your room gets a lot of light, not so much if it doesn’t as it will just look flat and grey. Grey actually works really well in a workspace, it’s restful without feeling dominating.
My favourite piece is the desk. It was a dodgy pine number that my sister gave me when we moved in. I was ready to get rid of it until I thought about reviving it as a project. So I sanded off the orange stain on the table top, waxed it and painted the base in Graphite chalk paint. The giant knobs are made from plywood, found them at Chocolate Creative. They’re really satisfying to use and I think they’ve given the desk a whole new look. Who knew?
Other than painting the floor, there’s nothing I would have done differently in this workspace. I’d have loved a birch plywood trestle table, but the dimensions weren’t compatible with the room. I would’ve lost half the width if I went with that option.
Working from home gives you flexibility, although it is also very tempting to work at odd hours. My own are very limited as I have the children to take care of first and foremost. I’ll get maybe 30 minutes to respond to emails whilst Rob does the school in the morning. Later on I’ll have an hour and a half to do the bulk of the day’s work whilst my daughter naps and then that’s it until they’re in bed at 7pm. I work until around 10pm. Not ideal, but it gives me the freedom of working to my own schedule and still have quality time to spend with the children too.
I don’t have time to be distracted anymore. It was very hard during the first year or so not to suddenly find the need to do the washing up, bake a cake or nip out for a coffee. Now,I put on some music, push through the to-do list and reward myself with something to watch when I’m done. The thing is, if I don’t work, I don’t get paid, so usually that’s incentive enough for me. Except when I’m feeling particularly flaky, and then I’ll watch something on Netflix when I’m editing photos. Damn you, Netflix!
My workspace helps me stay organised. I only have enough space for what I need. When I start to pile up on the magazines then it’s time for a clear out. My pegboard is brilliant for keeping visual reminders and inspiration under my nose too without looking cluttered.
The most unconventional thing about my space is the plants. To say I’m an enthusiast is an understatement - I’m a dedicated member of the Urban Jungle Bloggers community - and we blog about how much we love our plants. I have close to 50 of them now. They do so much in terms of bringing a room to life in more ways than one. It’s rewarding to see something you’ve taken care of grow like crazy. More please.
I’d been looking for a suitable desk lamp for ages. I wanted one that didn’t take up too much space on the surface and in the room itself, but also looked like a beautiful piece of design. The Cohen table lamp was perfect in every way, from the pale oak detail to the slender, adjustable frame. My mum bought it for my birthday. Best. Lamp. Ever.
To find out more about the interiors book Tiff’s just been featured in, click here