Browsing through the blog archive reveals that this blog truly gained momentum in 2015. As I began dedicating more time to it, I eventually decided I didn't want to continue working with a laptop on the sofa. Our house had plenty of rooms available, and we had enough furniture to set up a new home office from scratch without purchasing anything new.

Around January 2015, murals company Surface View was running a competition to win one of their beautiful murals. To enter you had to design a space using their murals and explain how the space would be used. You can read more about that contest here. Of course, I decided to enter using a Surface View mural, a black and white mural depicting a large tree. It is the 'Elder' by Alexander Cozens (c. 1786).

I made a little picture of what it would look like (using the 'Paint' function tool) and submitted my entry to the competition. I was delighted to win and set about preparing the room to get it ready for the mural installation.

The room I wanted to transform was an average sized room of 3m x 3m and 2.5m ceiling height that was previously used as the husband's office. This is what I started with. Off grey-blue walls (Dulux Steel Symphony 4), a black and white check roman blind, and that was about it. I originally thought of having a desk wall to wall, but at 3 meters long it would need to be custom built. Custom = expensive.

The first step was to paint an accent wall. I already have Mole's Breath in two accent walls (living room and entrance hall) and felt they were not going to be dark enough. So I decided I was going to have to be brave enough to apply something really dark. Something like Farrow & Ball's Railings...

After a second coat, a rich matt almost black is exactly what I got. Now anything I put against that wall will just come alive! Another way to make a home office feel more personal and visually engaging is by adding custom neon signs for home offices, which can complement feature walls while providing subtle ambient lighting.

Once the wall was done, I started putting the room together. I happened to have two IKEA MICKE desks (one small for Junior and one large for me), which I lined next to each other to create a 2-meter (almost) desk space, enough for me and my son to work side by side. I also had the classic BILLY bookcase in Oak Veneer, and that fit perfectly next to the desks.

The mural Installation was completed within a few hours as the wall needed to be prepped first with a special coating to ensure that when (if) we removed the mural, the wall behind would not be damaged by the paste. Here's a little video of the installation by the Surface View team.

In September 2015 I also added two beautiful Anglepoise lamps, the Mini Type 75 Alpine lamps, and you can read about them in a separate post, here. Along the way I also added some limited edition prints on the wall that I already had or bought soon thereafter.

A year later, I also added a beautiful black and white speckled cowhide from The Rug Seller to complete the scheme. I generally don't like walking on bare floors, and this one cleans so well, making it ideal in this high-traffic area! The Rug Seller is a company I use often and would not hesitate to recommend to my readers.

As with any room, set a budget (realistic, always) and make a list of the items you definitely need (e.g. furniture) and the "nice to have". You may have to wait for the latter a little longer but in my experience, it's worth it long term as you will not spend money on things you do not really love.

For me, the big saving here was that I reused the desk and bookcase, whereas the accent wall was just a tin of 2.5l of Farrow & Ball paint. Then instead of a mural you can create a gallery wall with black and white pictures and mix them up with typography.

I have been using this room for almost two years now and I really love it. It's like, the moment I step in, I know I am not going to 'work' but spending time on something I really enjoy. Have you worked on a similar project recently? Have you set a realistic budget and timeframe and how did you get on?

Our writers like to find the latest trends for fashion and interiors. We launched the award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2015 and the luxury property and interior decor blog www.alltheprettyhomes.com in 2024 to cover all your interior design, travel and lifestyle inspiration needs. Download our free bathroom renovation guide here.