A glamorous NYC publicist's office that feels more like a stylish home

Lonny Mag never fails to share amazing life AND work spaces, and the one below is no exception. I'm sure having an office space like this makes coming to work each day less of a chore and more of a pleasure! Enjoy!

Most of the decor and accessories in design publicist Elizabeth Blitzer's NYC office comes from flea markets.

The conference is also the dining room.

LOVE

A nook in the kitchen

What do you think?
Is your office thoughtfully styled?

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A book that every DIYer, remodeler, and frugalista must check out!

HGTV's Design on a Dime Host Frank Fontana's Dirty Little Secrets of Design; I have to say I was very impressed by this book when I received it. Lots of decorating books have inspiring and pretty images, but this is one of the few rare ones that you actually want to read. It is packed with great tips - and not just how to make your house a better place to live, but how to live in your house better.

Is this not a home office/studio to die for? It's home office heaven! Tons of surface space, storage space, and natural light.

Some of Frank's home office dos and Don'ts:

Don't:
• Locate your office area where it can interfere with social spaces in your home.
• Keep a cluttered, messy desk for all your guests to observe.
• Us overbearing decor that will distract more than soothe and motivate. Keep the TV in the other room, unless it's part of your job requirement.
• Make your office at home feel too much like your other office. Leave harsh lights and sterilizing styling for the hospitals.

Do:
•Provide yourself with basic office supplies to keep the work flowing.
•Find a quiet space for your office that will allow you to forget about it when you only want to relax. Conversely, put the dog in the kennel when serious work needs to be completed.
• Use closed-storage, multi-functional, and organizational furniture to keep the things you need easily in reach but not constantly exposed.
• Use items like privacy screens, curtains, and solid dividers to separate your focus from the rest of the house (if you don't have a dedicated room).
•Add personal style to your office furnishings that inspire creativity and success

A lovely restful bedroom.
Bedroom dos and dont's from Dirty Little Secrets of Design

Don't:
•Bring the drama of our day into the bedroom. Change your design to help change your attitude.
•Use bright hues of color that make you feel a sense of urgency. (Of course, these colors will vary depending on your personal taste.}
•Overdo your design to the point where you feel as if you are sleeping in a museum. Like color, decor should lend itself to subtlety instead of intensity.

Do:
•Create a destination out of your bedroom that carries you to a calm, peaceful place. Seek inspiration from your favorite vacations.
• Work with earthy colors, and don't be afraid of dark colors, as they will aid in letting you sleep later in the morning. Keep an equal balance of design, high style, and downright warm cozy comfort.
• Include decorative pillow, but use the rule of three for this one. Two matching Euro-sized pillows with shams and one funky pillow that makes a statement.

A fun and chic entryway.

A tip I was so happy to see - Frank's tip on how to work with wood
"Many design styles will call for lots of wood furnishings. Avoiding buying a set of furniture or decor is a great way to save money and stay original, but that means you need to have an eye for matching distinct items. When purchasing wood furnishings, a good rule of thumb is to not have the color of all the wooden items in a space differ by more than three shades. If you absolutely love a piece but it is too dark or light, you can always sand it and add a new finish"

A super chic reading nook in my fav. colors at the moment - grays.

Well...have I whetted your appetite? This book is definitely a great addition to the library of a big do-it-yourselfer. It can be purchased at Amazon , or from the publisher, Abrams.

I received this book as a sample

A room of one's own - Creating your creative space

"As Virginia Woolf famously wrote, 'a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.' Well, we can't help you with the money part, but if you intend on doing anything creative, it's possible—nay, crucial— to create a room of your own (even if it's just part of a room).

When I was writing my novel, I was lucky enough to have a little closet-like room to set aside as my office space. No matter how chaotic my Brooklyn apartment (and life) got, my writing room could remain an organized, peaceful bastion. I'm superstitious enough to believe that the good vibes in this room made the novel possible.

Whether you're an aspiring novelist or a weekend watercolorist, here are some ways to create a room of your own:

•Choose your space. Maybe it's a studio out in some bucolic garden. Maybe it's a miniscule desk stowed in a bedroom nook. Either way, what's important is that this space feels good to you. Do you love or loathe natural light? Will you be too distracted around a lot of books or the television? Does one part of your house or apartment just feel better to you? If possible, try out a few different spaces. Find the one that works the best, and set up camp.

•Consult the masters. Stop beating yourself up over your writers' block. According to practitioners of feng shui, the placement of your furniture may be what's blocking your creative flow. It's a complex system, but here are the basics: clear energy-blocking clutter, and shift energy with color (red is invigorating, green encourages growth, etc). You might want to look up a feng shui map to determine which area of your home seems most auspicious for creativity.

•Go on border patrol. Expert organizer Molly Boren of Chicago-based Simplicity Works says to "define the space if possible: maybe with a curtain or even a rug, the way you would define another activity's zone within the living space." This works even if you don't have an entire room to set aside. Another way to delineate this space as somehow different? Boren highly recommends plants—"growth and life right there for the artist to soak up."

•To thineself be true. If you need a lot of room where you can spread out all your crafty projects and leave them overnight, it's extra important to have a worktable dedicated just to this. You don't want to use set-up and clean-up times as excuses. If you know you work best when actively blocking out distractions, maybe all you need is a laptop and a corner café. Remember that not everyone works best in his or her own home. It's all about learning what works best for you, and not judging it.

•It's clean-up time. Get rid of everything you don't need: old projects, other people's stuff, pieces of furniture or accessories irrelevant to the tasks at hand. Clutter is a great way to distract yourself and provide a built-in procrastination excuse ("Oh, I'll finish that sonnet, I just need to organize my tax returns first..."). It also blocks energy, in case you speak feng shui.

•Get organized. Even if this means investing in some shelving or a shopping spree at the Container Store, this is an important step. Organizing your space can actually alleviate stress and make it easier to focus and find time in your busy life to be creative.

•Eliminate distractions. For me, it helps to not have my laptop connected to the Internet while I'm writing. That way, I'm not even tempted to obsessively check my email or, ahem, browse the eye candy in dominomag.com's galleries. You know what distracts you. Get rid of it. (Wait, unless it's your spouse, or a child or something. In that case, perhaps politely asking them to leave is best.)

•Prepare your arsenal. If you are a visual artist, separate your paints, inks, and pencils into individual containers. If you're a crafter, set aside separate areas for felt, thread, googly eyes, and the like. Once you actually get to sit down and work on something, you don't want to have to spend a lot of time finding the tools you need just to get started. There are enough obstacles to making art; no need to create your own.

•Gather your totems. Surround yourself with meaningful objects that spark your creativity. Maybe this is an inspiration board collaged with images and sketches. Maybe this is a special souvenir or relic that conjures a creative state of mind or reminds you of what you want to create. The surface area of my desk is dedicated solely to a laptop, a playful and expressive lamp designed by Marcel Dzama, one of my favorite artists, and some totem-like objects: a glass globe of sand from White Sands, New Mexico accompanied me as I wrote my book which took place in the southwest.

•Remember, making space in your home for creativity is an important part of making space in your life for creativity. Now, get your space in shape and go make something. Good luck!"

Text by Amy Shearn


I couldn't agree with this article more!!! I just moved my desk and computers to our office space and I couldn't be happier. I still have some decorating to do - which I'm looking forward to, but I wanted to gather some inspiration first. I also wanted to ad, that by taking my computer and stereo out of my bedroom, I sleep much better. Also, since I now work in a designated office space, I am much more focused on the task at hand, because I'm not distracted by...well, my bed.

I am so envious of this workspace! I learned the hard way that for me, a large desk is an absolute must. It allows me to create stacks which is how I prioritize magazines, inspirational photos, and papers.

Keeping everything ordered will not only look nicer, but improve your efficiency.

Bright colors (like these sunflowers) are believed to help creativity. Especially orange!


I'm not crazy about this room, per se, but I do love the cork wall in the back. Great way to keep everything in sight if you're one of those "out of sight, out of mind" people




via Domino

Pretty storage ideas

Wow, the weekend was not long enough. But here's some Monday eye-therapy. Winter often means spending more time indoors, so you might as well spend it making your home prettier.

Feminine mismatched teacups and saucers make jewelry even prettier


Carrying a color through all decor and accessories will unify your space and make it look a little neater.

Vintage planters like these abound in thrift stores and flea markets, and rarely cost more than $5.

Images via Martha Stewart

A gorgeous way to store snippets of inspiration.
Image via Sunset Magazine

Image via A Beautiful Abode
Image via Creature Comforts


A pretty way to decorate your walls and store your jewelry.



If you have a pretty collection, like these pillows, don't just hide them away. Store them by displaying them!

Dorrit Elmquist via Emmas designblogg

Inspiring home offices bring on inspiring ideas

The environment around you is so important - as I imagine all of you are aware. Some are probably more sensitive to it than others, and I'm always unfortunate enough to be much more sensitive to it than all of the roommates I've ever had. So for me, needless to say, I really find an organized, inspiring, and pretty workspace is key for efficiency, creativity, and focus. One thing you can't have enough of in a home office? Space. Space being at a premium in the city, one has to get creative at times on the organization front. Anyway, I wanted to share with you my latest findings to inspire everyone to remember the importance of your environment, especially when it comes to your work environment. Hope you enjoy!





Images via Homes and Gardens

Image via HGTV



These 3 images are all Domino Reader's Contest winners!
Images via Domino Magazine


A nice example of a more utilitarian/industrial setup

Images via Martha Stewart