I have to say, I just adore my office. It is not the only room in the house that is totally me, but it’s the only room I didn’t have to take anyone else’s opinion into consideration when creating the space. Consequently, it is my favorite part of the house and a room I thoroughly enjoy being in. If you’re looking for a way to be more productive professionally, I urge you to create the same atmosphere in your own workspace. It’s amazing incentive to spend time in the room if you feel good in it. That’s especially important for a home working environment, where household distractions abound.

It all started with this fabulous, mid-century swivel chair I got off Craigslist for $40. I knew it had fabulous lines, but after getting it home, I discovered it was fairly “important.” It was on a poster, even.

This is it–top row, far right:

Mid-century modern chairs designed by Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates.

The Craigslist seller kept it in her bathroom and all I could think about were bare butts on the damn seat, so I couldn’t get it reupholstered fast enough. Especially after finding hot pink fabric with orange woven through it. You won’t find a desk chair that screams girl power better than this:

A hot pink upholstered mid-century swivel chair features tufting on its high seat back. Ward Bennett for Brickel Associates.

It seems perfect that Audrey Hepburn is peeking over the shoulder of my hot pink throne.


The last time we moved, we hauled 60 boxes of books from the old house to the new. Mine live in my office.

Room Fu Design Guru Robin Callan's home office features teal walls and a hot pink, tufted, mid-century swivel chair.

With only one window in the room, and an awkwardly-shoved-into-the-corner one at that, natural light is at a premium. So I snagged a full-length mirror for $50 in the “as-is” room at IKEA and hung it on the wall adjacent to the window, creating the illusion of two windows in the corner of the room. It makes a huge difference in the space.

A full length mirror hung next to a corner window creates the illusion of more windows in a cramped office in Austin, TX.

TIP: Clean mirrors before taking photos. D’oh!

Two filing cabinets from IKEA looked too bulky when positioned with the drawers facing forward, so I turned one left and the other right, placing them back to back along one wall. I didn’t love the “seam” showing, so I draped supercool fuschia and orange honeycomb fabric over it. My fave amigos, which you’ve seen before, hang above.

Super Amigos, by Paco, hangs above a hot pink fabric covered filing cabinet styled like a credenza in the teal office of Room Fu Design Guru, Robin Callan.

My orange S chair has made the rounds in the house and now lives in my office, coordinating with the fabric on the roman shade on the window. This cute little yellow table from Crate & Barrel has since been moved, as per my recent feng shui update!

An orange S chair and round yellow side table sit beneath silkscreened concert poster in the home office of Robin Callan, design guru for Room Fu in Austin, TX.

ANOTHER TIP: Don’t try to put a pillow on a rounded plastic chair. It won’t stay up!

Obviously, I don’t take accessories too seriously, preferring pieces with a bit of quirk:

A vintage bowling pin and mannequin head hang out in a teal blue office on white shelves.

A hula girl perched on a shelf in a home office.

HULA!

What do you think?

Thanks to Suzi Q. Varin / Q Weddings for the lovely photos!