Bringing a little joy into your office space can help you feel more inspired at work, a little more awake during groggy mornings, and a little more grounded during a stressful week.
Whether you’re years-deep into the work-from-home life, or you’re bouncing back and forth between home and office, check out these creative office desk decor ideas and accessories to brighten up your workspace.
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How to spruce up your office space
We’ll share a few simple tips to help you customize your office space, and then highlight some cute desk decor items we love from small businesses all over the country.
- Add greenery. Whether it’s a whole jungle of plants on your desk, hanging from the walls, and propped up on a plant stand next to you, or you’re just opting for a little fake plant from IKEA, a little pop of green can make a lot of difference.
- Improve your lighting situation. This one can be trickier, but getting a small desktop lamp or moving your at-home workspace to be closer to a window can help boost your mood and keep your energy and inspiration up.
- Invest in art. You can start with a tiny framed print and work your way up to larger pieces that reflect your personality and tie the whole room together.
- Stay organized. Don’t let things get out of hand. Every week or two, give your desk a full tidy, wipe away any coffee mug rings, and dust the surfaces.
12 cute desk accessories from small businesses all over the USA
All these gorgeous products are from small businesses, because we think it feels great to shop small. Shop this list and you can be sure that each item decorating your desk helped another creative keep their dream business going.
Based in sunny Miami, Ahinga Clay Studios has a gorgeous selection of small stoneware pots — perfect for a low-maintenance succulent.
We recently launched our online store of clothes, accessories, and officeware for creatives — and we’re obsessed with this glass. Bright, fun, and inspiring, it’s the perfect vessel for whatever beverage you like to sip on all day, whether it’s hot or cold.
This Meyer lemon and lavender scented candle from 228 Grant St, based in Baltimore County, is poured into a beautiful apothecary jar and makes for a stunning focal point for your desk. With its layered, elegant scent, it’s the perfect remedy for the 3pm doldrums — just stare into the flame when you need to take a moment. And if you want to treat yourself even more, get some of their long matches that come in a jar that’s cute enough to keep on your desk, too.
Alternatively, if you’re a little anxious about accidentally leaving a real candle on, you can also opt for this battery powered, flickering option, sold by Blue Ribbon General Store in Brooklyn, NY.
Whether you like yearlong dated planners or undated planners, whether your style is bright and bold or more elegant and minimalist, Ban.do has a planner for you. We love this one.
- Plants from your local nursery
We couldn’t go without suggesting some plants for your office space! Better than buying them online, where they can be damaged in transit, head to your local plant nursery. See what’s in season, talk to the plant experts who work there about the level of maintenance needed for each plant, and pick the perfect plants for your space.
Image from Unsplash by Samuele Sun
This flat notepad with a tropical plant motif, sold by Pigment in San Diego, is the perfect desktop planner to help you keep track of your tasks for each week. Take a few minutes at the beginning of the week to fill it out, and cross things off as you get them done.
- Lipstick from Propa Beauty (or whatever beauty product makes you feel spruced up!)
Some may say that makeup isn’t exactly a desk accessory, but a dedicated desk lipstick comes in really handy when a last-minute Zoom meeting pops up, or if you just want to feel a little freshened up in the middle of the day. This lipstick from Propa Beauty — we love the shade called Audacious — is perfect for a wide range of skin tones, and the beautiful packaging makes for something nice to look at on your desk.
No matter what your personal taste in art is like, you’ll find a beautiful, affordable print for your workspace at Statement Goods, based in New Orleans. There’s lots of gorgeous food and drink-themed prints, but also plenty of stunning geometrics ones, too. Here’s one of our favorites, by artist Tatyana Alanis:
Get some cute desk organizers like this one from Sweet Cat Stationary in Ohio so all your tools, decor, and equipment don’t start to feel more cluttered than calming.
A cute desk mat can tie your whole desk together. Blush and Thorn has hundreds of designs, so you’ll always find one that suits the vibe you’re going for.
Every desk needs excellent writing supplies, and Seltzer Goods, based in Asheville, NC, created a pen designed to combat the huge waste that comes from buying and tossing mediocre pens. They come in dozens of beautiful designs, and they’re a joy to write with — and they really can last up to seven years.
