How I created my cozy vintage inspired home office

Creating a dedicated home office for me has become increasingly important over the last few years.

Initially when we built our home, I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of my home office being upstairs.

Blank room with bare walls. Only a turquoise side table and printer in the middle of the floor. — The new home office before.

Now that we’re here, I’m even more thankful it’s up and out of the way from the rest of the house.

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We still have one kiddo who is doing virtual school and another that’s home time to time, so having a space that I can concentrate on my work is very important.

After doing the laundry room, I decided my home office was the next space that needed to be complete, especially in being able to create more Cribbs Style content.

Finding inspiration

I wanted a home office that had the feel of an old English library.

Vision board using several pictures to show inspiration for the home office. — The inspiration that lived in my head.

This home office also needed to feel cozy and comfortable.

I had a lot of pieces from my childhood home that served as jumping off points and then it’s almost like everything else fell into place.

BEHR brooklyn a shade of teal blue green on the walls with board and batten accent. There is a cognac colored chair to the left and above the chair is a picture of a small girl in a field of flowers. Behind the chair is another picture of a wooden barn quilt in the same colors as the walls. Under the chair is a jewel toned rug that picks of the color of the walls and the chair. — These two pictures are from my childhood home and I love having them in my home office.

Buying used over new

Aside from trying to keep the cost of the home office project low, it’s always my goal to find pieces of furniture second hand.

Not to mention the fact that I heard many people say that buying new furniture meant waiting months on end and I needed my office now.

Another view of a cognac colored leather chair next to a book case with family photos and books — An old camera my father bought in Germany in 1974, I found the old receipt he kept.

First thing I found were these chairs on Facebook Marketplace.

They’re brand new from Wayfair and the person I purchased them from didn’t want to hassle with figuring out how to return them.

Angle of the room showing both cognac colored chairs, book shelf with books and pictures. A brass floor lamp with a glass shade is behind the chair. Hanging above the book case on the right of the photo is a TV mounted on the wall. On the left of the chair hanging on the wall are several small pictures. — Having the chairs allowed for additional seating and a more comfortable place to work.

My vision was a desk with storage and a large workspace, perfect for the evenings if Courtney ever needs to work at the same time as me.

I found this desk set on Pottery Barn and could not believe the price!. We definitely got a bargain at only $500.

A bookshelf above the desk shows family pictures and in the middle shelf is a vintage clock. On top of the book shelf is a folded flag in a glass case. — I love having plenty of storage and ways to display the pieces that are very important to me. Including the folded flag that was presented to my family after he passed away.

However, I stumbled upon this beautiful find, which to date is one of the heaviest pieces of furniture we have ever moved.

Brown desk on the right side of the photo with a light colored chair pulled in. There are several shelves above the desk that are full of mementos. Behind the chair on the left are copper colored velvet curtains hanging by the window. Beyond the window are woods. Beneath the desk is a jewel colored rug that matches the curtains, desk, and wall color. — I love all the storage and all the working space this desk provides.

All the rest of the furniture we already had on hand.

Picking the right decor to finish the home office.

Using one piece of my mom’s art I found the perfect paint color, Brooklyn from BEHR.

I wanted to add texture to the wall as well as disguise the small door to the attic space by adding a board and batten wood accent to the walls.

The wall color and the board and batten design hide the little attic door so well.

Standing in the customer service line at Target I spotted the most perfect rug that pretty much pulled the wall color, the desk, and the chairs I already had together and tied into a pretty bow.

The last piece would be the copper velvet curtains and of course Target did not disappoint with these velvet beauties that pulled from the rug and coordinated with the wall color amazing well.

I love how well this rug pulls the wall color, Brooklyn from BEHR, and the velvet curtains together.

Add to it gold accents for the switch plate covers, the lamps, curtain rod, and one day… the ceiling light fixture. (I just haven’t found the right one just yet.)

Of course we added a TV in the home office because I like to watch things and work at the same time. Sometimes the silence can be too much for me.

This home office is everything I’ve wanted and more

While this home office is very different from the home office I created in our last home, I am thoroughly in love with how it turned out.

All in total I spent less than $1700 on this room, which is just barely over the quarter of the price if I would have bought the desk brand new.

I love the cozy vintage inspired decor, it gives me all the scholarly vibes.

I’m surrounded by so many memories and nods to my past, all of which made me into the person that I am today. As well as photos of my family and the reason I do what I do.

I also now have a space that is separate from the main house and provides all the privacy I need to get things done.

This vintage inspired home office is the perfect space for me to create even more content for Cribbs Style.