The Clean Green House Blog: 5 Ideas for Creating a Simplified (and gorgeous!) Workspace

**This post is sponsored by RewardStyle and Walmart. All opinions are my own.**

It’s a new year and it seems like everyone is organizing a pantry, the toy room or setting some sort of goal. We are currently in the middle of a move to a new home, and my goals are simply to PURGE and SIMPLIFY. It’s actually nice to have this move, as it’s spearheaded my goal to simplify. Isn’t is AMAZING what people (myself included) can accumulate in just a few years?

One thing I NEEDED in our home was a desk space for my kids to work. My oldest just entered middle school, and the days of coloring worksheets and spelling words are quickly evolving to research and papers. I thought long and hard about the area I wanted the desk space to be in, and what we needed for it to be a more focused, simplified area. I find, that by making small changes to even the smallest areas of my home, I am able to live better!

I was so excited to find everything I needed at Walmart. No matter what your organization needs may be, they seriously carry EVERYTHING. I knew I wanted some practical items, but more so, some pretty items to make the space functional, but appealing. Lucky for me, with free 2 day shipping, I didn’t even have to leave my house! That’s what I call a winning situation! Plus, they have TONS of home items for EVERY style.

Here are 5 ideas (Remember. We’re keeping it simple!) to creating a focused and simple work space.
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1. Find a functional space near the family.

For us, we were lucky enough to build our kids’ desk in our kitchen. Some of you might find that odd, but we gave up the counter space for the desk. I felt like having them in the center of our home would allow them to be a part of things, even if they were doing homework. My kids ALWAYS seemed to lose focus and wander to where the family was. Now, they can be in the heart of things! Also, I wanted their computer usage to be monitored well. The internet can be a scary place, and I feel it important to have a watchful eye on what’s going on. No shame in my mom game.

2. Hide the junk in pretty storage

I don’t care how organized you are, you’re still going to accumulate some amount of “junk”. The key? DISGUISING the junk with pretty storage like these baskets! Aren’t they gorgeous? I fill each one with a different item like pens, paper, markers, and crayons. The best thing is, it looks like just pretty home decor to anyone visiting…little do they know that they are FULL of things!

I also snagged these glass jars with wood lids. Because our specific workspace flows into the kitchen, I could fill them with things like dried beans, flour etc OR I could fill them with more homework supplies such as paper clips, erasers, etc. For now, I left them empty because I just think they’re gorgeous and great for any room in your home!

I also ALWAYS have some sort of file to throw papers in. We ALWAYS have papers I need to keep, but that don’t really have a “home”. With this paper file, they do! Plus the bamboo style is so much prettier, in my opinion, than any other file!

3. Get comfortable seating…and then get more.

Comfortable seating is always an important aspect to a workspace! I didn’t want to get a standard “desk chair” for our space, but rather, something a little more visually appealing. This IS the center of our home after all! I opted for this GORGEOUS woven chair. I think it adds a special touch to the desk and it’s surprisingly comfortable!

Often, my kids gather AROUND the computer if they’re playing a game or working on something together. I snagged this AMAZING bench to allow them to sit side by side. It holds up to 550 lbs, so I think we can fit quite a few kiddos on there. 😉 We keep the bench on a near by wall so it acts as a beautiful piece of furniture, but also is very functional. In my opinion, you can never have enough seating ANYWHERE!

By the way…this rug. It’s GORGEOUS and fantastic quality. Check it out here.)
4. Use a family calendar and place it where everyone can see.

We have just one calendar in our family and it sits in this work space. Because it is centralized, everyone will know what is going on that week. I know a lot of people choose to go electronic with family scheduling, but since my kids don’t (and won’t) have cell phones, we like these large desk top calendars. I like to use these pens and assign each person a color so we can keep tracking of their specific activity.

5. Remember. Less is more.

I know we all KNOW this, but sometimes, you feel like you have to FILL every corner in your home. Not so. If you are intentional about the pieces you choose for your space, like the ones I found from WalMart, you can create a sanctuary of focus for your kids, and yourself. I choose to keep things simple and concise and I think it honestly allows my kids to focus more on the task at hand. I intentionally choose more neutral colors as I find them more soothing than a lot of bright colors.

And there you have it, some very simple ideas to creating a gorgeous workspace in your home that EVERYONE can enjoy.
Walmart has everything you need to make it happen!