Our new home office design ideas: the next building project has started!

My husband and I have been renovating a 150 plus year old farmhouse here in France for over 6 years. And we have recently started the next project. And as always, projects turn out way bigger than you anticipate. That is because we want to create offices on the first floor of the old part of the house where the farmer used to live. But in order to do so, we need to check whether the beams of the floor or the ceiling are okay. So Olaf is demolishing all the drywall that the previous owners put up so we can expose all the beams. And we've already seen that we need to do some reinforcing. So that is stage one. But I am very busy trying to figure out what our offices are going to look like. So here's the upstairs. And we are going to use this for both our offices. We have tried to create offices in our two other homes that we lived in in the Netherlands. And it didn't work. And it took me a while to figure out why I never used that office that we created. And I've learned a lot about what actually works for me and what doesn't. So my first really important principle is that I designed this space not for how I wish the reality would be, but for how I know my everyday life really is. I mean the habits that I have, how I love to work, what I do like, what I dislike. Because I know that we humans are creatures of habit, so we will do the things as we've always done them. And only now do I see that is why our offices in our Dutch homes didn't work. They were not following what I like to do and what I naturally do. So I'm talking about what kind of table or desk I'd like to sit at, where I'd like the light to come from, how much space I need around me. I don't try to change my natural ways of moving through my home. I've tried that. I have really tried in these other homes to use those offices to go upstairs and sit there. And I always went back downstairs and I work at the kitchen table. It's one of the reasons why my office will have a large table and not a desk. We all have these picture perfect Instagram pictures in mind and then we try to create that in our homes. But the reality is that if that is not really what you want, then you are not going to work or use that space. And that is my second design principle. You need to create a space that you love. Because sometimes I have a feeling like we want to design such a perfect space. Some people even tell me like, oh, it's picture perfect, like it could be in a magazine. It will be. Our interior will be in a magazine. The shoot is already planned. But I don't want it to look like a magazine, to be honest. I want it to look like my home, where my kids feel at home, where I feel at home, where my friends and family feel at home, my husband, where you can tell, oh, this is really a home that you've designed. So I have the feeling we're creating all these copycat interiors from what we see. And then everybody's doing the same thing. And everybody's using the same furniture. And then every store starts selling the same furniture. And it gets harder, I think, to find your own style. And a third really important principle to me is that it doesn't need to be forever. I like so many different styles. I always get very anxious when I need to design and pin things down because I'm afraid that, oh, maybe I do prefer this style or maybe I do prefer that color. So I tell myself, I'm just going to design something that feels nice and beautiful and inviting now. And I can always change a wall color or a piece of furniture. And so I want to invite you to do the same if you're currently working on a project. So back to our office that we need to design, I juggle a lot of different work activities. So all of these need to find their own dedicated place in my office. One way for me to keep my house organized is to make sure that everything has a place, has its dedicated place. Then you always know where to put it back when it's, you know, lying around somewhere where it doesn't need to be. And it just makes cleaning your house and organizing and keeping it decluttered really easy. So the three main things that I want to have in my office is, one, all that involves our holiday rentals. I have a lot of linens and towels and candles and all those things. And I want them in a very organized, categorized way in a closet with closed doors so they don't distract me. So huge storing units are essential in the office. Second, I juggle a lot and it makes for a quite complicated admin situation. So I know that I try to put those things off as much as I can. So I will use any excuse like, oh, I don't have my laptop here, oh, I don't know where I left that piece of paper, it's somewhere in my bag. And then I don't do it until my accountant calls and goes, maybe it's time to start doing this. So I cannot wait to have a wonderful big table and then storage where I can put all my paperwork like file or to-do or wait. Just like I did when I worked as a personal assistant for a few years for CEOs. I had them all figured out, all organized, and I can't seem to do that for myself when I don't have the space. When I need to do things that I don't like, I need a place that invites me to sit down and get the work done. And the third thing that I really need to find a place for, to create a zone for in my office is all the creative projects. So whether that is thinking about content for YouTube or actually making the content or design ideas, I want to create a zone for that. I am not trained in Feng Shui, but a book that I found really, really helpful is the one that I gifted myself actually for my birthday this year. I don't think it exists in English. It's called Toi et Moi, and they talk about all the design principles for, you know, feeling well and feeling happy and feeling balanced in your home. And one of the things that they talk about a lot in Feng Shui is the difference between the masculine and the feminine energy. So everything is energy, it needs to circulate in your home. And normally a home office is mostly feminine energy, and a feminine energy will ask for certain colors, certain shapes, certain materials. The minute I read that, I knew that that desk space needs to be masculine, because I am very creative, I'm a dreamer, so I need a more stimulating environment. That's also why I think many home offices look beautiful with all these beiges and soft colors, but you need to have a minimum of stimulating colors, at least I do, because I know I've been self-employed for forever, I think almost 20 years now. So I know that I need something or someone to help me get things done. So the office is going to be a mix between masculine and feminine energy, to support all the different things that I'm going to be doing in there. You probably too, when you have to redo a home or remodel your house, you always have these first ideas that pop in your head straight away, like, oh, I want this color, oh, I'm going to do this with that wall. I had that too, for this office space. I knew I wanted to use built-in storage units to separate Olaf space from my space. I also knew that I wanted to have storage units on the sloped wall, no, the sloped ceiling, and there are two ways to do these kind of built-ins on the sloped ceiling. You either have them run from floor to where the ceiling starts, or you have this horizontal bit where you can put maybe some nice items or some nice books, and I think to further separate the space, I am going to do half-half. So where my desk or table is, I will have higher ones, everything nicely tucked away, and then the part where I do my more creative things, I want to make it lower so that I can put some nice decor pieces, some inspiring interior design books, some magazines, maybe a plant, something nice. Now before I share the other ideas, I want to share just, maybe it's not for you, but this thing that really helps me when I need to design spaces, and that is that before I start to think about how much storage I need, I declutter. People usually say, I have so much stuff, I need more storage, but really, only own the things that you need. For example, this kitchen, I have a lot of nice Procont items, and it took me a while to just say goodbye to my more modern pieces, like entire sets of dishware, and I just said to myself, I have enough, and I want to keep the ones that make me really happy, and that I really love looking at. I want everything around me to be beautiful, and I have this dark navy blue one that just doesn't go with anything. Just say goodbye to it. There is a lady on Instagram, Larangeuse, and she shares a lot of advice and tips on how to simplify your life by not accumulating endlessly, by keeping decluttering your home. So if you're ever looking at items, and you're thinking, do I give this away, do I keep it? One of the things that really, really helps me is the first, which is very, my mom will know, I'll tell a story about a cat that she once gave me, mom, that I gave back to my mom. I mean, it was a statue of a cat, of course. So the one thing, just as an example, is to ask yourself whether you're holding onto it or whether you're keeping it because somebody special gave it to you, or it's maybe in your family forever, and people expect you to like it and keep it. So is it, are you keeping it because you feel obliged to, or you would feel guilty if you would not keep it? I think it's liberating to tell yourself, okay, this has served our family, or this person has given this to me with lots of love, and I've accepted this, acknowledging their intention and their love, but it just isn't an object that helps me feel happy in my own home. Second thing that's really helpful to me as well when I'm hesitating is, you notice when we say, oh, but you know it might serve, like the navy blue oven dish, well, what if I get more people for dinner, then, oh, that might serve. That is a fear-based thought. It's based on, oh, maybe one day I won't have enough, so I'd better hold onto this so that I can feel safe and secure for what's to come. But I don't want to live based on fear. So if that is something that's going through my mind, oh, I don't really like it, but it might serve, now my reaction is, if it might serve, it means it might serve somebody right now that is looking for this, so I'm going to donate it to Emma Huis, or any other charity or any other place, because if it might serve someday for me, it means I don't need it now, but somebody else might need it now, and that makes me feel really good. And the third thing that really helps me is thinking, like, if it would be broken, like, say this ear thing wouldn't be on there, would I be willing to spend money, or time and energy, but money usually works better, to have it fixed? If the answer is no, it really means the object is not as valuable to you as you thought, and it usually means that it can go. So we're creating lots of storage in my part of the offices, so my office, but there's one important thing that I want to say. We are not all equal. Some people love seeing lots of things, bright colors, images, patterns, things that stimulate their mind to either get work done or be creative. So many books have been written about it, but really, you know yourself best. I know that when I'm sitting at my table, I don't want a lot of distraction. So everything that I'm using around there needs to be in built-ins, behind doors, the things that inspire me, I want them in sight. So I will probably have a couple of interior books in the opposite corner of the room, so I'll be sitting here at a table like this, and my creative corner is going to be just opposite of that. So if I can see a couple of those books, that will motivate me to do the work that I need to do here, like calling my accountant or paying taxes or bills, because I know the reward is right there. But it shouldn't be too overwhelming. Things shouldn't be screaming at me from that creative corner, because that will be, I know, it will distract me. I know how I function. On the other hand, here behind me, of my future office, is nothing that I will see when I'm here. So behind, I can put things up that inspire me when I'm sitting at the other end of the room in my creative space. So I'm just inviting you to be aware of that when you're designing a space, and also to think about what you need. I need a very empty desk. It was always like this when I worked in offices. I know my colleagues were always impressed with how empty my desk was, but that is the only way for me. I have a very busy mind. I have inspiration all the time. I have 70 different ideas all the time, and I also like to act on them straight away, which isn't always manageable every day. So the desk needs to be clean. I know we all have these little thingies that just lie around all the time. You really have adorable storage units these days that look nice, but you still have all these items available. And it also helps to categorize and not have a couple of pencils here, or a couple in the drawer, or a couple over there. Put everything together. It makes life so much easier. You know, it's like that one kitchen drawer that you have where everything just miraculously always ends up, and then you never find it back when you're looking for it, you can't find it. We all need at least one spot where that can go, the catch-all spot. But just one. So you will not find any drawers in my office, because I know a drawer is a killing thing for me. Everything ends up in there. And I will use little baskets, and I'll put them in my, you know, behind the doors in my storage units. I love these offices and these examples on Pinterest, with all this open shelving and all these beautiful decor pieces and books, but for me, it doesn't work. Because the things I need to work are all different colors and sizes, they don't look cohesive, so I would only use those shelving units to decorate, to make it look beautiful. It could work for me, because I will be looking at this from my creative zone, but it won't be useful for me to store the things I actually need in there, if I would have these open big built-ins with open shelving, because it would really be a huge mess, and it eats a lot of dust, and I don't want to spend a lot of time dusting and cleaning. I will not have my desk against a wall. Many of us, when we design an office space, we place our desk against the wall, facing the wall. Who wants to face a wall? I mean, I hit a wall 70 times in my daily life, and in trying to get things done. I don't want to literally be facing a wall. I get that most people do this, because most people don't have a dedicated space or a big enough space to choose a different setup. I do. I'm lucky to have that, and this is also one of the mistakes I made with the offices that I created in the Netherlands. They were huge, and I had put that desk against a wall, and it just wasn't inviting. We had a five-story home, and the downstairs was our kitchen with a large dining room. I had a similar table to this one, actually, and it was in the middle of the room. There was lots of natural light coming in, and that is where I work, and then at the end of the day, I put my laptop in the dresser or the big cabinet that was behind my desk or my table, and it looked like a family's dining room again, and it was perfect. So I'm keeping all the things I've learned in mind when creating this new office. All right, so that is what I can share with you today. Now, we all know that a design or an idea will change over time. I try to not get too stressed about it. I know I have a couple of ideas, and I know they may evolve as we progress with the building works. It happens with every space that we've created here so far. It happened with the kitchen as well, and it's okay, and even when it's done, I know it will keep living and moving with me. I have added so many things to the kitchen already that I didn't plan for, and it makes it more personal. Designing a space is a process. You don't have to get it right the first time, and the one thing that I've learned so far is it is wonderful to find inspiration on Pinterest and on Instagram, for example, or in other people's home, but I have seen that I need to let go of the picture perfect, and I need to be true to what I love and what makes me feel good in this space. All right, beautiful people, that is it for this week's video. Again, I want to thank you so much for following our journey. I sometimes tell myself, if I would be following someone and the journey is so long, because I'd be so excited to see the end result, would I hang around, would I stick, would I keep following them, or would I get annoyed by the lack of progress? I often tell myself, there isn't enough progress for this to be interesting for you to watch. For all of you who keep coming back and keep commenting, thank you so much for your support. It really feels like I have a whole group of friends out there that love all things France and all things beautiful and Bourcombe and interior as much as I do, so yes, thank you for being here, and I will see you next week. Bye-bye.