Designer offers solutions for an organized home office

Functional but elegant storage is key to an efficient home office. (Above, Adobe Stock photo. Other photos: A, courtesy of Ikea; B, courtesy of Room and Board; C, courtesy of Mecox; D, courtesy of The Container Store by KonMari; E, courtesy of The Washington Post; F, courtesy of Design Within Reach)

Interior designer Regan Billingsley still spends some time in her Washington, D.C., studio, but for much of the past year, she has been doing a fair amount of work from home.

Overwhelmed by the bags of tile and flooring samples, fabrics and other work-related items, she recently decided to turn a seldom-used guest room into a home office.

“It wasn’t the plan to have a home office” before the pandemic, she said. “I include things in my home office that I wouldn’t in my studio, because it’s more personal and I want it to feel like home.”

Many of her clients have also been looking for ways to decorate and streamline their new work-from-home spaces, she said. And what they want most is flexibility.

“People are unsure where we’re going to be working next year, or in two years,” she said. “We know what we need right now, but not two years down the line. So where we might have done built-ins before, now we’re doing more free-standing furniture in case it goes back to being a guest bedroom.”

Here are her suggestions for stylish pieces that will help you get organized, whether you’re starting from scratch or improving an existing home office space.

Billingsley likes the clean lines and simple look of the Kallax shelf units from Ikea ($34.99-$374, ikea.com). They are versatile and affordable, she said in an email, adding that “you can fill the walls with them, and they won’t scream out at you, allowing you to bring attention to the nicer things in your office, like perhaps your desk.” Kallax units are available in various sizes and multiple shades of brown, gray and white. Billingsley suggests adding the coordinating Branas baskets ($12.99 each, available in rattan or dark gray, ikea.com) to conceal clutter and bring texture into the space.

The Linear office armoire from Room and Board (starting at $2,199, roomandboard.com) is pricier but worth the investment, Billingsley said, because of its multiple finish, hardware and configuration options. “You feel like you have a custom-designed piece of furniture without the custom price tag,” she said. The armoires are built in a small woodworking shop in Wisconsin. Billingsley gives bonus points for the built-in openings in the back to control cords.

Desktop accessories are key to having an organized space, but they’re also a good way to add a personal touch, Billingsley said. She likes resin swirl boxes from Mecox ($245-$325, mecox.com), available in two sizes and colors, pink or green. The natural bomba brush cup from Kazi Goods ($30, kazigoods.com) adds texture and interest while corraling pens and pencils.

Billingsley also loves Marie Kondo’s new Ori rattan collection from the Container Store ($9.99-$39.99, containerstore.com) and Deny Designs’s Bree Madden Simple Sea Acrylic Boxes ($29, target.com) for more budget-friendly options. “We like mixing high and low, using inexpensive acrylic storage for things like Post-it notes and paper clips, balanced with more decorative boxes and fun pencil cups,” she said.

“Baskets are pretty much everything for us in the office,” Billingsley said. “We use them for everything from hiding extra cords, organizing things to put away later, stashing snacks and even for trash/recycling.” She suggests the classic market basket ($88, thelittlemarket.com), which is handmade in Madagascar from raffia and aravola, and includes leather handles.

Although the Jax touch smart lamp ($245, conwaygoods.com) is not a storage piece in the traditional sense, Billingsley likes it for its USB charging capabilities, which helps keep all your devices close at hand. The lamp has two power outlets and two USB outlets. Pair it with adhesive mini-cable clips ($9.99 for nine clips, containerstore.com) to corral stray cords.

 The Story bookcase ($295-$345, dwr.com), which comes in two sizes and six colors, is the perfect small-space solution to display your favorite books without overwhelming the room, Billingsley said. “These are our go-to shelves for every room in the house for chic, compact book storage.”•