Chic, Smart Accessories for the Home Office

By choice or necessity, more and more workers are doing at least some of their job from home these days.

This photo released by Galison shows the Modern Geometry collection of home office supplies. (AP Photo/Galison)

(AP)

Upgrading the home office can be an affordable project, with immediate payoff and long-term appeal.

Joe Noonan, office goods expert for CSN Stores, calls it "the new bathroom renovation. We've seen that people with shrinking budgets, who can't afford to remodel elsewhere in the house, are instead upgrading a home office. Or they're turning an extra room into one."

Retailers and designers offer some intriguing pieces that reflect broader decor trends.

"My goal when decorating a home office is to develop a space that inspires — that's as stylish and approachable as every other room in the home," says Jeanine Hays, a San Francisco-based interior designer and blogger. "The home office should support your creativity and be comfortable, reflective of you, organized, and filled with things that give meaning not only to your work, but to all aspects of your life."

Holly Bohn, founder and CEO of seejanework.com, says her customers seek uplifting colors "like red to energize, or yellow for comfort."

Those averse to brights might be soothed by softer, muted tones like shell pink, milk chocolate and aqua. Blu Dot has a striking desk and chair combo lacquered in cherry red for the go-getters, but the pieces also come in calming pool blue or ivory.

There are stationery assortments in botanical themes, feminine toile and lace prints, as well as bold, linear designs. Lily Pulitzer's new collection sets an upbeat tone in sherbet hues. Galison.com's clean-lined geometrics in cream and brown are smartly tailored, while Thomas Paul's new "Two Birds" and "Blue Coral" patterns bring artistry to the workspace, at seejanework.com.

Even those who run a virtually paperless home office still need to keep some hard copies. A set of matching file folders and binders that coordinate with the rest of the room keeps everything looking neat.