Christmas Gift Guide Room by Room: The Office

If the last room I decorated is my favourite then this year that has to be my office. These presents will work for any stationery lover however. They will also work for any space that you have carved out in your own home where you need to do a bit of work – from full time to a spot of life admin and they are also decorative enough that they won’t spoil the look of a spare room because many of that us have that room which is the very opposite of spare as it has to house guests, work, junk and laundry. If you have one of those then read on.

The first thing to do, which isn’t necessarily a Christmas gift as it’s large (literally) is to buy a sofa bed. I am constantly amazed by the amount of people who have a guest room, put a giant double bed in it and then cram a desk into one corner and spend hours sitting there… or napping on that suddenly very inviting bed. So my first item in this list is a sofa bed – this is perfect for all those guests that tend to arrive at this time of year but also works for anyone who is planning to work from home a little more next year, or who already does and needs their space to function better .

LOOSE COVER SOFA BED from Love Your Home

£1,675

This one has narrow arms so there is more space for sitting and sleeping. The loose cover means you can clean it more easily and it comes in pieces so you don’t have to worry about getting it up narrow stairs and round tight corners. (Disclaimer: I have worked with Love Your Home many times over the years and they didn’t ask – and don’t know – that I am including this in my round up but I genuinely think it’s a good one for the three aforementioned reasons). There are lots of fabrics to choose from although the house fabric is 15 per cent off at the time of writing.

ETTA DESK from Habitat

£895

One more on the equipment before we move onto the smaller accessories that work for this room. A desk. Most home desks need to be small or narrow so this, with its drawers and built in shelves works brilliantly as a space saver. If it is living in the guest room then you can slide the laptop in the drawer and replace it with the mirror that was stored there and add a bunch of flowers and you’re ready to go. This also works for a child who is becoming a teenager and wants a better space to do homework. Obviously this is just an example. One of my sons has an Ikea trestle with a top and there is also the Tiptoe version where you buy the legs in the colour of your choice and can attach them to any piece of wood, marble or glass that you fancy. This has the added benefit of being customisable to the perfect size for the space you have.

CORKBOARD WITH SHELVES from suchandsuch

£95

I have spent ages searching for the right cork board and never found one. This might be it. It’s big – 80cm tall – and has that neat little shelf at the bottom to store the pins among other things. It’s made from sustainably produced Portuguese cork and is thick and robust. It comes with with pins, brackets and fixings. This can either be the whole present or work as the basis for a whole lot more organisational stuff. Or a gift voucher or plane tickets for a forthcoming experience can be pinned onto it. You know the drill by now.

STICKY NOTES from present and correct

£4.50

There’s nothing I love more than the idea of getting organised, and a selection of sticky notes that you can coordinate to different activities is perfect for me. Oh yes I forgot this isn’t about me. Even so… Use them on a large wall planner and assign each member of the family a different colour or shape for instant understanding who has somewhere to be on any given day.

STENDIG WALL CALENDAR

£51

Designed in 1966 and the only calendar hanging in the MoMA in New York, this is a design classic. It’s big and the tear off sheets are made from heavyweight paper. People buy them year after year and often use the pages as Christmas wrapping paper. It measures 122cm by 92cm which means the squares are large enough to fix colour coded sticky notes. One for design lovers everywhere.

WEEKLY DESK PLANNER from Zara

£7.99

If the months are on the wall you might want something a little smaller on the desk. This, from Zara, is a great weekly planner with tear off sheets that you can either stick in the recycling or keep as a record. They also do a monthly version as well as a lovely diary with a day to a page. For those of you who still miss a paper diary but find life on an electronic one easier (sobs) one of these will fill a gap.

CARAFE AND TUMBLER SET via Trouva

£29

Now there comes a point in every day when you’ve got to stop playing around with the stationery and actually do some work. Although you won’t be any good at if it you aren’t fully hydrated. This pretty fluted glass and carafe set will do the trick.

VITRA TOOLBOX

£28

Oh wait, maybe you better tidy your desk before you start any, you know, actual work. Another design classic in the making, this toolbox by Arik Levy, comes in a myriad of colours and will store anything from actual tools to stationery and even make up. No I don’t keep my nail varnish in a pot on my desk you do… Anyway, fill it with gorgeous notebooks, pens, paperclips and anything else that’s pretty and useful and this is a dream present for any stationery lover.

DESK LAMP via Etsy

Can’t do any work without light though can we? I’ve gone vintage for this one because the desk light that I really want is a double header like this but they’re really hard to find.  And I always like to include some vintage in among my presents  – both to give and receive. So this is included more for the idea really. And if your room is doubling up for guest as well as worker then you might want something a little less industrial. If your space is small, then moving the pendant light from the middle to hang over the desk will save space (not necessarily a present unless the present is a room makeover – which is also a good idea – we did that for one of ours one year) or a tall thin floor lamp that can stand to one side and not take up precious room on the desk.

GOLD AND CONCRETE PLANT POT from audenza

from £21.50

Finally, before any work can be done – the space must be dressed and we all know that plants are good in offices. These plant pots are the perfect mix of luxe and industrial but you can add any that you please. Just add greenery. Or, to borrow and idea from an earlier guide, buy a vase and monthly flower subscription. And don’t forget the scented candles to add productivity. Or the fabulous laptop sleeve. Maybe even a laptop … come .back tomorrow for more on that.

Enough ideas there for you? Now I know it’s late in the month but you should be able to get lots of these things in a hurry for fast delivery. Let me know what you think.