Well, I hope you are as excited about my little mini hallway office as I am. As you know, I was tired of working from the kitchen table. I needed a permanent place for my computer and most importantly, I needed a “real” office chair.

This little space is kind of our hallway/landing. But, I felt like it was an unused space just begging to be useful. On the floor is the grate to our AC intake, so I really struggled to find a piece of furniture that would work here and not cover it up. I decided a wall-mounted desk was the best option with such an uneven floor surface. I hunted down some really great options, you can see them here. I decided on the Svalnas IKEA desk. The price was definitely right at under $150 for the combination I chose and I loved the compact, light, airy feel of this piece. It definitely has a Swedish look about it.

The chair was super important. I blame it on being 40, but my back was just so tired of sitting in a stiff kitchen chair. And even if you aren’t 40, I’m pretty sure a good desk chair is important when you are in front of a screen many hours of the day. While finding a comfortable chair was important, I also wanted something stylish. This is a major corridor in our house and I didn’t want an ear sore there. So, I rounded up some super stylish options. And lady luck was on my side, because West Elm just happened to have a flash sale the day I was ready to order a chair. And, don’t hate me, but I got the Helvetica Leather Chair for a fraction of it’s usual price. It’s usually $599 and I paid $229!!!! Yep, pretty happy about that. I should be 100% honest with you, I think it’s probably a little big for the space and the size of the desk, but I’m going to over look that because it’s just SO DARN COMFORTABLE! Sometimes function wins, and really it’s a handsome chair, just really big handsome chair!

This was a big project (keep scrolling to see before pics). I’m sure it doesn’t look like it, but by the time we stripped all that awful yellow striped wallpaper and primed and painted and painted everything white some more, I wasn’t sure if we’d ever get it done. But, it’s FINALLY done and have a little corner to call an office. It’s not much, but it’s pretty much perfect as far as I’m concerned. I have a little bit of storage, a very comfy chair and surface that is just for my computer (and I don’t have to move it when it’s time to eat).

I really wanted to maximize storage and organization in this tiny area, so I installed Martha Stewart’s Wall Manager System. It’s awesome, I just installed two rails and then all the accessories, like the cork board, hanging shelf, hanging file sorter, and hooks just slide or hook on. You can change things up and move them around to what works best for you. I feel like a have a little command central now for Oleander + Palm.

I also added Martha Stewart’s Stack+Fit Magazine Files and File Boxes to hide some of the clutter and keep things in order. All these great Martha products can be found at Staples.

And most importantly, I now have a place to hang with O+P sign that my brother, Ash, welded for me for my birthday. I feel legit!

See (in the image above and below), you can move around the different components super easily. If I need more table top space, I move the hanging shelf to the top of the cork board, but If I want more space for notes and pinning things on the wall I can move the shelf to a different spot. Oh and the cork board also has a white board on the other side, so I can flip that around too.

So, are you looking to carve out a little work space for yourself or maybe just a place for homework? You don’t need a spare bedroom, a home office or even a room at all, a landing or even a hallway will do.

Oh, and here’s some befores of the space:

As you can see, SOOOO MUCH WALLPAPER!!!!!!! This first shot is taken from the top of the stairs. I took that open door off to give the space a little more room. That door leads to the dining room. The door to the left of the desk leads to the living room. Next on the never ending to-do list is the stairs. I will be painting the banisters soon and figuring out what I want to do with the carpet runner. It is definitely going, I’m just not sure if i want to install another runner or do away with carpet on the stairs all together. Most likely there will be no carpet. I find that it’s just a place to attract dust bunnies and cat hair.

And one more thing, the light fixture has been replace, don’t you fret about that.

If you are not familiar with Kirsten Grove’s blog Simply Grove, you are missing out. I’ve been a long time fan of EVERYTHING she styles. This lady has impeccable taste and has an eye for what is new and fresh. I’m so excited that she has opened a shop. The brick and mortar is in Boise Idaho, which I will visit this Christmas (because that’s where Lon’s family lives), but don’t fret, there’s a fantastic online shop as well.

I thought I’d share a few of my favorite picks from the Simply Grove Shop. Kristen’s shop has everything I want, in all the right colors. Her style is modern and clean, but usually with a little mid century vibe and touch of boho. So many of her pieces look and feel like all the pretty things I saw in Sweden but, couldn’t bring home in my suitcase. Oh, and you are going to be so pleasantly surprised by the prices. And O+P readers get 10% their first order, just enter the code OLEANDERANDPALM! 

I’m sure you will see many of these pieces in the next space a style.

1 // 2 // 3

4 // 5 // 6

7 // 8 // 9

10 // 11 // 12

Anything catching your eye? The quilted round green pillow is probably a must. I’m thinking it will be my first purchase.

I’m still a big fan of the gallery wall. It’s a fun way to display a large collection of art. If you have a few smaller pieces, once they are grouped together they create one larger statement piece.  I’ve partnered with Mixbook for another fun post. I’ve got how-to’s and free downloadable art, what more could you ask for in life?

I’ve come up with 5 easy-to-install gallery wall layouts for you.

As promised, I’ve got lots of fun FREE downloadable art for you. I printed some of these as inexpensive Poster Prints and also a had a couple made into Framed Canvas Art at Mixbook. The plumeria flower floating on the water is a mounted poster print. I actually really love it. It’s so much cheaper then getting something that size framed, but It’s also a little more formal look then just hanging a poster (which is cool too). I’ve ordered a lot of art from Mixbook now, and every time I am totally impresses with the quality.

• Jungle
• Cactus on White
• Pink Wall
• Stockholm Subway Tile
• California Wildflowers
• Doodle Art

And if you want The Plumeria on the Water image, I’m going to give that one as a free downlaod to all my newsletter friends in a couple days. So, if you’ve got your eye on that one, simply fill out the form in the right hand side of my blog and I’ll send you this exclusive download right to your inbox.

Now let’s talk through these layouts and find one that’s right for your art and your home.

WALK THE LINE

This layout takes frames of all shapes and sizes and brings some order to them with a center line. I taped off a line in the middle of my wall and then hung frames exactly 2 inches above and below the line. If you are a fan of symmetry and order, this lay might help you feel better about the mismatched frame colors and sizes.

STUCK LIKE GLUE

This layout takes all your pieces and creates one big assymetrical shape. Start by hanging the center piece first. Often this is the biggest frame. I hung the plumeria as my anchor frame. From there you can start hanging pieces on all the sides of the anchor piece.

THINK INSIDE THE BOX

This is probably my most used layout. I’ve hung a gallery wall using this method. Start again with your tallest piece and anchor it on either the left or right side. Then, like fitting a puzzle together, pair smaller pieces together keeping them all inside an imaginary box or rectangle.

LOPSIDED

If I was to choose a favorite, it would definitely be this lopsided version. This feels the most organic, light and breezy to me. For this layout there are really no rules expect that you should space the frames about equal distance from each other. It doesn’t have to be exact, but a little breathing room around each piece will feel nice. And ya, make it lopsided, hang more pictures on one side than the other and don’t be afraid to let them trail down the side of the wall as well.

THE LAZY LEAN

I know this is a no brainer, but I thought it should be included. If you are afraid to put holes in your walls, then The Lazy Lean is for you. This option also gives you the opportunity to change your art often. It’s a casual, no commitment kind of relationship with your art.

I hope you guys find this helpful. I give you permission to make lots and lots of holes in your walls. But, if you want to get it right the first time, definitely do the butcher paper cutouts first. It takes all the guesswork out of hanging art.

This post is sponsored by Mixbook. Thank you for supporting the awesome companies that help make this blog possible.