Office Decor: Refreshing a Home Office with Fall Decorating Ideas

In this post: If you’re looking for pretty decor ideas for your home office, you’ll enjoy this office decor refresh accented with fall decorating ideas.⇒

I don’t transform all of my rooms.

Yes, admittedly it’s become a bit of game for me to try to revamp a room to such a degree as to look completely new, while spending as little as possible and changing almost none of the major pieces.

But I only do that when I feel I got off track with the first iteration of the room.

Sometimes, I just tweak a bit.

I am constantly reviewing and editing in my mind, and when I get a chance to make those minor updates, I enjoy the refresh. It’s like refining a painting or any creative work and it feels as good as a complete remodel when the calibrations work out.

Home Office Decor

I tackled several of those refinements in our study a little while back, and when I was adding some fall touches to the room just this past week, it seemed the perfect time to share how the space has progressed. 

One of the key changes in the study focuses on the wall opposite the desk. I’ve struggled with this side of the room since we moved into the house, as hubby insisted on having a TV facing the desk. Given that it was his one request in a house full of rooms, I could hardly argue. But it left the awkward problem of how to arrange the furniture on that wall.

In particular, we needed seating, and I was never quite happy with the ottoman I had previously placed there. (See it HERE. The room has changed quite a bit since then.)  The new settee is far more comfortable and the higher back looks more natural with the TV placement.

The second thing I was intent on changing was the pair of globe lamps (which can be seen at the same link above). I loved them when I bought them, in fact I still like them very much, but they simply did not work in the room.  I wanted a cozier feel, more lush and classic. The lamps I selected have a more French feel and work perfectly with the style of the rest of the room, a healthy mix of feminine and French, with rugged and time worn.

The cream velvet pumpkins add a lovely note of autumn to the neutral toned room, sitting well with the burlap lampshades and autumnal pillows.

A subtle but significant change, which I nearly forgot to mention, is the revision we made to the wall color. Previously a pale yellow, I painted this room the same Tapestry Beige that I have in much of the house now. It provides a far better backdrop for the French desk, which defines the character of the space and keeps the gilded pieces a tad more subdued.

I’ve also fine-tuned the foundation, settling on a tonal beige textured rug. I’ve tried several options in here, including the one you can see in THIS POST, as well as another that wasn’t in the room long enough to even be photographed. But ultimately, I felt I wanted a pale beige to keep the small room light and uncomplicated, as it doesn’t get a lot of natural light.

One more addition was the desk chair, above, a decision I am absolutely thrilled with.  Like the rug, there were a couple of contenders that went back to the store until I found this perfect piece. It offers the quintessential marriage of a true office swivel chair to please hubby – so he can twirl and spin as he pays the bills – while retaining that lovely French character embodied in the tufted linen chair back. One of the best purchases I made for this room!

I’m not exactly sure when I added in the little antique French chair, but it looks oh-so-pretty with the linen pillow and the fabulous feather collar pumpkin! (You can read about how I found this disaster-of-a-chair at an antique market, with threadbare fabric and springs exposed, and brought it back to life: HERE. It’s truly shocking to see what it looked like before!) It had been hiding in an upstairs bedroom but tucked nicely into this corner.

I like to keep fresh flowers on the desk and for fall I chose pale blush roses, russet mums and a bit of greenery. I try to limit the desk decorations, as the top is often littered with papers, but a little bowl of seasonal potpourri fits in perfectly.

Along with the scattered velvet pumpkins, my ode to fall in the study includes a lovely raffia-tied batch of wheat stalks. I love how the soft golden color plays off the gilding in the mirrors and sconces.

On the corner of the desk I placed aromatic candles to welcome this most sensual of seasons, along with natural elements including a stone catchall, leather bound books and bleached wood vessels. Dried hydrangeas sit in a stone pot on the floor.

With changes made both big and small, the overall affect is still quite subtle. More refined than transformed, the French character remains but the room feels pulled together and cohesive. It functions better and is classic enough to play host to the charming decor of the fall season.

Please enjoy my friends’ fall posts below!

Maison de Cinq

On Sutton Place

Thistlewood Farms

French Country Cottage

Shabbyfufu