A Home Office with Farmhouse Charm

home office desk with open shelves and farmhouse decor

Written by Autumn Krause

Photography by Chad Mellon

Can you really get farmhouse style in any space in your home? Of course you can! From bathrooms to kids’ rooms, farmhouse style will work anywhere in your home. That’s exactly what blogger Ana Ochoa and her husband did in their Southern California home office. Here’s what they did to make it custom.

To see the full tour of their home, get a copy of our February/March 2021 issue!

close up of open shelf with Fiddle Leaf Interiors sign — You can use open shelves for both function and style, like Ana did here with a sign for her design business alongside baskets where she can store office supplies and papers.

Function First

Ana and her husband both use their home office, so it was important for it to be an invigorating space that encourages creativity and productivity. “Our office is really two main spaces: our desk area, and the ‘brainstorm/creative’ white board area,” Ana says. “It’s a very simple space because it’s a small room.”

Close up of vintage cork board with hanging pictures — A vintage crib spring finds new life as a textural place for Ana to hang mementoes in the home office. She uses it to display special items and inspire creativity while she’s working. In addition, she and her husband also use it as a vision board. She says, “At the beginning of the year we print out photos and quotes and goals for the year, and hang them up on the crib spring so we are reminded of them every time we are hard at work!”

The home office desk is a custom DIY project that Ana made to fit the space so both she and her husband could use it at once. “We added the ‘built-in’ IKEA shelves for a more custom look, along with storage,” she says.

Home office open shelves with farmhouse decor — Open shelves create a great opportunity for decor in the home office space.

Home Office Wall Paneling

Ana and her husband installed beadboard wainscoting with a chair rail for some character and to brighten up the walls. Adding your own wall paneling is a simple and cost-effective way to add architectural character to your home. And did you know that chair railings can be used to hang decor? If you add a chair railing high up on the wall, it’s the perfect place to hang dried bouquets and other light-weight decor.

Simply Vintage Home at Christmastime

Corner of room with white board and open shelves — In order to maximize the room’s tight quarters (it’s only 10×10), Ana installed IKEA shelves for office essentials and a white board on the opposite wall for brainstorming.

Close up of open shelf with vintage globe — Charming farmhouse accents create great style in this home office, including vintage details like this old globe.

Framing Wallpaper

The framed-out white board space was also a DIY project. “The white board is wallpaper from WallPops that I framed out with a stained 1×4, and the shelves in the corner are just a fun space to have to style!” she says. It’s now an inspiring place for whatever work the couple needs to get done.

Love to see DIYed renovations? Check out this bathroom! Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of farmhouse inspiration!