30 Stylish Finishing Touches & Decor for your Home Office

The idea of working from home has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with more of us embracing the idea of working remotely or running our own small home business than ever before.

When I started PhotoFairytales I worked from the kitchen table, sitting on a back-breaking dining chair that really wasn't designed to be sat on for 8 hours! Thankfully now I have my own dedicated studio to work from (with a nice comfy swivel chair), and I can't tell you how important it is to create a work space that's not only functional and comfy, but inspirational too. 

The end of the day at PhotoFairytales HQ!

I'll be honest, my studio isn't always this tidy - quite often I'm joined by a clothes airer full of damp clothes! But when you spend a significant portion of your day working from home, it's vital to be able to create a calm space where you can concentrate. At the end of my working day I always try to have a quick clean down of my desk so that the next morning I can sit at my desk ready for a fresh new day.

Make sure your desk and chair are comfortable and at the right height for you. Ensure you have sufficient lighting too - natural daylight is great, but mix in a great desk lamp too (my desk doesn't get natural daylight, so I have to rely on a wall light and a desk lamp). Personalise your space with artwork, touches of decor and gorgeous stationery to encourage a creative, pleasant environment to work in. Just because you have to work every day, doesn't mean it can't be pretty! Plants look lovely anywhere, so find a corner of your desk or a shelf for some greenery - whether it's real or fake. And keep your desk organised and as clutter free as you can with some practical storage.

Whether you're work space is tiny or spacious, dedicated or shared with other needs in the home (kitchen/work table-type scenario), I've curated a round up of gorgeous handmade finishing touches for your home office space that will make your working day so much nicer! Everything shown is handmade and designed by small, independent creative British businesses...

Part 1: Your Desk

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Pantheon Bookends/Candle Holders, by Goblin Craft London
• Reclaimed Scaffold Board Desk, by Gibbs Design Furniture
• Personalised Mug, by PhotoFairytales
• Hand Crocheted Coaster, by Gracie's Place
• Mousemat, by Studioart22
• Table lamp, by Chiselwick

2) Wall Art & Decor

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Ministry of General Cleverness personalised print, by PhotoFairytales
• Hello Gorgeous typewriter print, by PhotoFairytales
• Tickety Boo custom made wooden sign, by PhotoFairytales
• Cloud Plaque custom made sign, by PhotoFairytales
• Hot Pink Letterpress print, by Happytomato7
• Linocut library print, by Of Books And Bees

3) Greenery & Plantlife

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Glasses Plant Pot, by Sculptech3DPrints
• Honeycomb Wall Pot System, by Sculptech3DPrints
• Personalised Planter, by Carve Creations
• Crochet Rose, by Greenhouse Cat Studio
• Motivational Plant Marker, by Jolly Dee
• Handmade Wooden Planter, by Studio Fifty Six

4) Organisation & Storage

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Wooden Pencil Pot, by Harley and Steffan
• Blush Pink Basket, by Clare Gets Crafty
• Leather Cable Tidy, by ToriLoLeather
• Crochet Lidded Pot, by Janiemade
• Personalised Wooden Doorhanger, by PhotoFairytales

5) Beautiful Stationery

Items featured, left to right, top to bottom:

• Greyhound Notebook, by Michele Willshaw Print
• Pencil Case, by Bees And Blossoms
• Kraft Notecards, by Crafty Ali
• Pink Bow Paperclip, by Crafty Ali
• Houseplant Stickers, by Tishpaints
• Handbound Notebook, by Victoria Snape - Pretty paper goods

Making your home office work space a creative, serene and inspirational area is key to getting through the working day. Make it reflect your style and personality, and create a haven that makes you productive every day. Your home office should be a place that makes you feel comfortable and motivated, so incorporate personalised touches to make your working day a joy.

Sarah :)

Why do we give gifts?

When you stop and think about it, giving a present to a loved one is a bit strange - especially when you think that in most cases the recipient could have quite simply bought it for themselves (as Miley says, I can buy myself flowers..!)

But that's just thinking about gift giving as a transaction - and it's WAY more than that!

The tradition of giving gifts goes back thousands of years - probably as far back as the beginning of mankind. As social creatures (mostly) we enjoy each other's company (usually), and we like to form relationships with those that are most special to us. Of course 'special' covers a lot of instances: those we love of course, but also those we want to please for social reasons, or maybe impress, or thank, or show allegiance or deference to. Or simply as a way to let them know we appreciate them or are thinking of them. The reasons behind gift giving are many and complicated!

Sometimes gift giving is something that comes from the heart, other times it's a tactical action. Either way, quite simply, giving someone a gift is deeply ingrained in our DNA!

Going right back to pre-history, presenting a gift to someone was a way of reflecting their status - and your own. It's a perfect indicator of how we humans are such an advanced civilisation. Gift giving strengthens our social bonds and our community. It is linked to feelings of love, trust, friendship, reciprocity and cooperation.

The earliest gifts would have been pretty simple and basic (ooh, I don't know - let's picture a lovely shaped stone say, or a nice pointy animal tooth...). As humans evolved those early gifts would have progressed into something more elaborate, so that tooth would be drilled and threaded to make a nice necklace to wear when you're having a romantic date night away from the cave and kids!

Today, gifts are also given to mark celebrations on our calendar: Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. No matter what the occasion though, when you give a gift you're engaging in a practice with deep roots in history and even deeper social significance.

The key thing to remember though is that gift giving is rewarding to the giver as much (possibly more) as the recipient, which is probably why it has become such a large part of our society. Simply put, it makes us happy to give a gift. Researchers have found that it improves our state of mind, releasing dopamine in the brain giving us a sense of pleasure and reward. It triggers an emotional response and a sense of joy, happiness and satisfaction. A lot of that depends on how the recipient accepts the gift of course - we want them to feel pleasure, and appreciate our efforts. It's a mutual reward system for both giver and recipient! 

So next time you buy a special present for someone, just remember your caveman ancestor was also worrying about how to neatly wrap a round stone - and they didn't even have sellotape!

Sarah :)

BRAND NEW: Personalised Halloween Gifts & Decor

The countdown to Halloween has started - a little bit of fun before the serious business of Christmas kicks in! And to celebrate the season of all things spooky and cosy, I've just added some lovely new Halloween-themed treats to the website for you!

Take a look at the PhotoFairytales website for more details - and if you're on my VIP mailing list look out for an exclusive discount code pinging into your inbox this evening!

Sarah x 

🎃👻🍁🍄💀

BRAND NEW: 23 Fantasy Portrait Designs

As we gently ease into autumn, I wanted to share some of the latest additions to PhotoFairytales - I've been working on them all summer long, and so excited to see them finally live on the website!

I've added 23 brand new Fantasy Portrait themes, and I very much hope you'll like them. If you're not familiar with them, this is where PhotoFairytales all began. The Portraits were my very first item when I began my small business and, although my site has grown a lot since 2009, I still love creating them as much today as I did back in the day.

Each one is created individually by hand (there's no 'click to upload/AI' going on here!) - painstakingly working with my customer's own photo to create a magical setting. Although I have dozens and dozens of themes to choose from, each image is completely bespoke and created to order.

I start with the customer's photo, carefully and slowly cropping away the background before introducing it to their chosen theme. I delicately tweak light and shadows, adjust the composition where necessary, and add props where needed like little fairy wings or wands, slowly building an image that's completely unique. The images are built using layer upon layer of digital art, with images usually made up of over 50 layers.

You can order just the artwork image only, or I offer various print options and sizes. Take a look at my site to see all the Fantasy Portrait designs available. I have lots to see, with designs for pretty much all ages (I've even created images for much loved fur babies too!)

Hope you like the new designs - click here to see them all on the website!

Sarah :)

Interior Trend: Coastal Grandmother

First we had 'Cottagecore' now we have what's known as the 'Coastal Grandmother' aesthetic - in fact, you may have noticed the #coastalgrandmother hashtag on social media for the last few months, and seen nautical styles creeping into homeware shops on the high street. It’s an aesthetic that’s really caught the imagination - but don’t think it means fuddy-duddy granny-style, this is all about stylish minimal easy-living, timeless cosiness, simplicity and elegance. 

The pandemic spurred a lot of people into dreams of living live life at a slower pace - to have outside space, be away from city life. The wish for space, nature, fresh air, calmness, a bit of peace and tranquillity. Apart from country style living, the other aspect to this lifestyle trend is one for waterfront, beachside or riverside living. Picture the scene: working from home and looking out of your window at the sea or a river. Ending your day with a stroll on the beach or along the riverbank... bliss!

The look can be smart and elegant with a tailored feel, or it can have a cosy and casual, lived-in feel. The beauty of it is that you can make it your own style, there are no rules, and (most importantly!) you don't have to live at the seaside to achieve it. The look is all about relaxation, friends and family, an easy-going life and escapism - the feeling of holidays and days off, even when you're not doing either of those things! Sitting back and relaxing is the new adventure day.

Here's a few lovely things I found on Folksy which all fit the Coastal Grandmother theme perfectly:

Sellers featured (from left to right, top to bottom): Janiemade, Pocketful Creations, Cornish Craftwork, WhiteCottageSoftFurnishings, Adrienne Hughes Art, the crimson rabbit, Velvet Moth Creations, Red Dog Sews, Lizzie Mabley Fabric & Home, and AliDufty 

Along with this new lifestyle wish has been a trend for interior decor and colours to reflect the waterside living. Basically, the look is a more modern and minimalist version of the traditional and oh-so-lovely farmhouse aesthetic. It's grown up but relaxed, with a nod to heritage. It's the opposite to the maximalist style (dark colours, florals and heavy patterns) - instead it's all about simplified colour palettes, and pattern is often limited to basic lines and checks. It's a look that works all year round too, creating a cosy and calming interior for the home.

Neutral coastal colours of creams, whites, sands, soft blues and smart navy are the basic shades to build on, combined with textures such as wicker, rattan and wood. Touches of natural rope, checks and stripes, driftwood. Keep it soft by mixing in a little ochre yellow or coral, or perhaps a pale turquoise or gentle green - or add a smart contrasting deep red or yellow for a real pop of colour against the neutrals. Black also makes a brilliant contrast colour against the neutral beige, sand and white colours.

Bringing a little coastal charm to your home is a classic, timeless look that can be enjoyed in any home, bringing a touch of calm with a straightforward easy palette and simplified lines. A look that makes you feel that you're in your 'happy place'.

Check out the Instagram accounts for more inspiration:

• the.coastal.grandmother_
• theinspiredroom
• northforkdesignco
• coastalinteriors
• casually.coastal
• Tharonandersondesign

Key takeaway for this look: Keeping this look contemporary means nodding towards the style, rather than shouting about it and filling your room with nautical-themed knick-knacks. Instead keep lines and colours simple, pared down and refined, use natural materials, tonal neutral colours, and don't go overboard (pardon the pun) with seaside decor. Let the overall design do the talking, adding little subtle touches that have a more 'found' feel rather than by design.

Take a look on PhotoFairytales for some great inspiration for this timeless interior look:

Oh, and if you want the ultimate inspiration, watch the Nancy Meyers movie "Something's Gotta Give" starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton - and search the #nancymeyersinteriors hashtag on Instagram!

Sarah :)