Mixing Work and Play in an Unconventional Boho Office With Katherine Tlapa of My Eclectic Grace

When you live and work at home, having a space that accommodates your complex needs is a must. It should feel comfortable enough where you can curl up on the couch during late nights, throw your feet on top of the coffee table, and enjoy the latest Netflix drama in your PJs. At the same time, it needs to be a productive place that isn’t too distracting during a last-minute conference call where you’ll talk about the next innovative ideas.

Interior enthusiast Katherine Tlapa knows this struggle all too well. Juggling her new full-time day job and blossoming blogging career (find her at My Eclectic Grace) alongside her family, active social life and dog Wilbur can be a challenging act. Recently, she created an updated home office space to help her balance it all.

To Katherine, “the most important thing about a home office is creating a space that I feel happy and safe in. When I’m working, I have to be comfortable, yet feel inspired and creative. If my office is dull or doesn’t have good energy, it’s going to directly affect my mood and ability to work well”. And one perk about working from home? She can customize the space to make it especially hers, “In a home office, you can have complete control of your space. You aren’t designing around a standard office desk or having to be mindful of desk mates. You can craft your home office to be inspirational and functional specifically to you, which makes it a really special space”.

Form & Function

Ensuring the space was, at first, functional, Katherine added a large desk that she could sprawl all her work out on. Coming in at 7-feet long, the surface, paired with an equally practical chair, provided the foundation for her main workspace. 

Once the basics were accounted for, Katherine moved on to the inclusion of other design staples: lighting and versatile seating. A sunlit window, task table lamp and moody string lighting all help to boost her mood and set the tone for the day. “In the day I just have natural daylight and my candles, but in the evening I will turn on my twinkle lights which are strung across the room. They add a whimsical feel and warm glow which definitely amps of the cozy factor!” Her secondary seating space, a swinging egg-shaped chair located in the corner, gives her some flexibility when she wants a break from her typical seating arrangement. “It’s nice to have options,” she says, “even in a small space”. 

Keeping It Cozy

To really turn up that cozy hygge feeling and make the space hers, Katherine hung a plethora of uplifting wall art to keep her smiling and inspired while she’s brainstorming or working on a creative project. She explained her reasoning behind the pieces she chooses, “I never add things that will detract from my productivity or make any of my work tasks complicated. I like to keep things simple and most of my decor on my walls (AKA out of my way!)”. 

As we looked around her room, we noticed that this theme of productivity and simplicity manifested itself not just in Katherine’s wall art but also in the green plants perched along the windowsill, the relaxing aromas from her essential oil diffuser and a handful of candles wafting throughout the space. “I love to change up my scents seasonally and lighting a candle at the beginning of my workday gives me all the good vibes!”

The real cherry on top of all that fun and productivity, though? It was the statement piece of a rug she added at the center of it all, our Pagette Ivory Tribal Nomadic Diamond Shag Rug. It’s organic in nature but tribal in design, and with all the cozy characteristics Katherine was looking for. “I was first attracted to the pattern on the rug - I really like how it isn’t perfectly symmetrical. It’s unique which I felt would be so fitting in my very unconventional boho office. The rug also looks very plush and soft, which is important to me. I love to work barefoot and having a plush rug under my feet makes my day that much cozier!” Katherine’s atypical working environment is such a playful mirror of the personality of a free-spirited mixer of styles doing what speaks to her heart.