Back To Work | Creating an inspiring workspace

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After being on maternity leave for the past four months, I'm getting pretty excited to return to work this Thursday. I know I'm going to miss my little boy so much and I'm expecting the first couple of weeks to be extremely difficult, but I love my job and I know that being stimulated and having my own interests outside of the home will make me feel happy and fulfilled and, as a result, make me a better mom to Bean and a better wife to my husband. I'm extremely fortunate because my mom will be looking after Bean while I'm at work. Knowing that he is in excellent hands (she'll probably do a better job than I ever could!) has helped ease my anxiety so much.

To celebrate my return to work, I've officially christened this 'Back To Work' week. I'll be posting on a daily basis and covering decor, fashion and beauty, with a special 'A Day In The Life Of' feature at the end of the week.

To kick things off, I thought I'd start with some inspiration for creating a gorgeous workspace. After a four month break, I'm starting to feel those same nervous butterflies that I used to get the night before starting a new school year, and I'm feeling as inspired to stock up on new stationary and create inspiring vision boards for the year ahead.

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I'm lucky enough to have my own office (in an industry that often makes use of an open-plan layout) and I'm surrounded by beautiful things (nail polish! moisturisers! makeup!) all day long. I also deal with a huge amount of paperwork (press releases, press invites, rough drafts of articles), so although I have every intention of keeping my office space clear and clutter-free, I often end up surrounded by piles of magazines and papers by the end of the work week. My goal for the second half of 2013 is to find a more organised filing system and to work harder at maintaining an inspiring office space. I also intend on taking a few steps towards creating a prettier work environment - I share my ideas below.

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KEEP IT TOGETHER

I attend product launches almost daily and I spend hours scouring magazines for inspiration, jotting down notes as I go. As a result, I often have scraps of paper littering my desk and I can easily spend hours trying to locate one specific piece of paper. I've vowed to make my life a little easier by stocking up on several pretty notebooks to keep my notes in one place. 

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTY

The visual nature of my job requires plenty of inspiration and I find that I spend hours on the internet or paging through other magazines to find inspirational images or words to get the creative juices flowing. These images typically end up in a folder on my desktop that I never look at again, or stashed away at the bottom of my drawer where I forget about half the references I've found. I'd like to start creating inspiring mood boards to display all the inspiring images I come across, and changing these up on a monthly basis. 

PRETTY LITTLE DETAILS

My job revolves around sleek lipsticks, bright and beautiful nail colours and an assortment of other luxurious beauty products, yet the majority of these end up hidden away in the office beauty cupboard. I'm going to start displaying all my favourite new products around my office - think nail polishes displayed in an old fishbowl on my desk, or the latest lipsticks lined up along a bookshelf. Another way to add a dose of pretty to your desk is by storing pens and pencils in pretty mugs or empty candle holders. 

HOME COMFORTS

Since I spend eight and a half hours at the office each day, it makes sense that I add a few homely elements to make it a tad more comfortable for me and any clients who pop by for a cup of coffee. I'll be taking along a couple of pillows (I simply adore this 'Love What You Do' cushion from Hello Pretty), a set of pretty coasters to keep spills off my desk, and adding an inspiring print or two to my walls. I'll also be displaying photographs of my gorgeous little family on my desk. 

What steps have you taken to create a more inspiring work space? Please share your tips and ideas in the comments section - I'd love to hear them!