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Produced by Dara SamuelsonWritten by Susan Heeger

Work-and-Play Getaway

You can smell the roses and return phone calls. Outfit your fair-weather perch with things that keep you on task, but with a lighter heart. Use baskets to sort files, wallpaper boring file cabinets, stuff pencils in a sugar bowl. You’re the boss here, after all.

Outdoor OfficeJeremy Samuelson[+]

Coatrack Caddy

Is any worker more steadfast than this multipurpose stand, with its arms raised for anything that hangs? We used clothesline to secure color-mad woven bins to it. Their deep sides support flexible file folders. In a temporary space, where storage is problematic, this rack keeps clutter off the ground.

Outdoor FoldersJeremy Samuelson[+]

Bland-be-Gone Cabinets

Your office shouldn't put you to sleep, especially if it’s outside. Zippy yellow wallpaper is one cure for the common file cabinet. Another is a fabric remnant (ours is a cotton-linen blend in sky blue) that glues on easily with a multipurpose adhesive spray.

Bland-be-Gone CabinetsJeremy Samuelson[+]

Take-a-Meeting Chairs

They're round and rowdy, come in carnival colors, and work indoors or out. Crafted of lightweight plastic and aluminum, they're a snap to steal for a picnic when not cradling an important client (aka your lounging husband).

Take-a-Meeting ChairsJeremy Samuelson[+]

Sweet Seat

Stop to smell the flowers in every way you can; an office chair with blooming summer beds can be of figurative help. Its bright petals and bold pattern fit the scene you’re setting, alive with the freshness of a garden.

Sweet SeatJeremy Samuelson[+]

Offbeat Organizers

Deck your desk with uncommon ways to keep it neat. Swap-meet and hand-me-down bowls and glassware hold pens and paper clips like pros, without making you seem too tightly wound.

Outdoor Office DetailJeremy Samuelson[+]

Make a Stand

The usual postcards, baby pix and other desktop debris rise to another level when you clip them to a repurposed jewelry stand. Clothespins keep everything in place until a new memento demands attention.

Make a StandJeremy Samuelson[+]

Buy It

  • OK’s yellow and violet Solair chairs, $165 each, 323-653-3501
  • Urban Outfitters’ teal Round Pintuck Pillow, $32, white Coming and Going Coat Rack, $79, 3 x 5 Painted Stripes Printed Rug, $34, and Ivory Ruffle Laundry Bag, $39, urbanoutfitters.com
  • WorldMarket’s Madison Storage Baskets, $9 each, and Maru 16-inch Round Paper Lanterns, $7, worldmarket.com
  • Anthropologie’s Barking Mad Wallpaper (on file cabinet), $108 per roll, anthropologie.com
  • Jewelry stand, $32, anthropologie.com
  • Clover’s flowered tray (on desk), $9-$12, 323-661-4142

Prices and other details were accurate when we published this article.

Tell Us What You Think

1 - 1 of 1 Comments
reclaimed

October 05, 2011 2:09 PM

I love this! you can just let that stress fly away! I work outside, making my Reclaimed Objects. http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/reclaimed-objects
find me on face book!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Reclaimed-Objects/276254061159
You've given me some ides as to how I can improve my work place! Only problem would be having a tendency to not work and daydream! You've made it to relaxing for me!

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