Being Geek Chic is a blog for stylish geeks, sophisticated nerds and people who enjoy the musings of a complete dork. Join us as we dream of driving the TARDIS, cuddle with our eBooks and test out an iPad sleeve. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi and a team of brilliant lady nerds. Meet the team.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the fact that different rooms in my home essentially function as satellite offices. I like to write in the kitchen while dinner is cooking. I work through emails on the couch while the TV is blaring. I catch up on the news of the day with my iPad on the patio. In other words, my whole house is my office.
I know a lot of “experts” would probably say that this is an unhealthy habit, but when you’ve got a lot of love for your work, it’s kind of unavoidable.
Combine that with the fact that I love lists and you’ve got a blog post on my top 10 ultimate home office accessories:
1. Native Union Moshi Moshi Retro POP Handset
This thing is my crack. Plug it into your iPhone and talk, talk, talk. If you’ve ever tried to hold your iPhone between your ear and your shoulder - you know that it doesn’t work. This is your solution. Plus, friggin’ cute, right?
2. Universal Touch Screen Stylus Pen
Love your iPad, but hate typing with your finger on the glass? You need these. Plus, crazy cheap!
3. LEGO brick storage boxes
Never thought I needed storage for my paper clips. Boy, was I wrong on that one.
4. A good table lamp
Don’t strain your eyes, lovers. Get proper lighting. I like this industrial lamp from West Elm.
5. Bamboo Lap Desk
Don’t fry your ovaries. Or spermies! Plus, a lap desk makes it about 1,000 times easier to type, edit, whatever you need to do for a long period of time.
6. Something happy, happy
A motivational poster will perk up your mood and give you a boost when you’ve been slogging away for hours. I love this poster from Etsy seller Amanda Catherine Designs. It’s pretty, simple, honest. And a great reminder.
7. Sharpie pens
Freaking love these. So smooth! I am a firm believer in investing in good pens. I can vouch for these.
8. Moleskine Ruled Notebook
Creatives love to pull out their Moleskines. That’s because there is nothing more awesome to our silly brains than the combination of form and function. I definitely need mine around at all times.
9. Magic Mouse
Only one word: SMOOTH.
10. A patient boyfriend. This is my MOST IMPORTANT accessory for sure. Every night, TJ refills my water or reheats my coffee or mutes the TV or one of a million other things while I’m working. He’s the best. I couldn’t be the psychotically productive, overly ambitious person that I am with him.
Alright, so what did I miss? What is your MUST HAVE office accessory.
Angie Harmon really wants to be She Hulk
I love when non-nerds discover that the writing in nerd properties tends to be superior to say, cable channel dramas. Anyway I won’t be judge-y. Angie Harom, which you may know from Law & Order, really loved the Hulk in the Avengers and tweeted this hilarious picture of herself as SheHulk. I love that she’s so enthusiastic about it, so what do you think - will we be watching a SheHulk premiere in a couple years?
LEGO is Art
I’ve discussed this quite a bit around here, because LEGO kind of has a permanent place in my heart, but when PBS Off Book producer Lisa Romagnoli sent me the new PBS Off Book episode, it was renewed again. I’m sort of obsessed with the skull at 3:46 and think that might have to be my next undertaking. In all clear pieces? Hell yeah.
This backyard shed office is my new dream
I don’t have a backyard. I don’t have a need for a BGC office, but this outdoor office pretty much looks like heaven to me. Admittedly, it might not be that grand from November to March in Minneapolis, but let’s just focus on the fact that it’s 80 degrees and sunny here today and I’m longing for some vitamin D in a very real way. Plus, look at those bookshelves. So much storage!
Props go to Apartment Therapy Tech for finding this incredible idea. The rent would be cheap too…. must stop now.
Win a Game of Thrones tank!
Don’t forget to “Like” Being Geek Chic on Facebook this week for your chance to win a Game of Thrones tank from Fencing & Archery. You have until next Friday my friends!
(Photo via Angie Harmon’s Twitter)
Don’t spend money on a 2012 calendar. I promise these free ones are just as stylish and useful.
My favorite this year is from graphic designer Cecilia of U Me It. Here’s her details on printing the calendar:
Print it on a 8.5″ x 11″ paper at 80%. Or on a 11″ x 14″ paper at 100%. Click here to download.
Next, go check out My Owl Barn’s customizable 2012 calendar. You can choose a wide range of awesome custom owl images, set the month for each and then print off your own special version. Forty five artists contributed owl art, so I can pretty much guarantee that no one’s 2012 calendar is going to be exactly the same.
The last one I’ll mention is from TomKat Studio. It’s a simple desk calendar with big open spaces on each day for writing on. Download the calendar here.
My tech obsession comes with a very messy little problem: cords everywhere. Sometimes, my desk feels like a breeding ground for cables. I’m not one to make “New Year’s Resolutions”… but I do want to be more organized, so perhaps 2012 is my year. I’ve purchased lots of little products to organize my cords, so I thought I’d give you a round up if you’re facing the same irritation.
As an Apple obsessive, I’ve come to appreciate those white cords more than any other. Their thin, simple and last forever. However, there are also WAY too many of them on my desk. The CableDrop Cord Clip packs come in packages of 6 in a wide variety of colors and are super easy to use. If you have a set of cords that you use over and over again - then this is the perfect solution for you. They have a bit of adhesive on the back that is non-toxic and is pretty easy to remove and move around if you like.
You can pick them up at the Container Store online for $9.99 for a package of six.
For the best bang for your buck, I’d recommend the Cableyoyo Cord Manager.
The small square is easy to use and winds up a maximum of six feet of cord. For $4.99, you get a package of 3 cord managers, which come in white, silver and black. The nice thing about these is that they are convenient for both office use, but also great for things like your gaming areas where you have long controller cords and the kitchen too. Appliance cords can get pretty disorganized too, so the uses for these are really endless. Plus, they’ll match appliances in a wide range of colors.
If your desk is anything like mine, there are plugs coming out of a multi-prong power strip. The Quirky Plug Hub is an obvious choice for organizing under the desk.
The hub has three openings on the top for the cords to neatly pass through. There’s enough room in the back to neatly wrap up the excess length for easing hiding. The Hub also has a rubber bottom to sit firmly on the floor or you can mount it to the wall.
It’s $28.99, but it hides a lot of cables for that price.
After college, I worked as a freelancer for a few months until I nailed down a job. In order to achieve optimum freelancing capacity at home, you need a home office that performs many, many functions including, but not limited to:
1. client meeting room
2. quiet work space
3. phone-call taking space
4. creative space
And depending on what you do - you may need the office space to function as a sleeping, eating and living room too. So if you know a freelancer, show them some love this holiday season with these geek chic gifts for the work-at-home warriors.
1. The Native Union Pop Phone: $29
Totally brilliant idea for those who spend hours a day on conference calls like I used to. Plug it in and chat away. Available in a wide range of colors and slowly preventing cancerous brain tumors from forming.
2. Jonathan Adler Book Ends: $29.50
I can’t believe that book ends made this list, but they did. The reason? If you’ve got stashes and stashes of books that you need a second away from your hand like me, then you need book ends. They keep your books in a tidy row on your desk and look stylish along the way.
Sure, you could stack those books up, but just admit that it’s sloppy and annoying when the book you need is at the bottom of a stack of six.
3. Portable Lap Desk: $39.50
If your office has to perform triple duty, then you need a lap desk. If you’ve got any concern for taste and mouse functionality, then you need one with a wood desk top and this one from Brookstone serves all those requirements.
Admittedly, I could live without the cup holder. (I mean, how lazy are we?) However, the color options and the stopper for the bottom of the laptop make this particular lap desk worth it in the end. If you want something sans cushion, I refer you to this fold out desk from Pottery Barn Teen, which comes in a wide variety of colors.
Happy shopping!
No space too small to be an office: see where that desk is hiding? It’s so tight! Yet there seems to be a good flow there.
