6 must-read tips for a perfectly organised desk
03.2022
Do you work from home and want to create a more productive, inspiring environment?
How to organise your desk
The starting point for a home office or study is a well-organised desk. Anyone who has sat down to study or work from home will know that an orderly desk is the key to optimising efficiency and making it easier to confront the hours of work ahead.
While a neat and tidy desk helps keep your mind clear and focused, it is not always easy to decide exactly what items should be placed on it to help make this happen. We have therefore put together a guide to help you make this strategic zone as conducive to working smartly as possible, with 6 must-have accessories.
Decluttering, order and ruthless elimination
When it comes to interior décor makeovers or home decorating, it seems that everyone is keen to talk about decluttering in recent years, and it is an approach that can be applied just as aptly to a desk.
The idea of removing anything that is not strictly necessary and keeping only what is truly essential is a perfect method here, as by eliminating external confusion you do the same internally, allowing you to focus on the job at hand.
The first step in organising your desk is therefore to look at every single element on it and decide what to keep and what needs to go. Be ruthless here and remember that less is definitely more. Then, once you’ve done that, it is a matter of turning to what remains and finding a place for everything so that everything will always be at hand.
Must-have desk accessories
Organising your desk doesn’t stop with tidiness, however. A work space needs to be designed with the user in mind, ensuring it is both functional and welcoming.
This means choosing certain accessories that fall into two categories:
- Organisational
- Decorative
The combination of the pieces you select creates an environment that is not only practical and performance-optimising, but also pleasant to spend time in. Given how many hours many of us pass away at our desks, the importance of this latter aspect should not be underestimated.
Let’s take a look at 6 accessories you should consider if you want to sit down each day at a perfectly-ordered desk.
A practical and pleasing pen holder
Even the most avantgarde, high-tech desk should find space for pens or pencils, just in case you need to jot down a quick note during a phone call, or scribble a reminder to yourself. A pen holder is therefore the first of our fundamental accessories, not only so that you always know exactly where to quickly lay your hands on a writing implement, but also for the visual order it brings.
In line with the idea that a pleasing aesthetic can help create a positive frame of mind, a pen holder should go beyond mere functionality, which is why we have developed a series of elegant pieces.
The clean, pared-back lines of the Fontane Bianche pen holder are ideal for a minimalist study or office, while if you prefer a look and feel that is a little more traditional or distinctive, look no further than our Lui&Lei collection, with its combination of natural stone and leather.
The simple but highly effective tray
Stationery is a staple (we couldn’t resist a little pun there!) ingredient of any office and invariably you end up with a collection of post-it pads, rubber bands, erasers, paper clips and other miscellany that somehow end up taking over the desk in a confused jumble, making it impossible to rifle through to find exactly what you need.
The solution is simple, if you choose shallow trays that allow you to separate items but are not so deep that you cannot see what lies on the bottom.
Here too, you don’t need to sacrifice elegance if you opt for pieces such as our set of Fontane Bianche modular trays in four different sizes, designed to fit together as a neat large rectangle, or be placed separately as needed. If you want to add a little restrained glamour to your desk, you could go for a piece from the Balancing collection, which divides a simple round disc into two handy spaces for different items of stationery. Bonus points here for looks, with its combination of milky white Calacatta Vagli marble and burnished bronze.
The classic elegance of a paperweight
The humble paperweight, an object that some might consider somewhat retro or even old-fashioned, is an essential element, especially if you tend to amass sheets of paper, receipts, notes and documents on your desk.
It also lends a note of gravitas and professionalism to your work environment, particularly if you receive clients there. What’s more, it can become a talking point if it is sufficiently unusual or eye-catching, such as is the case with our Gravity paperweight, consisting of a perfect sphere of beautiful white or black marble nestled on a burnished brass ring.
Keep an eye on your nearest and dearest
As we wrote above, a desk area should not only be functional, but also welcoming and there is no surer way to take the edge off a bland or impersonal workspace than to have a photo or two displayed.
A photo frame showcasing your nearest and dearest is the perfect accessory and ensures they are always with you even if you are working all hours to meet a deadline.
Our Balancing photo frame is designed to show them in their best light, with a simple disc of glass on a folded sheet of elegant burnished brass bringing style and the personal touch to any work environment.
Embrace your green side
It has been scientifically proven that surrounding ourselves with plants delivers a number of benefits, including improved mood, lowered stress levels and an increase in concentration.
Including an element of green on a desktop is therefore clearly a sensible move, and you can create an even greater positive effect by raising the aesthetics with a stylish container. If you don’t have green fingers and worry about looking after pot plants, an easy but effective alternative is a vase, with the added bonus that you can change the colour and type of flower or greenery whenever you wish.
Our single-stem Mono vases, made from a block of gorgeous natural stone, are the ideal solution to add a touch of green style to your desk without taking up too much valuable space.
The soothing presence of a scented candle
Sitting at a desk studying or working for hours on end can sometimes be a lonely experience, but a delicate candle can provide a simple antidote. The gentle flicker of a flame and the fragrance of a scented candle bring harmony and serenity and also aid productivity.
We have long championed a holistic approach to interior design, believing that it should be a multi-sensorial experience and our Pietra L line of candle holders and scented candles was developed to reflect this philosophy. Available in Pietra d’Avola and Silk Georgette®, the scent of each reflects the characteristics of the stone it represents to create a discreet desktop addition that nurtures the eyes, the mind and soul.
The Brouwersgracht in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district takes its name from the breweries that once lined its banks
Lake Garda, where the placid water, mountains and sky are balanced in an elemental harmony, has long been a source of inspiration for writers and thinkers.
