Feel like you need a vacation? We hear you. It’s not always easy, between the 9-to-5 schedule and responsibilities around the house. Or maybe it’s chilly outside, and you want a bit of warm inspiration (without a photo of Selena Gomez required). Escape from the humdrum by revamping your man cave with a tropical office design. We’re recreating the room above. Mix up a Jack & Coke and let’s do this.
Tidy Desk, Tidy Mind
A clean desk makes for a clear mind, as the saying goes. This Bestar Marson Corner Desk is similar to the one shown in the tropical scene in the top photo. It has the same closed front, is made of sturdy wood, and has a simplistic design that balances well with the room’s emphasis on detailed accessories.
We like how this desk fits into a corner and gives you plenty of working space around you. It has cabinets and shelving, with lots of room for your laptop or a PC for when you’re “working.” Mind you, working undertime tends to be more fulfilling than working overtime… Just sayin’.
Put a light beige fabric chair behind the desk and add a matching one out in front of the desk too, just in case anyone wants to come visit you in your stylin’ tropical lair.
Built-In Shelves
Looking to fit in custom shelving, built up from the desk, like in the top photo? The shelves are a great place to show off highlight your memorabilia collected from trips or books. Use your free moments on the weekend to build your office shelving.
Begin by drawing a design for the built-in shelving on the wall. Use Home Designer 2016 software to make the project easier. Just insert the dimensions for the room, figure out the side of shelving within the space, and more.
A built-in provides a custom look that screams quality. If you’re not sure how to create the shelves yourself, hiring a carpenter can absolutely save you money in the long run. To add even more of a tropical feel to your shelves, you might want to lay some bamboo over your plywood, just for decoration sake.
Tips for Decorating Your Shelves
- Pick one color and use it for your displayed items to keep them from looking too cluttered. In the room we’re recreating here, blue appears to be the color chosen.
- Seashells, travel books and photos of you on vaca are great objects to fit in the tropical theme. Welcome to show and tell at its finest!
- Put small office supplies like paperclips and tape into labeled boxes to keep those uglies out of view.
- Add one striking object that will be the visual centerpiece of the shelving. It could be a porcelain statue or big block letter like the one we showcased in Rainn Wilson’s office man cave.
Hole-Y, We Need Light
Yup, light is a necessity in an office (duh). This ceramic table lamp from S.H. International has the same hole in its base as the one in the original room.
It has a calming look in ivory, and this shade also brightens the room, which can look darker if it has a lot of wood in it.
Made of ceramic, the quality lamp is 12″ high and very reasonable in price. Put the lamp on the desk, along with accessories that match the ones on your shelving (see previous section) for great coordination.
Palms Up For High Fives
Palm trees bring flair to your space, particularly when you can’t get an exotic beauty of the human variety! Spice up your space with a large artificial palm that you stand in a planter by your desk. Invest in a quality one with a lifelike trunk. Bring outdoor Hawaii inside with you!
Extend the palm influence to your decor as well with a painting that includes the tree and parrots, similar to the artwork in the inspiration room. Bring on the bold colors and vivid details. This 8×10″ art print features two Scarlet Macaw parrot birds.
The birds in the print are watching to see if you’re going to feed them soon, in between your feast of yummy boobies coconuts. The art comes ready to frame or mat.
Now it’s time for you to enter in your Hawaiian shorts and put your feet up on the desk. Your smile is wide at the thought that you can enter this tropical design of an office any time you desire it. Add built-in shelving, signature lamp (it’s a hole in one, groan), and palm influences in the forms of a tree and art. Vacation is here, whenever you want!
