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Whether you’re working from home or just trying to keep a lifetime’s worth of documents in order, piles of paper and pens strewn across surfaces don’t create a relaxing environment.
Your “home office” can be an entire room, or just a corner table and shelf in the living room. But no matter your setup, these areas have a bad habit of becoming a dumping ground for letters and paperclips.
If you’ve decided it’s time to get organized, we’ve rounded up some of the most stylish storage options that don’t look too “professional” and therefore won’t feel out of place in your home.
From filing systems and storage baskets to smart stationery organizers and even a slim desk, we’ve scoured the stores for the chicest options with prices starting at just £7.
If you never find a pen when you need it, this stationery organizer could put an end to that problem. Available in four colors. (Red, Purple, Turquoise and Charcoal) The elastic strap wraps around your chosen A5 notepad or journal and has six loops that can grab pens, pencils, thumb drives or even glasses.
If your files are going to be on display, you’ll want them to be pleasing to the eye and these marbled box files certainly do just that. Made from 90% recycled materials and handcrafted to order in a Bedfordshire country workshop, the files can be personalized so you can tell at a glance what’s in each, and they have card frames on the back for easy referencing. One satisfied buyer commented in a review, “Absolutely exquisite design and functional too! I love them and they have really brightened up my workspace at home.”
Some documents cannot be classified because you need to be able to quickly access the information they contain. To keep regularly referenced documents from cluttering your surfaces, you can attach them to a wall display such as this one, giving you the option of pinning documents to the cork memo board or attaching them to the wall. using the two clips included. There are also two hooks and a few shelves for storing stationery.
More durable than cardboard binders, these attractive metal magazine binders won’t move around on your shelves, meaning working papers can be tucked away among your novels and ornaments. Also available in black. or as a three-pack for £34.99.
One way to keep stacks of papers or magazines from looking too “corporate” is to store them in an item you’d be more likely to find in a home than an office, like this luxurious wooden basket. brown conker leather that’s deep enough to conceal even the latest or growing magazine collection.
For a colorful storage solution, stack these galvanized metal crates in prussian blue, ocher yellow, pale pink, grey, black, off-white and grey-green. Measuring 36cm x 30cm x 33cm (WxHxD), they are a good option if you like being able to quickly store all your work supplies at the end of the day. With handles on the side, they’re easy to stack and move around, which is handy if your desk and storage aren’t in the same room. The crates each have label holders on the side so you can see at a glance what’s inside each.
If you want to make a feature of your storage, these beautifully sculpted magazine binders are sure to be a talking point. Precision laser cut from MDF wood, they come flat packed and will need to be glued together, but according to reviews they are simple to build and can be decorated using water-based paint to match to your color palette.
Fans of the rattan interiors trend will love these delicate pencil pots, handcrafted and sold by a small London-based company. Each pot is 10cm tall, making it the perfect size to keep your finicky pens in order.
Although not usually the most attractive pieces of furniture, office filing cabinets have stood the test of time because they work well if you have a lot of paperwork to keep in order. Most are metal, but if you want something less industrial that will look more “at home” in your home, this oak and veneer cabinet is a good option. It has two deep drawers, with slides in each for A4 hanging files. A John Lewis customer commented in a review that this cabinet was “the perfect fit for my paper work”. “I was sick of filing cabinets everywhere and bought this to fit my ‘cocoon’ furniture. I love it,” they added.
If you don’t have enough papers to justify a filing cabinet, this stylish hanging storage box is a great space-saving option. Lined in charcoal gray Nordic paper which provides extra rigidity and a stylish look, each box comes with eight free hanging folders (worth £5), which are the ideal size for A4 documents. “Sturdy, smart and high quality, worth the price,” one buyer commented in Product Reviews.
Best seller at H&M, this deep basket with decorative rattan sides is large enough (26cm x 31cm x 35cm) to hold A4 documents and can easily be inserted into deep shelves. With 174 customers rating it an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars, one buyer commented in reviews that this crate provides “incredible storage and really elevates the bookshelf I put it in.”
The minimalist design of this desk will keep your workspace from looking too corporate, while the two open shelves provide ample storage space for files and the open compartment under the desk is a good place to stash a laptop when it’s on. is not used.