Finally, revealing my Jungalow Inspired Home office!

ICYMI, E and I moved earlier this year. Over the last five years we lived in one bedroom, fully furnished apartments. This move was a major life transition one for us. Our new home is three times the size of anything we've ever lived in.  Aside from the extra space we didn't own anything. Like we didn't even have a fork to our name (let alone a bed, couch, or other essentials). To say creating an entire home from scratch has been overwhelming is an understatement. But I am THRILLED to share the first completed room with you all today: my Jungalow inspired office!

Couch (c/o) | Area Rug | Palm Print Pillows | Table Cloth Chair Cover  | Computer Monitor

This room was one of my top priorities to get done ASAP. When we moved in, I fully envisioned this as a mid-century modern dream! I thought pecan wood, whites, navy, and clean lines. Fast forward a month or so when I realized that my mid-century modern dreams were a no-go. You see, we did own two pieces of furniture going into this move: my desk and an entertainment center, both were driftwood(esque).

My desk was a Homegoods find a few years ago. It can work as a desk, fold up into a console table, or work as a dining room table! We intended to use my desk as a dining room table and the entertainment center in our living room. However, we quickly realized that the grey tones simply wouldn't match our open concept kitchen/dining room/family room area (our kitchen has rich pecan wood and brown marble counter tops that would not work with all the grey- but more on that in a future room reveal).

Knowing that these items were relinquished to my office, I had to get creative. Dead set against a coastal themed office, I took to Pinterest where I stumbled upon Jungalow.

Jungalow

[juhng-guh-loh] • noun:

Derived from Jungle and Bungalow. A hotel-like accommodation (usually around a forest/jungle) that is raised off the ground. Guests who have stayed in a Jungalow say it is like staying in a tree house.

Jungalow is a bohemian wanderer's dream. Full of greenery, pops of color, and earthiness, I was sold. I knew this was the theme to get my creative juices flowing and could incorporate the pieces I already had. Since it's all about bringing the outdoors in, I knew I needed to focus on my greens first.

I stumbled across this amazing banana leaf tapestry from Urban Outfitters, which a quick Google Image search later I discovered it for for a third of the price on Amazon.

Note: the one on Amazon is more of a screen print, not a traditional “tapestry” feel – I have no idea what the UO one is like. The Amazon one is also a little lighter (the link of the picture above is the most accurate color, my photos below are a little over exposed so the greens look lighter than they actually are).

My office has a bathroom in it, and I knew the tapestry would be perfect for the  once awkward wall.

Couch | Banana Leaf Tapestry | Good Vibes Pillow

When planning my mid-century dream office on Pinterest, I had unwittingly pinned these adorable banana leaf prints. They were the perfect counter balance of light to the dark tapestry. These are 21×28 and I could only find frames at Michaels for them that were 22×28 but it worked out fine.

Palm Prints | Area Rug | Macrame Wall Hanging

I want to pause real quick and talk about my office chair. Previously I had a cheap one that offered zero support. When we moved I wanted to invest in a good chair. I found this one at Target and it offers a ton of support. In addition to height adjustments, I can tilt it forward or back and adjust the lumbar support. Most affordable office chairs that offer this much comfort are ugly IMO. This was originally just a black leather chair that stood out like an eye sore in my office. So I got a table cloth from H&M and laid it over the chair and tied it in the back. It's not a perfect solution, but it certainly looks nicer when on client video calls.

Moving on! With greens on the wall taken care of I turned to my attention to greens around my space. Let me preface this with I have a black thumb. Er, rather, I don't have a black thumb, but I have no interest in keeping plants alive. My hands are full enough taking care of myself, the hubs, and Tucker.

Tall Cactus | Short Cactus | 52 Lists Books

I had already found these cacti from Target. Next I hit up Homegoods and found so many adorable greens at a reasonable price. I will say, make sure you check and double check your plants from Homegoods for dings, dents, and defects! I had to exchange a few after I got them home.

Himalayan Candle Holder & Lamp

Next I knew I wanted to fill in the space behind and under my desk. I searched all sorts of Jungalow decor, but a lot of it was crazy expensive. I stumbled into a fantastic sale at Urban Outfitters and was able to snag this 5 x 7 rug for $40 and this macrame wall hanging for $60!

Macrame Wall Hanging | Area Rug | Chair | Chair Cover | Area Rug | Computer Monitor

The piece to the left above is one of the pieces we moved in with. An entertainment center from Ikea. Other than the drawer, you can see it's all open. The two side cabinets are glass doors. I needed to use this as functional storage and while making sure it doesn't look like a total mess.

So on the left we have some of my favorite books. The middle top shelf has a bunch of essential oils hidden behind the concrete succulent plant, and then those binders are what I use most often for my business (green is financial tracking, gold is legal/sponsored content tracking).

Humans Of New York Stories | Millennials Of New York |

Harry Potter Collection

The drawer is full of office supply junk (scissors, tape, envelopes, etc.) The right may look familiar from my office organization post. Here we have lots of storage boxes and binders. The top white storage box is documents I need to file, the larger one on the bottom is half done craft projects (like leftover materials from my DIY Pom Pom Lamp).

The gold dotted boxes I organize based on size. The smallest is deposited checks I am waiting to post, middle is coupons/discounts/gift cards, and the largest is junk I can't find a home for.

White Storage Box (c/o) | Gold Dot Boxes (c/o) | Binders (c/o)

The room was definitely missing something though. My intern and I could easily share the desk day in and day out, but I wanted a comfy and cozy spot to chill. That's where Apt2B came in. I love supporting US based companies who actually keep manufacturing in the US!

They have fantastic options for all sized spaces, but particularly apartments. For instance, look how perfect this couch fits into the small space, while still leaving plenty of room to talk around the office. Apt2B bridges the gap for those of us who are too broke for higher end furniture companies, but also need to step it up from hand me downs or low quality clearance items.

Even better, they allow you to customize SO many pieces. For our couch we went with the Catalina Reversible Chaise Sofa. We chose Mountain Grey fabric. Since buying a couch online can be a little scary, it's nice you can order all of the fabric samples in advance before you choose.

The other fun thing about this couch is that the chaise is reversible! It's actually an ottoman that goes under the long cushion, which you can flip the two items to either side of the couch. I love that if we move, and need a different set up I'm not locked into anything.

Last came the pillows for the couch. I already had a ton of throw pillows, so I opted to get a few pillow covers. The fun banana leaves were found on Amazon, the pink ones on H&M, and the Good Vibes and pom pom one from UO. I am still looking for the right cover for the stitched purple and yellow ones, which are a few years old.

Good Vibes | White & Purple Pom Pom | Banana Leaf | Pink Geometric

I actually owned a few other pieces of furniture I always forget about: this drum side table and orange bench which were hand me downs from a co-worker back when I was a therapist with an office. The buddha art is from a talented local artist, Sara Lurie, and was also from my counseling office.

The hutch is from the Container Store. We used it as a bookcase in our old apartment, and is perfect for knick knacks in my office. Lastly, the OM symbol (below) is from my counseling office days off of Amazon.

Wooden Mirror | Wooden OM

I am waiting on one more item for this room, a second wooden mirror to balance the two above the couch. I plan to put it below these two to complete a triangle shape of them. It's on backorder but will be here soon hopefully!

 

Couch | Good Vibes | White & Purple Pom Pom | Pink Geometric

RENTER'S HACK

UPDATED [4/26/18]: While I LOVE my office, and it looks SO light and bright in these photos, queue 1:00 pm and my office is DARK as the sun has moved overhead. You may have noticed there's no lamp above my desk, which meant daily afternoon headaches while trying to work in the dark! Queue my new addition! This gorgeous lamp from Versanora! I love how the arm hangs right about my desk (without me having to install some crazy light fixture)! It’s literally the renter’s dream solution for overhead lighting!  

Hanging Arm Lamp from Versanora

 

That's it! I still have dreams of more greens and earthier tones, but I think it's come together well in such a short time! It's on the first floor of our three story town home, so it's really nice to have a space that functions as my office, and a hangout spot for guests that can't get up all the stairs to our living room. Super comfy and chill with the couch and love the colors to keep the productive juices flowing!

Had you heard of Jungalow before? What do you think?

Check out other rooms in our home tour:

Mid-Century Modern Meets Boho Living Room

Minimalism Meets Industrial Decor In Our Master Bedroom

Upcycled Guest Room