Home Office Tour
STAY INSPIRED
A work area should be the most uplifting space you can create, full of endless inspiration. I'm lucky enough to have such a huge office space at home, where I have created a motivating work area that evokes a buzzy yet calm environment.
After I graduated from Year 12, I went straight to college at Sydney Design School to attain my Diploma in Interior Design and Decoration. Since then I have been working for The Interior Design Institute. Being surrounded by incredible interiors all day at work, it was key to not only create a space I would be excited to come home to but create a space that reflected my personal style and motivate me to work hard.
Almost every day I'll come home from work, do a quick yoga session, have dinner, go for a walk to post any Stay Driven stickers, then sit in front of my computer till late at night, either researching or working on something for Stay Driven.
And since I'm always in front of the computer and do a lot of photo editing and design work, I recently decided to buy myself a 27 inch iMac with 5K retina display. Not only is the display ridiculous, but the monitor just looks good within my room and motivates me to work hard. Without a doubt it has been the best purchase I have made, along with my 5D Mark III (despite the hefty price tag) and it just makes editing my photos a lot more enjoyable.
Before I purchased the iMac, this room was used to store unwanted crap and never looked like a finished room, so I couldn't wait until I had enough money saved up to give the space a bit of a re-vamp - making sure that it matched my aesthetics. I first started with a bit of a blank canvas, making it easy to re-arrange everything and keeping in mind that over time, I would be collecting items that would go on display.
Excellence is in the details.
I am drawn to raw, natural materials, and all things scandinavian, minimalism, industrial, and chic. The entire office I have created is quite neutral with a calm base to the interior, making it easy to change and update whenever I please. Instead of adding accent colours, I have added warmth through different wood textures, and copper finishes and I have used different patterns in the pillows, lamps, paintings and so on.
And in case you couldn't tell, I love anything that is marble and raw concrete and I am absolutely obsessed with these candles by The Luxuriate. They are made in Melbourne and smell soooooo good! The best part is you can insert refills for when they run out, although I'm pretty sure mine will never run out as I have this thing where I don't burn my favourite candles, surely I'm not the only one who always does this?
Since I'm always in the office, I like to have items on display to keep me inspired. Above you can see a mini model of my R34 made by Sebastian Voll from slowNserious. The attention to detail that Sebastian put into making this model of my car is second to none and probably the coolest thing I own. It even has my TE37SL's, custom number plate, Takata harnesses and exhaust. Next to that is a mini V-spec GTR that my Dad gave me. In front of the models are two wheel coasters by Import Bible and a white GTR sticker by Stickars. I've also got a few print outs pinned to my wall from The Lowly Gentlemen's latest collection, which I find inspiring and I love the tones used within each photo - it makes me want to get out and take photos!
On my desk I like to also have my diary from Collective, which I write in each day along with my Migoals goals book. I like to write down all my achievements and highlights that I have accomplished during the week. It's something I have only recently started doing and encourage you to do the same too.
When you take a minute to jot down the day’s achievements, you acknowledge what makes you great. People around you are too busy to notice your daily victories, so it’s important to take a brief moment for self-congratulations. It’s a great confidence builder, and it helps you quantify and assess your strengths. I try not to forget to record the seemingly small triumphs as well, even the personal ones (“learned a new yoga position… stayed calm under pressure. etc”).
Everyone who knows me knows that I am a huge RWB fan so when I saw Walter Kim's latest creation on his Instagram, I knew I had to get my hands on one of his artworks. Which was once a colourful, red artwork of Jennabelle, I asked Walter if he could make a few tweaks and convert the artwork to black and white to fit the scheme of my office. He was more than happy to do so and I'm so happy with the result!
Above is a mix of RWB and Stay Driven things. First image includes a bunch of my stickers and me playing around with a tube a black paint - I later put the Stay Driven text I painted in a frame and have it placed near my window. I love getting creative like that, I didn't even plan on making anything it kind of just happened and I find stuff like that quite therapeutic as it gives me a break from the computer.
In the second image I have a signed copy of my limited edition RWB sticker that I made. It's a photo I took from the RWB Australia build and I had Nakai-san sign it when I was with him in New Zealand. I also have a signed copy of the Need For Speed game which is super cool!
Third image shows one of my many Manfrotto tripods and a cool RWB Seattle top. Last image was when I still had all my RWB stickers in stock - these sold out within 24 hours and I only mentioned that they were for sale on my Snapchat, so it was crazy to see them go so fast!
Here is a RWB sign that my Dad made for me for my 24th birthday. I got home from work and was rushing to get ready to head out for a birthday dinner with my family at my favourite Japanese restaurant called Waka. I then noticed how my office was lit up and thought, that's strange so I quickly walked over and discovered it was coming from this LED sign! I was really shocked when I saw it, as I never expected it and it's usually really hard to surprise me!
I soon learnt that Dad had spent months trying to replicate the RWB sign he saw from my photos taken during the RWB New Zealand build. I thought that was really thoughtful and I appreciate the time and effort that was put into making it for me. I know my Dad reads my blog so thanks again for taking the time to create something so special!
Above is a bunch of random stickers and things from Import Bible, Stickars, iheartstance, Strawberry Face, and Bside Label. I have a huge box filled with stickers and I love collecting them! I often don't even stick them anywhere, I just like placing them around my office as they remind me of all the cool people I have met and places I have visited.
And here is a collection of matte, square photographs that I got printed from Artifact Uprising. They say that your photographs are an extension of who you are and the images you choose to fill your space should reflect that. I like to have these prints scattered around my office as they are some of my favourite photos that I have taken. I'm still contemplating whether I'll pin them up on one of my walls or just leave them floating around on my desk.
I also made space for when I need a break or want to sit back and read a book. Where the materials are noble and natural, the space arrangement and details are functional and minimalistic and of course, the presence of plant life and green innovations bring my room closer to nature in an artistic and thoughtful way. The artwork above my couch was painted by my Dad which is cool! I gave him a print out of something I wanted done, and he replicated it in his own way. I think it fits the space perfectly.
And that pretty much concludes my little home office tour! The best part is that this space never ceases to inspire me and always motivates me to keep chasing my dreams.
