Whose idea was it to cover the walls of cubicles with that dismal, grey, carpet fabric? I mean, as if a manufactured wall between you and human contact wasn’t depressing enough, they covered that barrier with a material that looks like a blanket that’s been left out in the rain for a few years. Luckily, it can be covered up with awesome desk accessories – but who came up with this? To whom do I address my strongly worded letter?!
Millennial-powered tech companies are pretty much the only place you’ll find vibrant colors in an office setting, and they’re usually accompanied by all kinds of open space and comfortable, interesting decor, too… Those jerks. (/bitter)
That’s not what my corporate call center looked like! Or my timeshare sales & customer service center. Or the thousands of other offices around the country and globe where cute people are trapped in a gloomy, neutral-toned hell. I get that we can’t all be a glamorous and successful Silicon Valley startups, but work desks shouldn’t be a dreary, depressing place where you feel like you’re in jail for eight hours per day.
I know some offices have restrictions on what you can have on your desk, so learn the rules really well so you can figure out how to break them without breaking them. If you’re in an office that lets you do whatever you want as long as you get your damn work done, congrats. You won the prize as far as cool places to work!
To inspire you want to spend time there, you should add some awesome desk or cubicle decor. It won’t fix the part where you’re away from your cat all day, but at least you can find great ways to display pictures of your cat all over your office.
These 15 office accessories are all functional AF, so maybe if you slide this post over to your office manager, you can get them to buy some of them for you. Or cheer up the whole office by giving everyone a donkey that holds post-it notes in the name of morale!
Cute & Functional Office Accessories
Retro Flip-Down Clock, $31.99
Of course you have a clock on literally every device you own, but they don’t have the charm of this old-school flip clock!
Concrete Planters for Pens and Succulents, $20 (small) $26 (large)
Succulents and cacti are the perfect office plants because they don’t need a whole bunch of attention (aside from your stares of admiration).
Oh For Fox Sake Mug, $18.99 & Louise Can Smell Fear Mug, $8.50
Mugs are extremely important at work! You can’t effectively work without a mug! It’s just science. Just don’t leave these in the break room or you’ll never see them again.
Poppin White Desktop Starter Set, $44
This set actually comes with matching pens – 12 of them! This set is also available in a ton of different colors. My personal favorite is the sage green desk set.
Morris Memo Holder by Yaakuv Kafman for Monkey Business, $14.99
Whether it’s a horse or a donkey is irrelevant, the fact is, he wants to help you write notes.
Midori Dog and Cat Animal Shaped Paperclips, $7
Midori has way more than just dog- and cat-shaped paperclips, there are all kinds of farm animals, penguins, and woodland creatures for you to choose from.
Snacks and Sushi 8G USB Flash Drives, $11.99+
Can you believe that 8G flash drives are less than $15 now? I remember when they came out with 256K flash drives when I worked at Best Buy. They were locked up with the laptops and high-priced items. After all, they were like $60 each! Now we can get perfect slices of pizza with 8G of space on them for as much as a real pizza costs. Amazing!
Tomons Wood & Metal Desk Lamp, $36.99
I hate fluorescent lighting. The gross, plastic-covered lights in the ceilings of most office buildings make me cringe. I loved bringing a lamp to work and using a warm white lightbulb. It totally makes for a much more cozy work environment.
Officemate Verticalmate Cubicle Wall Shelf, $24.89
These shelves can turn a basic cube into a super-organized and functional, work environment. It will also totally distinguish your workspace from everyone else’s. Can you imagine having a whiteboard with one of these underneath?! Talk about efficiency!
Qualy Sparrow Nest Paperclip Holder, $15.95-$19
You can never have too many paperclips, and this cute little dude will keep them in one place and use them as a nest until you need them!
Fred Desk Donut Push Pin Holder, $9
Make that grey wall crap worth something by sticking a bunch of sprinkle-pins in it!
Kikkerman Woodland Creatures Pencils, $10 for 4
Whether you ever sharpen these and use them is up to you, but they would be a perfect addition to any pencil cup.
Hotlistor Multipurpose Cubicle Hooks, $12.99
These are brilliant little hooks that will help you transform your cube into a gallery of whatever you want! They can hold up coats, or picture frames, or string lights… Imagine the possibilities. You could use these to cover up every single inch of that gross grey fabric.