This is hard question to answer -- simply because the answers depend on how you like a room to feel when you are working! I really like the depth and tone of the paint color -- and think it will work well for an office BUT our own home office/guest room is painted in deep olive! Soooooo ... do you like to work in bright sunny "open" rooms -- or do you like cozy spaces for work? IF you do like a cozy space -- remember to add LOTS of lamps around the whole space. We have two very tall buffet lamps on the main desk -- and a swing-arm lamp over the sofa bed AND a smaller lamp over an antique cupboard! Lighting options can be a key element to making an office space work well. For the back wall -- I would recommend bookcases or bookshelves! For example -- check out the "Billy" bookcases at Ikea. Those bookshelves come in two heights -- you could do two tall bookcases at each end of the wall -- and then a shorter one in the middle. Add an artwork over the smaller bookcase. Add bookcase lighting to the taller ones. Or you could add a long thin console table or cabinet -- with three large bulletin boards over the table -- cover with co-ordinating fabric to the rest of the room. Or check out "art.com" -- and simply broswe through categories that might appeal to you and see if a particular artists name might keep cropping up! I've included a hot link over to art.com -- and a selection from my favorite artist -- Chardin -- from the 18th century. Rich extraordinary colors. Another more modern artist is Nicole Etienne. Check out her artworks at art.com. Other possible art selections -- could be maps (new, old, vintage) of places that you might have lived or visited or hope to visit. Or perhaps a grid of (new, old or vintage) botanical prints? Or perhaps a grid of black-and-white photos of local sites or architecture of your area? Hope this helps! Jan at Rosemary Cottage Here is a link that might be useful: art.com -- Jean-Baptiste Chardin

I'm with those who've suggested creating a dual-purpose room. It sounds like you would use the crafting/project space, so why not set up half the room (or at least a corner) with a work space for yourself, and find some (gently used) fitness equipment your husband wants? Then you could see how you end up using the room before devoting more space than necessary to one purpose or the other. When I'm ready for another area to have to clean and maintain (which won't be for at least a couple of years), we'll finish our basement. We have the floor plan roughly worked out, and one room will be a combined fitness and project room. Right now the fitness stuff is set up in a corner of the unfinished basement and only sees use on the coldest mornings of the year, or occasionally when the kids are playing down there and it's too hot to run outside. I'm not sure it will get much more use even when finished as I'd much rather be outside moving around, but it's nice to have during periods of extreme weather. My sewing machine is now in a corner of our bedroom that's not ideal, but better than having it shut up somewhere. Projects end up all over the house, spread out in the living room or dining room. There's a kids craft table spackled and ready to be sanded sitting in the middle of the living room as I type. I know I would use a project space if I had a designated one, but the thought of having to clean (and decorate!) the basement when I'm still working on the main floors is too much for me at the moment.

Something like this, with floating shelves on the wall to the right of the door, place down a large area rug, simple sleek desk, with shelving below the windows and long light colored drapes, or were you keeping the desk in the pic?

A chair (or two) with an ottoman and a table would be great, especially if you are sometimes able to work while sitting in a chair with your coffee, tea (wine) on the table next to you. Is there any way to turn the desk so your back is not to the door and windows? That would bother me. It seems the shape of the desk fits the the way you have it but I wonder if you could turn and float it? If that worked then you also would be able to sit at the desk and talk with someone else in the new chair....I do see you don't have clients but I know my DH comes into my office and we chat. I don't work from home but bring work home and he sometimes comes in while I am finishing stuff up.