11 Tips For Decorating Your Office Cubicle

Decorating your workspace can make it feel a little more like home. But unlike what you can put up at home, these items will be seen by the entire office so you have to be considerate to those around you.

Follow these eleven tips to help you learn how to decorate your perfect office workspace.

Key Takeaways:

• When decorating your cubicle it’s important to remember that you are not the only person in the office, so be respectful to those around you.

• Your cubicle should reflect who you are, but make sure to keep it professional and appropriate.

• These items will be seen by others and can help start a conversation with your coworkers.

Why Decorate Your Office Cubicle

Your desk is your home away from home. More than that, it’s a place you inhabit for eight hours a day so that you can reap the benefits of being a productive member of society.

Because we spend so much time at our desks, it’s important for our workspaces to reflect who we are and motivate us to get through the day. Customizing your space can re-energize you when you’ve been in a slump at work, it can make you happier and more comfortable, and it can even make you more productive.

11 Tips for Decorating Your Office Cubicle

1. Keep It Professional. When decorating your workspace, it’s important to show that you’re business first and foremost — even if you do happen to party in the back.

   • Customizing your desk or cubicle is a great way to feel more comfortable and motivated at work, but make sure that your space shows that you’re focused on getting your work done.

   • To show that you’re not just at work to goof off and play with the fun stuff on your desk, keep your keyboard, phone, pens, and a notebook within arm’s length. Fun pictures and decorations are great for showing who you are, but make sure they don’t completely take over your workspace.

   • Decorating with functionality in mind will also help you stay focused and productive throughout the day.

2. Express Yourself, but Reel It In. When showing off your personality through your cubicle accessories, try to refrain from going overboard and making your desk look like an Etsy store threw up everywhere.

   • Leave the wallpaper at home, and try not to cover every square inch with pictures of you and your besties from college. This is a professional environment, so make your space reflect your professional attitude.

   • Choose a few personal items that mean a lot to you or help you throughout the day and stick with them. The more selective you are, the less clutter you’ll have to deal with. There’s a healthy balance between making your workspace feel homey and making it your actual home.

3. Leave Certain Items at Home. There are certain things that you should just leave behind when you go to work. Aside from the obvious weapons and other various contraband, leave things like electric kettles, candles, space heaters, and incense at home.

   • If you feel like you truly can’t survive without your favorite $30 Christmas-scented candle staring back at you from your desk, check with your supervisor to see if they’ll allow you to bring these kinds of things to work.

   • Always remember to make sure these items are completely blown out or turned off when you leave at the end of the day — safety first, then teamwork.

   • Anything that’s noisy, smelly, or otherwise potentially disruptive to your coworkers should be left at home. Remember that offices are shared spaces; respect other people’s right to a neutral backdrop, and they’re more likely to do the same for you.

4. Keep Your Stuff in Your Space. When customizing your cubicle or desk, make sure that your worldly goods don’t overflow into shared spaces or your coworker’s own personal space.

   If you need to hang something over a partition wall, make sure to ask your neighbor if it would bother them. It most likely won’t be a problem, but your coworker will appreciate that you checked with them first.

   Keeping your stuff in your own space is a nice way to let your coworkers know that you respect their boundaries. That should, in turn, help them respect your boundaries as well.

5. Add Some Color to Brighten Your Day. Adding color to your space is a quick and easy way to brighten your day and lift your spirits if you’ve been in a slump at work.

   • Many office spaces reflect the kind of work they do. If you’re in a more conservative line of work, like banking or legal services, adding a neutral color scheme to your desk would be an appropriate way to brighten up your work area.

   • On the other hand, if you do creative work, such as graphic design or photography, it would make sense to use a more vibrant color scheme.

   • If company branding is important to your business, try to think of ways to incorporate logos into the colors you decorate your space with.

   • Aspects of decorating like color schemes and logo may seem unimportant, but they can have a psychological impact on both you and potential clients who visit your workspace.

6. Keep Your Political Affiliations to Yourself. No one cares that you avidly support one politician, party, or conspiracy theory. Just keep your opinions to yourself and out of your workspace. If your business interacts with the public, it’s especially important to steer clear of political statements.

   • Politics have an impact on everyone around you. Unless you work for a political campaign, you should never let your office decorations give any indication of how you vote.

   • No matter what political statement you’re dying to make, you’re bound to offend someone, and it’s best to just not go there.

   • With the divided state of our nation, ruffling your coworkers’ feathers with political statements could end with a hostile work environment. Keep things light and professional, and you’re more likely to have a peaceful time at work (with regards to coworker interaction, anyway).

7. Motivate Yourself With Photos of Family and Friends. Having pictures of your family, friends, pets, or even your favorite childhood imaginary friend on your desk can give you a boost in your motivation and help you get through the day’s assignments.

   • Remembering that you have a life after 5:00 pm is a good way to push yourself to get through the workday. But don’t go overboard and start commissioning revered artists to paint murals of your beloved dog in your office — sticking to two or three framed photos will do just fine.

   • Plus, if you have any photos in exotic places, it can make a great conversation starter with people who visit your space. Just make sure those conversations are ones you’re excited to have because people can’t be blamed for commenting on the images you keep in your cubicle.

8. Keep Your Private Life Private. When choosing what pictures and decorations to bring to work, ask yourself if you would invite the people you work with into your home. If not — keep your personal statements to a minimum.

   No matter how good you look in your banana hammock swimsuit that you wore on your last beach vacation, don’t put any risqué pictures or décor on display that you wouldn’t bring up in a causal work conversation.

   The general rule of thumb is — if you wouldn’t share something about yourself in a conversation with your coworkers, don’t advertise it on your desk.

9. Have Headphones Nearby. Headphones don’t have to just be a decorative statement piece — they’re a workplace essential.

   • Headphones allow you to listen to your favorite music or podcasts without disturbing others, and they help you drown out your annoying coworker who won’t stop talking about his political affiliations.

   • If you can only work in dead silence, you can invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones to help increase your productivity.

   • Even if you’re not listening to music, having headphones on sends a clear signal to visitors that any disturbances better be important. Distractions can kill your productivity, so having headphones handy can keep those pesky coworkers at bay (for the most part).

10. Keep Your Space Organized. Over time, you’re bound to accumulate a decent amount of office clutter — whether it be stacks of meaningless papers, an overload of pens and pencils, or maybe you’ve got a hefty stash of staplers that keep going missing in the office.

    • Get one step ahead of yourself and invest in a desk organizer. This will give you space to store your notebooks, important papers, and all of your various writing utensils.

    • Get rid of materials that are unimportant and won’t be used. Having a clear space to work will make you feel more energetic and productive.

    • Do a spring cleaning and get rid of clutter from your desks, filing cabinets, and shelves. Then, designate spaces around your cubicle for different functions. Items that you use frequently should be kept near at hand, while those you only have to look at on certain occasions can be filed away.

    • Also, create a space for items that come across your desk. Having an “in” pile can help keep your mind focused and organized. If you keep a to-do list over your desk, keep up with it.

    • We also recommend using a physical calendar as well as any electronic one you use. Having it present and visible all day gives you a consistent idea of where your priorities should be.

    • Finally, invest in some cable organizers. They’re cheap and they can make your space a whole lot tidier. You can take it a step further and color-code your cables with ties, so you know what everything does when you need to rearrange, unplug, or replug things.

11. Make Your Cubicle More Private. So far we’ve been talking about how to make an aesthetically-pleasing and inviting office space. But there are other tricks to make your workspace more private. This can help you feel more comfortable at work, as these tips also have to do with good feng shui.

    • Turn your monitor away from the entrance. Whether you’re doing legitimate tasks or goofing off, having your monitor’s screen face the entrance to your space feels wrong. Anyone who passes by or comes in will immediately see what you’re up to. If you have the option to rearrange your space to keep your monitor hidden, do it.

    • Use a headset. Whenever you have to take a video or phone call, use a headset. Noise can be distracting for your coworkers, and while you still have to talk, they don’t need to hear everyone else on the call. Plus, you’ll have a bit more privacy for non-work calls.

    • Use a mirror. If your back is still to the entrance after some rearranging, consider putting a mirror in front of you. That way, you won’t get caught off guard by a visitor if you have your headphones or headset on.

Final Thoughts

Decorating and showing a glimpse into our personalities is always fun, but it’s important to be conservative and tactful with what you choose to share.

Pick decorations that make you smile and feel motivated to work, but leave behind things that could be hazardous or make others feel uncomfortable. Everyone should feel safe and happy, not just you.

Now that you know how to decorate your space at work, go make yourself feel right at home…at work.

Author

Maddie Lloyd

Maddie Lloyd was a writer for the Zippia Advice blog focused on researching tips for interview, resume, and cover letter preparation. She's currently a graduate student at North Carolina State University's department of English concentrating in Film and Media Studies.