Paint is one of the easiest ways to update your home office.

How would you describe your home office? Does it look a bit rough around the edges? Clients may not see your home office but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a nice, comfortable and even stylish place to work.  There are a few cheap ways to give your home office a facelift.

• Paint your walls and don’t be afraid of color.  Start with your rug, a piece of art or any furniture that’s in your home office and then match it.  It doesn’t have to be a perfect match (that’s boring). If you can’t find a color you like, make up your own color.  I created “Working Naked Gold” for my home office.

• Add window treatments.  Shades, valances and drapery can add color, pattern and interest to your home office. In the design industry, custom = costly. Fortunately there are some great ready-made window treatment options available from high-end stores to discount stores.  A few places to shop for reasonably-priced window treatments are The Great Indoors, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Tuesday Morning and even (believe it or not) Lowe’s.

• Use homemade accessories. What better way to get art for free than from your kids? Instead of tossing your child’s wobbly clay pot or pitching a vase, display it. My sons’ works of art (from a few years ago) fill my home office bookcases. They’re colorful and they have sentimental value.  Do you have a clay sculpture of a lion holding a penguin or a mouse surrounded by cheese and cooking utensils?  I didn’t think so.

• Create cheap (yet stylish) art. Enlarge your favorite photo, add a mat and frame, and then hang it. Or buy a book of reproductions, clip a few pages, slip them into frames and enjoy your new masterpieces. Frames are cheap and sometimes even expensive frames go on sale.