The Dappered Space: One Room, One Store – Target

The Dappered Space is a series designed to help guys apply the sense of personal style they’ve developed to the space they inhabit. Watch for articles on furniture and decor sales & picks, advice on how to style a room or work space, and tackling creating a space that reflects your own (and perhaps a significant other’s) personal tastes. We’ll suggest items that can be sourced online, but always keep in mind that deals can be found at consignment and thrift stores, local stores with floor models, discount stores, and even yard sales.

You know what’s nice sometimes? Finding everything you need in one place. In this series we’re going to create thoughtfully curated rooms that reflect the styles you find on this site, but each time we’re going to try to stick to just one store. Why? So if you really want to do a full room makeover, you’ll hopefully receive all items around the same time, and even better, qualify for free shipping. Plus, returns will be easier.

This time around we’re going to pretend like we can just waltz on in, grab a bag of popcorn or a churro, wheel our red plastic cart on into the aisle, and shop Target’s home goods department. Can’t you just smell the popcorn now? But seriously, Target is a great option for guys on a budget that want to spruce their place up. Today, we focus on the office, since a lot of us are spending far more time at home than we prefer right now. So hey, let’s at least enjoy the space we’re inhabiting.

The Desk: Acme Furniture Oak Writing Desk – $129.99. Simple and visually appealing. Fits right in with the style you’re used to seeing on this site. And there’s not a ton of drawers and cubbies to collect stuff in. In this day and age, most of our “paper” is now digital. If that’s not how it is for you, a small file cabinet can be placed under the desk for storage.

The Chair: Modway Regent Tufted Button Swivel Faux Leather Office Chair – $189.99. Office chair on the bottom, but a lot funner up top. Is this the office chair version of a mullet, but reversed? Just goes to show that office chairs have come a long way and don’t have to always be the typical black pleather offerings.

The Rug: Project 62 7′ x 10′ Colorblock Rug – $323.99 ($359.99). The pile on this rug looks fairly low, so you should be able to roll on it. If you don’t want to take that chance though, there are some other very low pile rug offerings at Target that will definitely work, like this one, or this one, or this one.

The EDC Vessel: suckuk Skull Tidy Desktop Organizer – $40.99. Sure, you probably already have something that would completely make sense as an EDC vessel for your desktop. But if you have a flair for the macabre or dramatic, this is kind of fun. Also, use it if you want to get your inner Hamlet on. Just don’t freak your family out. Also, here’s a fun pencil/pen holder from the same maker.

The Wall Organizer: Hardeman 3 Pocketboard Rustic Wood Wall File Holder – $64.99. Keep papers, files, and magazines up off your desk with a wall file holder. Obviously not ideal for storing A LOT of files, but if you have certain files you regularly access, this is a nice way to keep those particular files quickly accessible, in a stylish way. There’s also something like this if you prefer a more modern look.

The Bookshelf: Threshold 72″ Franklin 5 Shelf Narrow Bookcase – $249.99. So you’ve got some time right now. Unless you have kids. But if you don’t, you can either kill that time watching far too much television/news/streaming media, or you can fill your head with knowledge reading some good books. And you’ll need somewhere to put those books. Here’s a few recommended reads (most of which have appeared as a rec on this site at some point):

• This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
• Homing: On Pigeons, Dwellings and Why We Return by Jon Day
• Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout by Philip Connors
• Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

The Mirror: Drace Mirror/Hidden Coat Rack – $249.99. To remind you that even though you’re spending the majority of your time at home these days, you can, and should, keep your style game up. The world won’t be on lock down forever, and you’ve got to be ready to jump back in the game when the time comes. Keeping up your normal grooming and presentation habits will keep you sharp and ready. And this handy mirror doubles as shoe and coat storage.

The Wall Art: Project 62 Abstract Mountain Framed Canvas – $69.99. I’m into abstract, calming landscapes. Maybe this isn’t your thing. There are plenty of wall art options at Target. You can find them here.

The Plant You Can’t Kill: Threshold 15″ Potted Artificial Boston Fern – $24.99. Just in case you’re all sorts of out of your routine and are finding yourself forgetting some basic things as you try to cope, a few fake plants will add the look of living things, but won’t add another task for you to remember.

The Bar Cart: Clarkburn Bar Cart – $72.24 (84.99). Because hey, happy hour in person is out of the question for a while. So why not put together a weekly virtual happy hour with some buds and end out the work day connecting with some friends and relaxing a bit?

About the Author: Sarah is a long time member of the Dappered team, typically working behind the scenes editing posts, taking some photos, and keeping the books in good standing. Occasionally she’ll come out from behind the curtain to offer her two cents.

Got a suggestion for this new series, “One room, One store”? Send in those suggestions (and any other style tips) to joe@dappered.com