Design Guide: Creating the Perfect Home Office

Working from home is on the rise. Census. The government claims that in the last decade, the number of Americans working from home at least one day a week has increased by a staggering 35% (that’s 4.2 million Americans!) in the last decade. The importance of having a well-planned, well-designed, and well-organized home office space cannot be underestimated. Having a neat and tidy home office space integrated into your interior design can greatly affect your productivity, stress levels, and overall well-being. Here’s a handy guide to designing your perfect home office space

1.) Choose the right space:

The answer may not be as obvious as you think. While geographically that corner in the living room may seem more sensible, it’s important to consider the level of distraction you may face in the future. TVs, kids, phones, and pets can become unexpected distractions to your productivity. Choose a space with minimal traffic, minimal use, and minimal access to distractions.

Also, it’s important to be able to separate work life from home life – the ability to close a door and “leave work” is absolutely crucial to lowering stress levels and reducing the risk of “burnout”. Perhaps an unused dining room or formal living room might be a better option than using an extra bedroom.

2.) Comply, do not contradict:

Your home office should complement the rest of your home. If your home has a traditional design with lots of warm tones, stick with that. Your home office space should blend seamlessly with your home design, not scream “cold, soulless cubicle.” You also want to avoid clashing design themes, you may have that great desk your mother-in-law gave you, but if it clashes with the flow of the room, it may be worth the extra cost to avoid those architectural mishaps. After all, you want your home office to give you a sense of comfort and ease, not to be a major shock to the senses.

3.) Onboard Storage:

It may seem like a wasteful or excessive expense to incorporate built-in organization or storage into a home office when the option of running to a local store and buying a desk or shelf (requiring assembly) is always available, but adding furniture to a home can cause clutter, and when it comes to the home office, clutter is the enemy. Talk to your designer about incorporating built-in shelving, cabinets, and drawers into your space. This will not only increase the way your home office space integrates seamlessly into your home, but it will also prevent problems with purchasing organizational tools that inevitably add potential to the problem rather than solve it.

4.) If you don’t invest in anything else, invest in a good meat:

Probably one of the most crucial elements of any home office – the perfect office chair should be the top priority. Spare no expense when it comes to choosing the perfect office chair. You’ll be spending a lot of your time sitting in that chair, so make sure it’s as comfortable and functional as possible.

5.) Ignore the Rule:

Make your space exclusively “you”. Ditch the muted office beige (unless that’s what works for you) and paint or accent your space a color you love. We have already discussed how color can affect your mood and when it comes to office productivity, we all know how much mood can affect productivity. Configure your space so that it is relaxing, permanent, functional, comfortable and adapts to your needs and desires. Don’t be afraid to be daring – as long as the space is functional, who’s to say you can’t style your desk to have a built-in snack bowl, a position for your kitty to sleep next to, or even something else? as radical as a place to put a patch of grass under so that while you work you can kick off your shoes and feel the grass under your feet? If you’re working from home, you have the freedom to throw conventions aside when it comes to design – use them!

6.) Don’t underestimate a good view:

Ideally, we could all build our home offices to overlook our city skyline or a white sandy beach, but the reality is that we have to use what we can. Giving yourself something more interesting to look at during those brief moments when you look away from the computer will make you feel more comfortable. A window is ideal, but even a picture or painting you really enjoy can provide those mental breaks that are so important to a productive work environment. No one likes staring at a blank wall, so while most of us can’t get the perfect view, treat yourself to the best you can.

7.) Lighting:

Give yourself a lot of light. Of course, natural light is preferred, but daylight hours are limited, so make sure your office space provides plenty of bright light with a good tint. You will likely need more light than you expected, so adding additional lighting fixtures is an important consideration. The increase in light will reduce eyestrain and prevent those annoying headaches. Don’t forget to choose a bulb that offers light in a spectrum that works for you! Pale, sharp light that is closer to the blue side of the spectrum often offers additional energy and produces a lot of light. Keep around 900 lumens minimum (depending on space) and make sure your light source is easily accessible from a seated position.

8.) Ergonomics is your best friend:

We see this word a lot, but when you’re setting up your home office design, make it a priority. You can save yourself a lot of time and energy while avoiding serious problems in the long run by making sure your home office space is as ergonomic as possible. We spend hours a day at our desks, and studies are increasingly showing us how sitting in the wrong posture can wreak havoc on the body. Protect yourself, your safety, comfort and well-being: make sure you do everything possible to make your space friendly to your body.

9.) Vegetation:

Consider incorporating office plants into your home office design. Adding a plant or two to your office space can have a bigger impact than you think. Studies have shown that having live greenery in a workspace can improve air quality, make your room more comfortable, reduce stress, and increase productivity. A plant is a welcome and reasonable distraction when you’re taking care of it by watering or pruning it, and they look fantastic too!

10.) Cable Management:

Often overlooked and unfairly. Nothing can create more eye sores in a home office than a bunch of messy cables on a desk or on the floor. Velcro zip ties are your friend! Talk to your designer about incorporating ways to hide a mess of cables. Make sure your space is set up for any connections you may need, including proper power outlets. Be sure to leave your team layout open for modification; You never know when you’ll get a new piece of office technology or when you may decide to remove a piece of equipment. If the cables are difficult to access or difficult to add, you’ll end up back where you started with a nest of cables. The key is to increase ease of access and efficiency!

When building a home office, you should invest as much as is comfortable for your budget. It cannot be said enough how important it is for mental well-being, productivity and mood to have a work environment that draws you in and doesn’t add any additional factors that can cause stress. You’ll spend more time in your home office than in most other spaces or rooms in your home, so make sure your home office reflects that and is a perfect fit for you. Experimentation is key, and with a great interior designer, the possibilities are endless.