Tips to design an ideal home office
Flexible work hours and work from home options are becoming increasingly common with most corporates. With business houses laying greater emphasis on work-life balance and enhanced productivity, people all over the world are trying to find the best way to accommodate a creative and inspiring working environment in their homes.
Be it a spacious home office or a corner desk nook, the essence of work remains the same, thanks to the modern work culture. A home office is very different from your office cubicle. The concept, colour scheme, décor, wallpaper, theme and other various elements differ considerably. Even though, it’s located at home, the space needs to be functional, efficient and beautiful. The space should inspire you to come back and strive harder.
It is very simple for someone to put a desk in a room, but if you wish to have a formal setup, you need to follow few approaches to achieve the best setup and avoid common downsides that can side-track your productivity.
It is not always important that you may require a built-in traditional office, but having a distinguished space is something one should definitely consider. From the time one initiates the process of putting together a home office, it is essential to simultaneously focus on how to maximize your available space, manage clutter and cables, avoid distractions, and keep your body and mind in a relaxed state so that you can work at your best far more often.
Consider the following tips to help define a professional working space at you abode:
Add colour
Paint the walls a colour you love. Forget the monotonous beige colour that we normally see in offices, you need a colour that gets you in the work mode and brings out the best in you. For some people, it could be a bright, cheery colour like orange or lime green while others might need a calming shade like light green or sea blue to perform.
Give yourself a view
Position the desk where you can stare at something more exciting than a blank wall when you are not looking at your system/ computer. A window's natural light is best, but if you're in a windowless space, hang a pretty picture above the desk, or position your chair to face something you would love looking at.
Do not neglect form for function
Your desk, shelves, and storage should help you, not the other way around. Consider your workflow and what items you need at your fingertips before investing in furniture, and then look for pieces that are both beautiful and functional. Home office furniture should complement other rooms in your house instead of looking completely isolated. If your home has a traditional décor, warm wood and soft, comfy chairs would be ideal if you have the space. A contemporary home office can feature artistic pieces or modern metal furniture.
Emphasize on enough light
Ensure your office has plenty of light to cut down on eye strain and headaches. Position the computer monitor in a way that there is no glare from a window or overhead light, and put a small lamp on the desk for task lighting. When putting a new desk into a home office most of us kind of reflexively put it right up against the wall in the darkest corner of the room which is not very favourable. Move your desk close to the windows. This set-up gives you the ideal benefits of natural light, and a good reason to turn away from your computer every few minutes to admire the scene around you.
Major your technology
There's not much you can do to beautify the computer, printer, and phone, but you can hide unappealing cords. Encase cords on the desk in a pretty fabric cord cover and feed the cords into a desk eyelet, a plastic or metal cap that helps guide cords through a hole in the desk and hides them underneath.
Keep your work space organized
One of our favourite tips is to have a defined space with all your business equipment, files, and storage in one place. This allows for maximum efficiency of your time and energy. It keeps you organized and focused on your work. The best desk/workspace is the ability to have everything at your easy reach. Have a desk with drawers to keep the supplies and files near you that you use most often. The key to a successful setup is setting up a system and then maintaining it by putting things back where they belong. This prevents from wasting time the next morning looking for files, supplies, etc. Time management means you can start work faster and be more productive.
Add natural greenery around your home - office space
Plants make us happier and introduce a sense of freshness to the space. It’s like bringing what’s outside your window into your space. In addition, since most plants can go a day or two without watering, you won’t have to go into your office on weekends. Real plants are more than just a colourful element to your office. They actually help clear the air around you.
Create a fun and Interesting space
Aesthetics may not seem to matter much when putting together a workspace, as many people function daily in a beige, uniform cubicle, but this could affect your productivity when you don’t enjoy your office. We would definitely want to work somewhere we enjoy spending time, so add your personality to your home office visual. The ideologies you’d employ for good home design would work just as well here.
Another important tip is to display your personal accomplishments in your office. It evokes a sense of pride and helps one strive harder.
To all those of you who are a bit more lucky and get to work from your residences, go ahead and make your work space as exciting and productive, keeping in mind the tips we have shared with you all!