Your home office setup might be tucked in an unused corner of the living room, squeezed into the spare bedroom, or (if you’re lucky enough to have the square footage) located within its own dedicated four walls at the quiet end of the house. Regardless, there are a few key things you’ll want to think about in order to ensure your workspace at home is not only productive but also comfortable and inviting.
Read on for our 5 best tips for creating a practical and stylish office space in your family home:
THE RIGHT DESK
Choosing the right desk for your work-from-home office space is essential. Other than choosing something that appeals to your personal sense of style, it’s also important to ensure that you find a desk that’s the correct size for both the room it needs to fit in, as well as your workflow requirements.
The temptation these days can be to go for quite a small desk. This is great if all you use during your workday is a laptop, maybe a calculator, and nothing else.
However, if you ever need to spread papers out in front of you, or if you like to have your planner open next to you, or if you use reference books or manuals as part of your job, then a small desk will feel like a productivity nightmare. If that’s the case, then a larger desk (paired with a separate printer stand to free up even more space) will be a better option for you.
THE PERFECT CHAIR
Most of us know by now that sitting at a desk for 8+ hours per day is not great for our bodies. But what makes it so much worse is when we’re doing it in an uncomfortable chair.
We’ve all been there. A bad office chair is enough to not only completely destroy all hopes of having a productive workday, but it can also very easily (and scarily quickly) land you at the physiotherapist with back and neck issues.
Thankfully, the solution is simple: Get a good chair! The more hours you work per week, the more vital it is that you invest in a genuinely comfortable, adjustable desk chair.
In some circumstances (such as if you don’t work many hours, or have freakishly perfect posture), you might find you can get away with different, less ergonomic chair designs. That’s okay! So long as you can feel comfortable in it for the duration of your workday, then the most important thing is that you choose a chair that’s right for you.
SMART STORAGE
What’s the difference between a space that constantly gets cluttered and one that’s surprisingly easy to keep clean and clear? In nutshell: good storage solutions.
Knowing the negative impact of a cluttered space on our productivity levels, it’s absolutely essential to ensure you include sufficient shelving, cupboards and filing cabinets to store everything you need.
CONQUER THOSE CORDS
Let’s face it, nothing is more of an eyesore in an office setting than a tangled mess of wires running all over your desk.
Do what you can to either invest in wireless options (e.g. a wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, router etc.) to keep your devices connected.
Where wires are unavoidable (such as power cords), neatly gather them together and attach them to the underside of your desk or down along the back legs of your desk to hide them from view. Trust us, this makes the world of difference!
MAKE IT YOURS
Time to accessorise! One of the best parts of working from home is that you have total freedom to decide how your office space looks and feels.
Spend some time thinking about what inspires you (e.g. a particular photo, an object that holds special meaning, a vision board, a painting, or a feel-good paint colour) and be sure to include it in your home office design.
Often all we need is a few well-chosen personal touches to put us in a better mood and give us the motivation we need to tackle the tasks of the day.
