7 Essential Home Office Design Tips
With more of us working from home full time or now having more flexibility to work from a home office, ensuring we have the right home office ideas environment to be efficient, productive and comfortable gives us peace of mind.
We have put together 7 Essential Home Office Design Tips to help you create an amazing home office.
Location & Layout
Whether you are spending a full week, or a few hours in your home office, the location of your work space set-up is key.
We tend to use spare rooms, sections in another room like a bedroom or kitchen or even pop up offices depending on what we are working on and the mood and environment we want to set for the days work area.
Make sure you think about the time of day you are engaging in your work and the type of work you do. If you are a professional, you may be working standard day hours and involved in a lot of meetings, so you will prefer a quiet, more private spot.
Can you multi-task? Are you a parent on the go that needs to work, help with homework and cook dinner at the same time? In this case, you may choose a location in the hub of your home so you can operate efficiently.
Once you have the location sorted, think about the layout of your office. Put together a few floor plans so you can choose the most effective setup and have measurements on hand when you start to source furniture.
Another thing to consider is distractions ….. TV, music, indoor and outdoor noise pollution. This brings us to the next design tip to consider … lighting and your outlook.
Natural Light & Outlook
Natural light may not always be possible, but the more you have available, the better. Natural light = good vibes. It makes you feel alert and focused.
If you have to always work in artificial, you may find you start to suffer from a range of physical and mental negative health effects like headaches, fatigue, stress and anxiety. Lighten your mood, release those endorphins and embrace the natural light!
Even better if you have a stunning outlook you can engage in it on a regular basis to help you switch gears and remain focused. A leafy garden or ocean outlook is always better than a road or tv! Just try not to daydream for too long, you’ve got work to do!
Desk & Chair
Now that you have selected your location and layout, it is time to decide on the desk and chair. Potentially the most important design decision of your home office.
At Artifex, we have a number of desk designs to suit everyone from children to professionals. Many of our clients prefer a custom-made desk either free-standing or built-in.
Think about the size of the desk area you require to operate comfortably and make sure your computer, printer and other electronics are considered. If you are a Designer or Artist, you may need extra room to draw, collate, create; if you are a Techy, you may require two or three screens.
Ergonomics is extremely important, take time to understand how this can be applied to your new home office.
Your chair needs to be fit for purpose, comfortable, ergonomic, flexible and don’t forget to contemplate the flooring the chair will sit on and how often you will be up and down from the chair.
Storage and Shelving
Storage and shelving are the second most important element of your home office space.
What do you want visible or hidden away? What needs to be easily accessible? If you are wanting shelving, do you need to be able to access it from both a seated and standing position?
Drawers and/or cupboards? Our desks and storage options at Artifex Interiors, all have high-quality hardware and drawers are set on soft BLUM close to allow ease of use.
Always have form, function and aesthetics at the forefront of your design plan.
Materials
At Artifex Interiors, we work with a number of natural sustainably sourced materials to create our products and custom pieces.
If you are unsure of the materials that will work best in the space, we can help you better understand your options to help you make an informed choice.
Think about the colour palette, tones, textures and the style of the home office.
Meeting Zone
If you are meeting with clients or others within your business, you may be wanting to achieve a meeting zone, if you have the room that is!
Consider comfortable seating, a small chaise or sofa, with a side table. Position your meeting area so you can either sit in the meeting zone as well or participate from your desk if you need to present or share information.
A couple of occasional chairs could work nicely too and floor lamps, with the option of pulling them close to your desk for more intimate meeting settings.
Organisation and Accessories
Finally, you are going to organise and accessorise. Your focus should be functionality while making sure you avoid clutter and potential hazards.
Cable management is imperative. We suggest adding cable entries to one of our products or a custom desk. Conceal all wires with a cable management system and invest in a wireless router, printer and mouse to minimise cords.
We discussed lighting earlier. Task lighting is also important, especially if your natural light isn't so great or you are working at night. Invest in a desk or standing lamp to make sure you can see clearly!
Depending on the external noise and how that may impact your home office or vice versa, you may wish to invest in acoustic insulation. Often, we will incorporate this into a custom design, in particular in wall panelling. There are some great materials with different levels of insulation, as well as colour and design choices.
Finally, you should inject your personality into your home office to make it a place you want to spend time in every day. Think about what inspires you and makes you feel productive and happy.
Flowers, plants, objects, artwork or photographs and maybe some soft furnishings in the meeting zone! Mirrors are a great addition too, they can also make the room feel bigger and help give a feeling of more natural light. Don't forget to soften the room and bring texture and maybe some colour with a rug!
With these 7 essential design tips, get the ball rolling and start planning your new home office. Contact us at Artifex Interiors today, we will help you build your dream design!