Home Office: easy tips to create the perfect working space.

 

During the last year, more and more people have the need to work or study from home, and the necessity to create domestic spaces dedicated to work or learning is growing. In interior design, we are increasingly required to find furnishing solutions integrated in a versatile way, from entire rooms to small corners, to create a functional and welcoming work environment.

 

Designing an area dedicated to work in a domestic context presents challenges because sometimes, the available spaces are not adequate. It is not always easy to determine which area of the house is the most suitable. The advantage of creating a home office is that it can be designed and furnished according to your tastes and needs. In this article, we thought we'd share some tips to keep in mind to use the space we have available efficiently and create the perfect home office!

 

Photo: Home Office by Lago

 

 

How to light up the home office.


Taking advantage of natural light is undoubtedly the ideal way to work better. Studies show that people derive greater physical and psychological benefits when working in natural light: fewer eye problems, better sleep quality, good mood and increased productivity. It is essential to orient your desk so that you are in front or perpendicular to the window to avoid annoying reflections on your computer screen and get the maximum performance from the natural light. When it gets dark or natural light is limited, it becomes necessary to integrate some artificial lights. The ideal is to combine two types of light, a diffused one which will be the general background light and a more focused one, limited to the area where you work. In this way, homogeneous lighting is obtained, and excessive contrasts are avoided. Besides, a design table or floor lamp is ideal for adding a touch of personality to the station.

 

How to choose the position of the desk in the house.


The best place to place your desk is near a natural light source. However, let's not forget to consider the noise factor. Maybe our window faces a bustling and noisy street, which will prevent us from staying focused during our activities. Or it could be in an area of the house that is very popular with other tenants. In this case, it is better to opt for a different solution that guarantees tranquillity and privacy. If we do not have a room that can be used as an office, we can consider arranging the desk in a corner of the house that is not used, such as a corner of the bedroom or living room, a dead area under the staircase, or a mezzanine. We can also obtain a space all for ourselves in the attic!

 

Photo: Fiam Italia scrivania Rialto L

 

How to choose desks and chairs for the home office.


Office furniture must first and foremost be comfortable and practical. One of the advantages of having a home studio undoubtedly is that of choosing the furniture that best suits our personal needs. The three main elements are a chair, a desk and containers. Before letting ourselves be too influenced by the aesthetic factor, let's measure everything well and consider the positions of doors and windows and the distance from electrical sockets.

We choose furniture that reflects the type of business we do. For example, if we have many documents to file in our work, it will be better to choose a desk with drawers and storage compartments. It may not be the elegant and refined table we had in mind to buy, but in this way, we will keep our worktop tidier and be more productive. The comfort of the chair must be directly proportional to the time we spend in our office. If we spend a good part of our day sitting, comfort will always have priority over aesthetics. Fortunately for us, we find many comfortable chair designs on the market developed from years of ergonomics studies that add personality to our workstation. The ideal chair must adapt to our body, so it is better to opt for a chair on which you can adjust the seat and armrests based on our needs. If the time spent in front of the desk is not so long, we can 'sacrifice' a little comfort and focus more on style.

 

How to organise the workspace.


In addition to the desk, we will need some storage space. Even though most documents are digital now, we still have a lot of paperwork to handle. Before buying filing cabinets and libraries, it is helpful to have in mind what we need to keep. Knowing whether we will use folders, drawing tubes, or binders will serve as a guideline for choosing the furniture that best suits our needs. Storage options include dressers, bookcases, filing cabinets and cabinets. Of course, the choice will also be made based on the available space. Indeed, it would be counterproductive to have a well-organised but impractical work area.

Once we have decided on our workplace organisation, we have to take some small steps to prevent clutter from accumulating. For example, we can use decorative bookends to keep the books on the shelves tidy while boxes and binders will give our office a professional look. Purchasing a few functional accessories will help us not have papers, piles of books and stationery items scattered throughout the desk.

 

Photo: Cattelan Italia scrivania Qwerty

 

How to customise the office.

 

Our home office's beauty is that we can customise it to the maximum according to our tastes. Nice furniture and the right accessories make an office more pleasant and welcoming. Besides, feeling comfortable in a beautiful and organised environment can increase our productivity (or at least make the time spent working more enjoyable).

To decorate our office, we can start by adding a beautiful plant that is easy to care for, such as a spider plant that also looks good hanging near the desk. For the lazy, the best choice is a smoke eater (beaucarnea recurvata), a curious-looking plant that can last a long time without water. An excellent alternative to give a green touch to our workspace could be the Boston fern which, with its jagged leaves, absorbs odours and fine suspended dust.

To further customise our office, we can place a photo, a frame with an inspirational quote, or a small design object on the desk. We can also add some customised accessories according to our style and taste. The important thing is not to overdo it: keep in mind that this is a workspace, so the predominant focus should be on the performance of our tasks and productivity.

Now that we know a few more tricks, we just have to unleash our creativity to create our perfect home office.

Below, a photo gallery for your inspiration: