Congratulations, so you have decided to establish a home office, which is a wise and very productive decision. Whether you are building yourself a full time working space, or you are simply in the need for a private area where you can take care of the bills and manage your schedules, your office deserves to be functional, spacious, and it needs to match the rest of the décor in the house ‒ it should be an extension of your own personality.
You might ask yourself why you should do anything more than buy a plastic chair and stick it next to the window in the living room. The answer is: because you should create a personal space where you will want to spend all of those hours in the day, being productive and making ideas come to life.
Here is how to build yourself the best home office possible.
The right location
A home office cannot be in your closet, nor can it be in the attic, you want the location to be just right for your specific needs. This is a place where you’ll spend the majority of your day, or at least a few hours on end, so you want it to have everything you might need, including enough privacy, natural light, fresh air, and enough space to accommodate guests, prospective clients, and business partners.
Let the sunshine in
One of the most important aspects of a functional office is ensuring your productivity at all times. The best way to stay productive is to let plenty of natural light penetrate the room in order to avoid the onset of eye strain and headaches. You should position the computer screen in such a way that there is no glare from either natural or artificial sources of light.
Paint the room bright
While the office should reflect your personality, if your favorite color is black or purple, perhaps you should resist the urge and opt for a more vibrant hue instead. There are plenty of beautiful color options available, and while you don’t have to paint the office yellow if it doesn’t speak to you, a gorgeous shade of natural green or autumn red would be a great choice that will increase productivity and concentration.
Make the space your own
A home office has one major benefit over a corporate office ‒ it has personality, it is yours and yours alone. So, don’t hold back and decorate it however you please, put up your favorite photos and paintings, create a shrine, put some potted plants in the corners, and place various knick-knacks that are dear to your heart around the room and on the desk. Decorating the entire room the way you like will make you feel truly at home and allow you to enjoy your work even more.
Make it functional
Before you start choosing furniture, installing shelves and mounting the stereo, you should plan the functionality and form of the entire room. Think about the essential elements you need to have close to you at all times and work your way outwards from the table towards the door and the windows. Research some modern commercial office design solutions for inspiration, and choose the ones that not only serve you and your work best, but also match with the rest of your house in both style and décor.
A good chair is a lifesaver
If you’re going to spend hours on end sitting in your office, you want your chair to be perfectly designed to support your lower back and help you maintain good posture. A good office chair is worth every penny, and it could be lifesaving in the long run. Excessive sitting has been linked to numerous health issues, and even if your chair is a perfect example of ergonomic design and ingenuity, you will want to get up every 45 minutes to an hour and walk around the office. Perhaps even invest in an adjustable desk so that you can change your working position at will.
Designing your home office is a fun and rewarding project, and with these guidelines, you will have a wonderful time creating the office of your dreams, one that you will love spending time in and where some of your best ideas will come to life!
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