Tips for Designing Your Home Office

by Rex Ostrander 09/29/2019

If you are working from home or considering starting a new business at home, a home office is essential for what you do. But you don't have to break into a bank to create your own home office; you can instead use the things that you find affordable or readily available to creatively come up with something that is functional and effective for you.

  • Use Sunlight to your advantage: Place your desk and chair in front of a window and watch your creativity blossom. You are probably going to spend a large chunk of your time here, so you want to be as comfortable as possible. The window view also gives you an opportunity to take in the outdoors every other minute and reduce eye fatigue.
  • Give the walls a new look: Don't just paint the walls, paint them a color that suits you. What kind of color expresses your style and will increase your productivity?
  • Find a comfortable chair: That goes without saying. Don't sacrifice function for form. The chair design you saw on Pinterest may look great in photographs but may be bad for your back with long-term usage. You want to make sure that you have a chair that is ergonomically correct 
  • Add some touch of greenery: For some reason, plants make the atmosphere of any room feel better, so you should add some greenery to make the office more comfortable for you. Look out for plants that you don’t have to water every day, that way nothing dies in your absence.
  • Make the space personal: Frame up some of your favorite quotes for the wall, or place pictures of your family on your work desk. Make it as distinctive as possible, so that it reflects you and your style in every way. Choose accessories that will add to the feeling of comfort you want to recreate. 
  • Put the little spaces to efficient use: You are probably not going to have as much space as a regular corporate office, so you should aim to take every advantage of available space. Use floating shelves to keep papers and office equipment away from your desk. You can get a basket to hold all your working files and to-do lists instead.

Whatever intentions you had for setting up your office at home, make sure it’s something more than a regular chair and table set up in the guest bedroom. You want to be as comfortable and at ease, as you can be. You also want your workspace to inspire productivity and be presentable enough to stage an official meeting if/when the need arises. Visit your local home improvement store for bargains on items that you may need