Here are 10 Tips for maximizing Style and Productivity in your Home Office — Scroll down to go more in-depth or Pin This Image to your Pinterest Profile to Read Later:
1. Get Your Office Organized
You’re ready to overhaul your home office with cohesive decor and a mixture of built-in storage solutions but before you start anything, you’ll want to go as paper-free as possible. Sign up for e-payments online, scan and digitize your documents, digitize your signature, etc. Then we can begin thinking about what’s left and what will realistically be added to your paper stash to design optimal storage solutions for your home office.
2. Choose an Inspiring Color Palette
Some may prefer splashes of Color for character so not too distracting, but we had fun with these clients who wanted a bright, bold wallpaper to keep them inspired all day long. Color seems to be a hang-up in the design process for lots of clients. It highlights our primal fear of change in such a silly way. We wrote abut why and how to overcome it, along with answering all the FAQs we get about choosing paint colors last week here.
3. Pay Attention to Flow & Frequency
Seating is the key for comfort in a home office. You’ll be spending a lot of time time in office chairs so choose desk and lounge seating that you can comfortably adjust positions in all day long. That’s the key to a really good chair: When you initially sit down, you don’t need to be comfortable right away– you need to be able to adjust positions and sink in comfortably over time.
4. Vary Lighting Types
Rely first on your natural light since it’s easiest on the eyes, then put any additional lighting like task lighting or chandeliers on dimmers so it’s easier to transition from day to night. Consider getting a screen protector for laptops or televisions. Lighting seems to be another area in which clients are overwhelmed. If you want to learn more about choosing lighting for every room in your home, this is a great source.
5. Hide Electric Cables
This one is pretty self-explanatory: Nothing ruins a beautiful room quite like our 21st century techno-comforts, but you want to hide electric cables and stow unsightly printers away with some chic built-In cabinetry or up against walls, behind larger furniture pieces like consoles and media cabinets.
6. Float Your Desk
One of the biggest mistakes we see homeowners make again and again is pushing all their furniture up against the wall. Give your home office a designer touch by floating your desk in the middle of the space. This also places the desk in a Godfather-esque position of power and is great for the overall chi (good flow) of the space. It is an office, after all, your desk should take front and center.
7. Accent with Mirrored Surfaces
Integrate some shimmer to bounce light: mirrors, metallics, mixed metals. We love mixing metals to give a space texture, luxe, and a lived in feel all in one. Because of the bounce, you won’t need to use as many light sources at once.
8. Accessorize with Art
This point, again, ties into the frequency with which you’ll be utilizing the space: Include art you want to look at all day long! In the case of this particular home office, the art was already part of the client’s personal collection, which was the perfect jumping off point to help us personalize her home office.
9. Face Your View
How your home office seating placement functions is two-fold: firstly, you’re likely spending a lot of time at your desk, so you’ll want a relaxing view. Facing windows always helps! By the same token, you don’t want visitors to be distracted, so the placement of extra seating is directional and will tell them where to look. It also better optimizes the feng shui of the space, by facing windows.
10. Go Green!
In the vein of going green, be sure to include some fresh flowers or plants throughout the space. Plants help improve the air quality of the space they occupy and they don’t have to be high maintenance. We wrote an in-depth guide to indoor plants, if you’re afraid of always killing them, which you can access here.
