How To Create A Home Workspace You’ll Love
What are the key elements of a perfect home workspace? A desk, chair and pleasant surroundings spring to mind. If your home has a study, you’re well prepared. But in an age when our houses have been getting smaller, and most properties weren’t designed with home working in mind, it can be a struggle to get to grips with our living space being our place of work too.
Working from home has long been the norm for some, but it’s become a way of life for many more since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, with hybrid working more commonplace in recent years. So how do you achieve a WFH space you’ll love?
‘To be really effective, a workspace has to tick a lot of boxes – it should be clean, uncluttered and comfortable enough to spend plenty of time in, but also inspiring and (ideally) a pleasing part of your home’s overall look and feel. So it’s important to nail the basics,’ says interior designer Andrew Griffiths, founder of interior design studio A New Day,
If you want to create a home office but your budget (or space) won’t stretch to a complete refit, Andrew shares his top tips on where to focus your efforts, and ultimately, how to design a space that brings joy.
Choose the right colour palette
‘Colour is a powerful thing, and choosing the right palette for your place of work can help create an environment that’s right for you. Are you energised and inspired by a bold shade? Or do you seek a calm, restful space? Think about how you want it to feel and then crack open the paint for a cost-effective transformation,’ suggests Andrew.
Invest in the right desk
This one might sound obvious, but think carefully about what you actually need. Andrew explains: ‘Is it just a spot to rest a laptop and your coffee, or do you need a more generous space to spread out documents or place a keyboard, mouse and monitor? Seek out the surface that gives you what you require and go from there.’
Dunelm Edison Storage Desk Oak Effect
You also need a good quality (and stylish) chair
Comfort is key. You’ll probably be spending a lot of time at your desk, but that needn’t mean sacrificing style. If you have a separate home office with room to manoeuvre, seek out a more elegant take on a desk chair.
Motion Office Chair, Green
Create zones
If you don’t have a dedicated study room and therefore you aren’t able to close a door to your workspace at the end of the day, look for a way to visually distance it when not in use. ‘This helps retain the harmony of your home and allows you to switch off,’ says Andrew. ‘A room divider can be tucked behind a door when not needed, and then become a feature when you’re ready to close the laptop. An open-shelving unit is also a good option, helping zone an area without blocking all of the light.’
Instant updates: home office details that make all the difference
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When you’re done for the day, pack away your bits and pieces to switch into relax mode.
Ficus lyrata
Adding greenery can help boost productivity.
Silas Table Lamp
Why opt for a boring desk lamp when you can have something as pretty as this Murano glass-inspired beauty? And it’s dimmable to give you flexibility whatever you’re working on.
SGW Labs X FP Luminary Vessel
The working day will feel so much better when you have fabulous homewares around you!
Henri Rousseau It Was All A Dream Paint Print
Fun prints make for an inspiring and inexpensive way to brighten the walls of your workspace.
Monochrome Marble Book Ends
Display your favourite and essential reads in style with these marble-effect book ends.
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Olivia Heath is the Daily Editor at House Beautiful. Heading up all things digital, Olivia loves nothing more than uncovering tomorrow’s biggest design trends and sharing the best decorating tips, small space living solutions, and houseplant care and gardening advice.
Week by week Olivia compiles the most stylish high street homeware buys to help you get the look for less, and showcases the best makeovers, as well as the hottest and most unique properties on the market. She also loves covering some of the biggest events in the calendar, including all the action from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Colour of the Year forecasts from Pantone to Dulux, and exclusive previews of all the new Christmas collections before it hits the shops.
Olivia has been writing about homes and interiors for the past seven years, and her work has also been published on House Beautiful US, Elle Decor US, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Red, Prima, Town & Country, Elle Japan, Modern Living and Micasa Revista.
Prior to joining House Beautiful, Olivia worked at Reveal magazine, where she reported on celebrity and entertainment news by day, and attended showbiz parties and red carpet events by night!
Olivia has an MA in Journalism with an NCTJ qualification, as well as a BA in Journalism and Media & Cultural Studies.
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