Get your head in the game: designing your home office

What a luxury to have your own home office! If you have a busy and demanding job, it’s the perfect solution to at least attempting a work/life balance. Rather than having to use valuable weekend or evening time to schlep to your company’s office, it’s ideal for some to set aside a spare room to designate as a home office. However, despite the ease and convenience, it can be hard to separate the work life and home life in this situation. One minute you’re sitting round the dinner table discussing homework, football practice & Grandma’s birthday, the next you’re sitting down to deal with the latest work deadline – but you’re very conscious that your lovely family are relaxing just next door. To get your head in the zone, you need a properly designed home office. Read on for our tips!

1. Set the mood. Bright but not harsh lighting will help you focus, and give way to a calming environment away from the bustle of the rest of the home. Use warm bulbs with dimmable switches, add a large corner floor lamp, and a signature ceiling pendant will help the light fall across your desk evenly – no need for reading glasses just yet…

2. Add your personality! In a shared home with family-friendly décor, child-safe furniture and fittings and soft neutral shades, the opportunity arises to put your very own stamp on one little section of the home that your spouse/kids may not appreciate. This can be a favourite piece of artwork, a bold and vibrant colour, a trophy or photo from your youth. You can also add plants to the shelves or desk - if the room’s conditions aren’t optimal for real plants, then artificial ones will still give the illusion of gorgeous plant life growing alongside you. Studies have shown that even fake plants improve our moods just like the real thing!

3. Use clever storage tricks. A desk is often a nightmare to keep tidy, but luckily designers have been on the case for many years now. There are a number of desk designs that now come with hidden drawers, and some even have inbuilt trays to neatly store your stationery, chargers and other small but important items. There also exist designs with built-in cable tidies, and some even have space for a lamp cable to snake underneath the desk, so as not to trip you up or have your laptop slip onto the floor.

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