words Al Woods
With technology improving all the time, the likelihood of companies offering the option to work from home is increasing. Perhaps it’s that your company is offering home or remote working as an option or, if you’re freelance, you work from home on a regular basis.
Even if not for you, in all probability, the person you may eventually sell your home to may work from home and therefore adding a luxury home office is going to massively increase the desirability of your property.
But what should you be thinking about when considering adding a home office? You have the opportunity to create a comfortable workspace that you can work most productively in. You also want to be effectively separated from the rest of the house, so your work and home life doesn’t become intertwined. Below, we’ve got some top tips for designing a gorgeous space that will mean you can’t wait to get to work in the morning… Almost!
What Do You Need?
The first question you should ask yourself when undertaking any house improvement project is what functionality do you need the space to have? Will there be times when other people need to use your home office simultaneously? This might be clients coming in for meetings, or colleagues for collaborative working.
If this is going to be the case, then it’s worth considering a bigger space in order to have room for your desk, a table with a few chairs, and perhaps even a more comfortable part of the room with a sofa and/or lounge chairs so you can relax and work creatively if necessary.
If you’re building an extension to facilitate the home office, then think about a separate entrance if you will have visitors regularly coming in and out. This means they won’t have to go through your home so firstly, there’s no pressure for you to keep it a certain way, and secondly, you don’t merge home and work.
Electronics & Office Gadgets
Arguably the most important aspect of your working from home setup, electronics such as your computer are vital to remote working. But is there anything else you need? For example, do you use a printer? Will you require a larger screen for video conferencing? All of this affects where you put the electrical sockets for your home office.
You want to make sure you’ve definitely got enough. Consider other people as well – if you are likely to hold meetings at home, inevitably a time will come when your colleagues will need to plug in their gadgets. Make sure you’ve got enough sockets to go around.
Natural Light! – Light Bulbs Just Don’t Cut It
The joy of working at home in your own office is that you don’t have to compromise. You won’t ever have to sit in the dark corner of the office because your colleagues who have worked there longer have claimed all the desks by the windows.
You can add in windows to allow yourself the maximum natural light. Vitamin D has been scientifically proven to elevate mood and lessen risks of mental health difficulties such as depression. Ensuring you are in a bright workspace with lots of natural light will give you the best chance of absorbing as much vitamin D as possible, even during the long winter months.
Noise, The Good Kind
Even if your preference is to use headphones when you’re working, you will want to pick a space that isn’t going to be disturbed. If you’re near a road, choosing somewhere on the quieter side of the flat will ensure you aren’t disrupted when trying to work.
If you are building an extension or conversion for your home office, you can make sure the windows you install have double glazing so the room is quiet, and you can concentrate.
Storage, Avoid the Clutter
An untidy space will lead to an untidy mind – if you’re constantly searching around for paperwork or stationary, you’re going to take twice as long to get anything done. Instead, when designing and building your home office space, ensure you have enough storage.
If you keep paperwork, plans or files, get cabinets with filing drawers built-in so you have readily accessible all the documents you need. Likewise, if you have books and other research materials that you use on a regular basis, it’s worth making sure it’s to hand. And whilst there’s nothing wrong with decorating, don’t let your office become a hotbed for clutter.
With a bit of forethought, you can design the perfect home office that will not only be comfortable but will increase your productivity and wellbeing at work.
