With more and more people working from home, what does it take to make a great home office?
Now, there’s nothing wrong with Ikea. They make great kids’ furnishings and for anyone trying to maximise small space on a budget it can’t be beat. And yes, Ikea can also get that spare room outfitted as an office in no time. But your career is a little less disposable than Ikea furnishing would suggest.
Home offices have become increasingly popular as they’ve become more feasible. But more than just the basics — desk, chair, Internet connection, phone line, printer, filing and storage space — a home office needs to have elements that entice you in. It’s easy to be dissuaded from doing something when the concept of “I have to go into the office…” doesn’t exist.
“Your office should be a connection to yourself, your spirit and your productivity. It should afford focus rather than distraction and be a place you want to be … that will positively influence you and enhance the work you do there,” begins interior designer Monique McLintock.
So where do you start? Obviously custom built offices can get time consuming and pricey, but “Getting an interiors expert in for a few hours to help you put together the design is always a great idea as the process may be too overwhelming,” says McLintock. You wouldn’t hesitate to call in experts for bathrooms, and offices are equally critical. “Interior experts listen to what you want and how the office will function then come up with the appropriate design for you.”
Design consultant or no, there are a few key questions you need to ask yourself before you get busy: What are you doing? Will you always be alone? What are you keeping and storing? What gear do you need? Will there be any hightech video conferencing? Any design is built on the foundation the answers to those questions
supply. Know you work habits and respect them. If you work at night, good lighting is absolutely essential.
After the equipment needs are broken down, you need to find a space. The space you use, “needs to be efficient, comfortable and private,” stresses McLintock. “The area of the home that you allocate towards your office needs to be away from family traffic and activities.” That could be easier said than done, but it’s hard Info www.moniqueinterior.com to work with constant intrusions, bleeping video games and gunfire coming from the television. At the very least McLintock suggests a room divider, which brings up the home office worker’s fatal flaw. “The most common mistake people make is to not separate the office from the rest of the home environment,” says McLintock. Short of living alone, “It is important to find a way to separate yourself from the rest of the goings-on and to convey a sense of ‘off limits’ to all other normal and natural home sounds and interruptions.”
The last step is décor. Paradoxically the stark white walls of office towers aren’t welcome in this case — despite the aforementioned attempts to create exclusive space it’s still home. And your colour scheme will set the tone. McLintock points out the psychological impact of various colours and the need to choose wisely. For example, cool blues evoke feelings of peace and can actually induce sleep — right for the bedroom, wrong for the office. Nature-dominant green can foster concentration, and yellow is eye-catching (hello highlighters) but so much so it can be distracting. Red is exciting and purple stimulates the imagination.
Ironically, it would seem, the big boys in Central got it right. “White, ivory, grey and tan can carry subtle variations of colour. So they can be neutral with overtones of the colours you feel most comfortable with,” explains McLintock. “These colours do not distract and can be combined with accent colours for vitality and energy.”
Even if you do throw caution to the wind and create an office space in red and yellow stripes, remember it is your office. As McLintock summarises, “Ensure that the space reflects your personality and that you enjoy being there; that [it] reflects you and contains a favourite object or photo that will give you the break you need. It is these small touches that help make the space your own.”
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