These days, it’s common for most people to work from home, at least part of the time. Although it’s an important space in your home, it’s often put on the back-burner when it comes to interior design. Putting some time and effort into your home office design can boost your creativity and productivity.
Whether you need a full time office to run your freelancing or real estate business, or an efficient corner to pay bills, answer emails, and lay out the family schedules, our home office design ideas can help you integrate these spaces into your home with style.
1. Get Creative with the Location
Don’t have a spare room? What about an underused attic or basement? Even if a space seems too small, or is also used as a storage space, you can get creative by using a stairway or bank of cabinets to divide the space. This way, your storage area can be separated from your working space. Bring in natural light with skylights in attics and below grade windows with exterior window wells for basements.
If you bring your work home a couple days each week, consider creating a home office in a seldom used guest bedroom, one end of a large family room, or a master bedroom alcove. The secret here is to delineate the space with area rugs, spot lighting, and furniture groupings for working meetings. Again, you can use a piece of furniture like an entertainment center or hutch to separate your home office in a shared space.
2. Pick a Color That Will Open Up the Space
A light, neutral color palette can make a smaller space feel less cramped. Small scale minimalist furnishings can also play-up the distinctiveness of a “found” space.
3. Use Your Work as Decor Inspiration
When it comes to imparting your style to your home office design, look to the work you do for inspiration.
When Kathy first met her husband, he was a young building contractor working out of a converted shed behind his house. Skylights flooded the painted clapboard room with natural light. A sheet of finished plywood on sawhorses made a perfect drafting table, while door blanks set on file cabinets provided lots of desk space. Antique tools from secondhand stores and framed photos of projects lined the walls. His natural home office design was professional, appropriate and charming.
This type of design style can be applied with every profession, and it can be quite fun putting it all together.
4. Incorporate the Overall Look of Your Home
Finally, remember to keep the home in your home office design. Extend the personality you’ve infused into your unique interior design style through to your home office, too. That way, everything feels cohesive and extra comfortable for you while you are focusing on your work.
Taking time to think through the design of your home office will give you a soothing, harmonious working space where you can do your best and realize your highest potential.
If you are having specific challenges designing your home office, please contact us today. We would love to help you define your design.