January 28, 2022

How to design a home office layout

During 2020 and 2021, thousands of people were forced to set up home office space to allow for working from home. At the time, the perceived “short-lived” nature of the covid-19 pandemic led to working areas being created in living rooms and dining rooms throughout the country.

With working from home emerging as a more long-term trend, people are now in a position to rethink their workspace to create a permanent area or even commit to a dedicated small home office. If you’re thinking about doing the same, there are a few things you need to consider. Read on to find our top tips on how to design your home office layout.

Minimal workspaces

Minimalism is a great way to make sure your workspace isn’t an eyesore during your home life and to promote a well-organised work area. When considering a minimal workspace, it’s important to think about what you actually need to do your job. While it can be tempting to fill your desk with extra accessories, trinkets and things to fiddle with, you may find that these items end up being distracting, or you find yourself constantly moving them to make space to work.

With this approach, try to either reduce your work equipment down to a minimum or make use of storage to hide away things like printers, file cabinets or reference books. The less noticeable your desk is, the less impact it will have on your home. With the right approach, your desk could even enhance your space.

How to save space

If you’re trying to fit your workspace into an existing room in your house, going for a space-saving approach can be a great way to create separation between your work and home life. Building your workspace into an existing piece of furniture (like a bookshelf), or buying a fold away desk, can be a great way to reduce the impact your work equipment has on your home life.

Alternatively, installing a wall-mounted desk in your home office can be a great way of reducing how “cluttered” the room looks, and add a feeling of space and air. With both approaches, remember to make sure your work surface is at the right height for use with your desk chair, or that your standing desk is installed to fit your needs.

Creating a clean and bright space

If you’re lucky enough to have a dedicated room for your workspace, creating a clean and bright space can be relatively simple. If you already have a large window with very little blocking natural light from entering, you need only position your desk for minimum glare and you should be good to go!

However, it’s normal in a home setting to occasionally have light blocked by things like trees, or even other houses. While it can be possible to trim back trees to allow more light to enter, you can also be clever about your room to get the most out of the light that can enter. Why not consider painting the room in a lighter colour (some paint manufacturers even make paint that reflects more light than standard paints), or add a mirror? Placing your desk in the middle of the room can also help to avoid shadows and maximise the light available to you.

Alternatively, if you don’t have a dedicated room, adding a floor lamp (or a desk lamp to save space) to your work area can be a welcome source of extra light, especially during the winter months. Depending on the placement of your desk, you may even be able to introduce a dedicated light fixture or task lighting to illuminate your space.

Keeping it fresh

Fresh air is one of the most undervalued aspects of any work area, even in some commercial offices. Among the many things that fresh air is good for, it helps clear your lungs, can give you more energy and mental focus, lower blood pressure and heart rate and help you heal faster, all features that are hugely beneficial to a work environment.

If you can, try to make sure your work area benefits from frequent sources of fresh air, whether that’s a window you can open or a door that allows air to circulate from other areas of the house.

Introducing plants to your work area is a great way of removing contaminants and toxins from the air too, so your home office benefits from cleaner air even when the weather makes opening windows a less than an appealing option.

Summary

Home office designs vary hugely from person to person, so the important thing is to find a layout that works for your exact needs. Hopefully, you can use some of the information above to help get you started, but why not also try sketching out a floor plan before you commit to placing furniture?

Working from home seems to be here to stay, so now is time time to bring your home office ideas to life! Your workday will never be the same again…