Work-from-home setups became the new normal because of the pandemic. And if you’re one of the millions of remote workers in the world, you’re probably wondering how to design an office at home that will boost your productivity. In this post, I will share practical tips and hacks, so you can create an atmosphere that will inspire you to work. Read on and see my personal advice as a remote worker myself.
How to design an office at home
Whether you work 9 to 5 or burn the midnight oil, it’s important to have a comfortable space. This way, you can concentrate and have your work tasks done. To make this possible, I discussed these 10 tips to set up your home office sans distractions.
1. Choose the right location
Location is crucial when setting up a home office. This can be a challenge, specifically to those with small homes, living in apartments, or large families.
Basically, you’d want to dedicate a room for your home office. Pick one that has a quiet location in your home.
While your basement may seem attractive due to the large space, it’s not going to be comfortable in the long run. Most basements are windowless and prone to flooding, which is a big dilemma during the hurricane season. Aside from that, you may experience discomfort since you’re tucked away from sunlight.
Overall, it’s a matter of preference. If you prefer a quiet and isolated place for your home office, the basement would be perfect. But if you’re receiving clients, it’s wiser to pick a room that’s easier to access.
Lastly, you should factor in the potential distractions in your chosen location. It’s important to check the foot traffic and ambient noise, especially if you’re holding both face-to-face and online meetings.
2. Get a comfy chair
Once you have a location for your home office, the next thing you have to get is a comfy chair. You should purchase an ergonomic chair that will keep you comfy throughout your work shift.
Never sacrifice your comfort for aesthetics when picking a chair. While accent chairs look good, it’s not really ideal for long hours of sitting in front of a computer.
Overall, you should get an office chair that supports your lower back and has an adjustable height to match your table.
Aside from that, you should also get chairs for your clients if need be. If you receive clients, you can place a comfy couch inside your home office. You can also invest in at least two individual chairs if you have limited floor space.
3. Design for functionality
Next, you can start designing your home office. Always prioritize function over aesthetics because your home office should be a place for productivity and not unnecessary distractions.
First, organize your belongings horizontally and vertically. You can do this by getting shelves, so you can maximize the space on your floor. The goal here is to keep everything in order, so you can work seamlessly without wondering where specific things are located.
For small rooms, you can try sectioning using panel dividers. This way, you can still have privacy while keeping everything organized. Aside from panel dividers, you can also use standalone shelves and curtains to create zones in your home office.
Overall, it’s best to create a floor plan, so you’ll know where to place each piece of furniture, items, and electronics. You can draw a simple plan on paper, so you can visualize what your home office would look like.
4. Give yourself a good view
As someone working from home, I always appreciate a good window view. I position my computer by the window, so I also get natural light when answering meetings. Also, it gives me a chance to take a breather and relax my eyes by looking outside. These little joys make a big difference in my focus and productivity compared to staring at a blank wall.
However, if your room doesn’t allow this setup, you can still make your wall eye-pleasing. You can place a piece of art above your desk, so you won’t glance up a plain space. You can also hang pictures of your loved ones to serve as your inspiration.
5. Setup a nice backdrop
Whether you’re accepting clients in person or holding online meetings, it’s important to have a nice backdrop. You can invest in a new wallpaper or use decorative panel dividers to add flair to your background.
Others would utilize wall curtains, shelving, or art pieces to add character to their walls. Feel free to personalize your home office, so you’ll be confident and comfortable showing it to your clients.
6. Keep the essentials handy
Take note that a home office should be functional and convenient. It’s important to know where you’re going to stash the essentials like paper, pens, clips, markers, and so on. These small items can easily get lost in a busy desk, so make sure that you have a basket or a drawer where you keep all of them.
This takes us to the next essential point: storage. It’s often overlooked when setting up a home office as the person focuses more on the aesthetic aspect.
Ask yourself, do you need a cabinet? Additional drawers? Shelves? It’s important to consider your workflow when picking these pieces of furniture to ensure that they will serve their purpose.
7. Plan your technology
Another crucial aspect when planning a home office is mapping out the location of your computers, printers, and other devices.
As mentioned earlier, you’d want to position your computer or laptop on a spot with a good view. That way, you can rest your eyes and somehow get inspiration as you work. Consequently, you’d want to keep printers and other peripherals close for easy connectivity and usage.
But aside from placement, another struggle of those who set up home offices is taming the cable clutter. Personally, this is the first thing I had to deal with after setting up my home office desk.
8. Get enough lighting
Lighting is important for every home office. This is especially if you’re having online calls, recording tutorials, and other activities that use your camera.
Aside from that, ample lighting can help you focus and be productive. Most of all, it will reduce eyestrain when you’re working on your computer.
Overall, nothing beats natural light. So as mentioned earlier, so you should try to place your desk nearby a window. If you’re worried about glare, you can use translucent blinds or shades to reduce the amount of light that hits your computer screen.
If your window doesn’t offer much light, you should invest in light fixtures on the ceiling. This will provide general lighting enough to keep your eyes relaxed while working. You can also add a desk lamp to fix any shadows, especially if you’re sitting with the overhead lights behind you. If you want, you can also add mood lights to make your home office more conducive for working.
9. Add a touch of art
Once your home office is all set, you can add pieces of art to make it more appealing. You can get paintings, sculptures, and other decors that you live in. Don’t hesitate to add some potted plants to make your home office more breathable and easy on the eyes.
Overall, a touch of art is a good thing, but avoid overdoing it. You wouldn’t want your home office to look like a museum full of distractions. Also, the art pieces you should get must match the theme or color palette that you initially choose.
10. Remove the distractions
Lastly, make sure that you remove any distractions that could impact your productivity. Observe your surroundings and how various elements affect you. Do the people passing by interrupt your concentration? Are specific items in the room distract you?
From there, you can adjust your home office as you like. Don’t hesitate to mix things up until you achieve the home office design that works for you.
Things to avoid when designing a home office
Designing a home office can be fun, especially if you’re fond of interior design and organizing. Although you have the freedom to decide what you want in your home, you should keep the following points in mind:
1. Don’t spend a fortune.
Overall, it’s not bad if you want to invest in premium items for your home office. However, it’s not advisable to spend a fortune just to have a nice place to work. In the end, a couch worth $3,000 is overkill if no one really sits there.
As they say, you should spend based on your paycheck. After all, there’s no use in a fancy office if you have nothing left to pay your bills.
Take note that the amount you spend on your dream home office isn’t a major determinant of your productivity. Also, it may take you a very long time to recoup the costs you allotted for it.
There are many great options you can find in thrift stores and yard sales. The money you can save can be used to purchase new devices needed for your work.
2. Don’t stress yourself too much
Many remote workers tend to aim for a Pinterest-worthy home office right away. Just aim for a simple home office with all the basics covered then work your way from there. You can add new furniture or decors over the months. This way, you won’t have to shell out a lot of money at once.
Nevertheless, you can always save and pin inspiration from Pinterest. Still, don’t stress yourself too much because such aesthetic home offices are often designed by professionals. It’s not necessary to match the look 100%, at least not right away.
3. Don’t let limited space stop you.
It’s a fact that not all of us have the luxury of space for a large home office. Still, this shouldn’t stop you from designing a home office that will inspire productivity.
To maximize your space, you can utilize floating shelves where you can organize all your essentials. Creativity is the only limit to what you can accomplish in your limited home space.
4. Don’t forget about the power source.
So you’re done setting up an Instagram-worthy home office when you realized something: there’s no power outlet near your work table. So when choosing a location for your desk, make sure that you factor in the location of the power outlets.
This way, you won’t have to set your heart on a specific spot only to find out that it won’t work. After all, no one’s fond of using very long extension cords. It’s also unsafe when plugging in high-powered appliances and devices.
5. Don’t plan to do other tasks in your home office
As much as possible, your home office should be dedicated to your work only. Avoid setting up other tasks, which can distract you or negatively impact your productivity.
Remember that the goal of having a dedicated home office is to boost your focus. You’ll be defeating this benefit if you bring distractions around.
6. Don’t consider the couch as a workstation.
Working from your sofa may seem like a dream, but it will have long-term effects.
First, your couch doesn’t support proper posture, especially when you’re working on a laptop. Next, couches are often associated with leisure, which increases your risk for distraction.
In the long run, using your couch as a workstation will be uncomfortable and unproductive. With that being said, it’s crucial to have a work desk and chair that will let you focus and perform your job comfortably.
Final words
Knowing how to design an office at home will set you up for optimal productivity. Just remember that you don’t have to match everything you see on Pinterest. You can focus on the essentials and then keep improving your home office along the way. After all, it’s your portfolio and quality of work that matter most.