20th October 2020 Working from Home? Here’s How to Create the Perfect Home Office Design We’re certain you’re well aware of it by now, but the global Coronavirus pandemic has drastically changed the way we live and work. Whereas before there were clear distinctions between our work lives and home lives, these two elements have now blended to create an entirely new type of routine. If you’ve been working from home for a while now, you’ve probably realised how much having a beautiful home office design can impact on the way you operate both during working hours and after you ‘log off’ for the day. If you’re feeling less than inspired with your current home office design, there are fortunately plenty of upgrades you can make that will really refresh and uplift your space to have you working and feeling your best. Whether you’re looking to repurpose your spare bedroom, upgrade your existing home office or create a makeshift office space in another area of your home, you don’t need much room to create an amazing work area! It’s so important for our mental health and our performance at work to be able to ‘shut off’ and separate our work lives from our home lives as much we can. So, read on to get some inspiration on home office design trends and home office design ideas for your working from home space! Your home office design No spare room? No problem! When planning your workspace, keep in mind that you don’t have to have an entire room in your home dedicated to being a home office. If your work requires a desk and a computer, there may be plenty of other spots in your house that will work just fine. You can create the same beautiful home office design you choose in any nook and cranny of your home, such as a corner of the living room, a nook under the stairs, an unused hallway space or even at a specific corner of the dining table! Sort your storage When it comes to beautiful home office design, it’s important to figure out how much storage space you’ll need before you start to plan your space. Think about how much desk space you’ll need for a laptop, monitor, mousepad, paperwork, and ornaments, and also consider where bulkier items like your printer, scanner, and files may go. Thankfully there are plenty of sleek and stylish storage solutions available today, and you’ll be able to find one that matches perfectly with your chosen home office design. Floating shelves are a fantastic way to store files and textbooks, and under-desk storage compartments are great for hiding away the bits and pieces you’ll need access to quickly throughout the day. You may even like to go all out and get the look of custom cabinets using flat packs. Frame with skirting boards and crown moulding at bottom and top, add custom handles and add wallpaper on the back wall, you can take your storage design to the next level. Getting creative with small spaces Wainscoting, skirting boards and wallpapers Wainscoting is a fantastic way to easily add a sense of elegance to your home office design, as well as segmenting it from the rest of your home. Wainscoting is created using several different timber products and has a myriad of style options available, including raised, shadow box and beaded style wainscoting. Office wainscoting can enhance your space dramatically and really bring your office interior design together, lending perfectly to modern spaces as well as traditional Edwardian, Georgian or French styles. Timber mouldings are another great method for adding a sense of interest and luxury to your home office design. They’re the perfect way to add a touch of class to your home office design that will have you feeling ready to sit down and get to business each morning. Timber mouldings profiles for offices can include decorative skirting boards, curved architraves, cornice mouldings, timber wall panelling or VJ boards (for a stunning Hamptons look) or Dado rails (also known as chair rails). Tall, angular skirting boards are also a great option for creative art deco home office designs if that’s your preferred style. Finding the perfect colour scheme Having the right colour palette in your office interior design will help to separate the space from the rest of your home and provide a subtle barrier between your work and home life. The possibilities are endless when it comes to colour, so check out these beautiful home office designs we’ve worked on to get inspired: Roxy Jacenko’s Monochrome Mansion Baby blue and timber in the Carrington House Renovation The sweet and pink Three Birds Office HQ renovation This gorgeous Parisian Chic home with neutral accents Patterns and textures in this New Hamptons style home Deep-toned wood accents in a luxury Harbourside Retreat One of the most popular home office design trends is to have a neutral space of a ‘blank canvas’ style and then make it interesting and inspiring with pops of colour in a scheme you love. You could have a predominately white space with a deep-oak desk and a colourful piece of art, or a colourful feature wall to complement neutral furniture and accessories. Choosing the right furniture The right furniture can really take your home office design to the next level, and allow you to dive into the particular style that makes you feel great while you’re working. You might love a dark and oaky feel for your home office space, or you may prefer lighter colours like timber and white-washed drawers for your files and stationery. You can get creative with floating desks and shelves, or add pops of colour with gorgeous art that makes your heart (and brain) sing. Depending on how much space you’ve got, you could also add a ‘thinking nook’ consisting of a cosy armchair in a bright colour, or have a corner desk custom-made to suit your space. The options are limitless! From a practical point of view, the best things to invest in are a high-quality ergonomic chair that’s going to support your spine and encourage you to maintain good posture throughout the day. In addition to this, make sure your desk is at least 600mm in depth so your computer screen isn’t sitting too close to your face and straining your eyes. Connecting to nature while you’re at work Our bodies are designed to benefit from being exposed to nature every day, and we all know there’s a myriad of benefits to getting outside and ensuring you get your daily dose of vitamin D. Of course, this isn’t always possible when most of us are at our desks every day, but there are many ways you can bring nature into your beautiful home office design. Indoor plants have absolutely taken off in the last few years, and bringing greenery into your home office can add a fresh, homely feel to the space. Some indoor plants we love are: Devil’s Ivy Peace Lilies Fiddle Leaf Figs Giant Monsteras Succulents like Cacti Dracaena Aloe Vera Take a trip to your local nursery and discuss with the staff the type of space you have and how much love, time and attention you’re willing (or able) to give your plant. They’ll be able to recommend the best indoor plant for you and provide recommendations on how to best care for it. Lighting for your office interior design For a home office design that’s best for your health, you’ll want to make sure you avoid excessive glare from the blue light of your computer. Staring at a screen for hours in a dark space that doesn’t get much light can damage our eyes and disrupt our Circadian rhythms, making it difficult to get to sleep (and stay asleep). Make sure you let as much natural light as possible into your home office, or choose a place in your home to set up your workspace that gets a lot of natural light during the day. If you’re working late, choose a soft lighting scheme of independent lamps and desk lamps with warm lighting to ensure it’s easy to ‘switch off’ when you’re done. There are also a number of apps you can install on your devices that limit the blue light refraction from your screen and will help your eyes to relax when the day gets later. If the only space you have available for your home office doesn’t get a lot of natural light, consider LED lighting which can help you to concentrate. Designing spaces that inspire It’s easy to have every day feel like Groundhog Day when working from home, but having a beautiful home office design is one way to inspire, motivate and empower yourself to always perform your best at work. There are many quick and easy updates you can make to your existing home office design, or, if you’re starting from scratch, your furniture, colour, lighting and positioning choices will have a really big impact on the feel of your space. So get creative and create a home office space that inspires you! If you’re looking to do a total makeover of your home office space, then skirting boards, architraves, wall panelling and wainscoting are an ideal addition for creating a space that feels refined, well put-together and a little luxurious. Intrim is an award-winning Australian owned and run company, celebrating over 25 years of helping people to create spectacular interiors. Contact us today for a free quote for refreshing your home office space!