ForLook Interior Design

In the previous article we discussed how working from home can affect our lives. This article is about designing the right home office.

Before you get out your decor tools or just allocate a corner in your bedroom for a desk - you should really investigate the way you live and the way you work.  Analyse your habits, your organisation methods and the spatial requirements your job needs. You might think you only need space for a laptop - but even so you’ll still need gadgets and equipment, not to mention storage for folders and files. As we discussed before, the concept of the paperless office is still just a dream - bills, letters, agreements etc are still in paper form and they will pile up sooner or later. So it’s best to think ahead and allow plenty of real and potential storage for these.

Then consider a suitable area in your home to work from. You’ll work far more efficiently if you physically separate your work from your home life so, if possible, allocate an entire room for an office. If space is limited, perhaps you could convert your garage, cellar or attic to an office? If you have a garden, consider building an outside office - a large shed, a summer house or similar wooden structure would be ideal. If none of these is a possibility - try to use dead spaces such as hallways, areas under a staircase, awkward corners and so on. You need to design such areas very carefully - they need to be sufficiently big and efficiently organised. Built-in systems are ideal to hide computer peripherals and shelves for books and folders - don’t forget to allow space for a big enough work surface and a memo-board. Sliding and/or folding doors can effectively screen these spaces off.  Alternatively consider a folding-out console table or cabinet that acts as a computer station (though you’ll still need space for shelves and desk space!)

Although technology now provides wireless communication - gadgets and computer equipment require more and more wires. Modern offices look like a jungle of wires. I think this looks appalling, so we, at ForLook, tend to design offices where the wires are hidden in a cabinet or a channel below. Here is a photo of a work-station we recently designed:

This workstation was actually built from cheap Ikea kitchen units & CD towers, which goes to show that an efficient home office environment doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You could utilise other types of cabinets or old tables & desks.

 Note: if you put a computer into a cabinet, you’ll need to provide good ventilation!

When it comes to decorating your office, don’t go wild. To think clearly and work well, you need a natural & neutral background. Choose off-white and soothing colours such as sage green, pale blue, gray or taupe.

If you need to sit a lot, invest in a comfortable chair. People don’t consider their desk space important, but if you type or mouse-click a lot, it’s better for you to rest your elbow on the work surface.  You also need space to put documents books etc next to you - remember to allow room for these.

The most important thing is to zone your working area efficiently - have essential items nearby and store rarely used or old files in less convenient areas. Make sure your gadgets can easily be plugged in and out of your computer and those you use regularly are in easy reach.