Interior design tips for home office

Although lockdown may be slowly coming to an end in the UK, working from home is likely to be a regular part of life for many over the coming months and into the future.

Many employees have expressed a preference for working from their home office, or would like to implement flexible home office days going forward. This, combined with the benefits for employers of acquiring a smaller office space for their teams, is likely to lead to some degree of long-term home office for employees. And if you are going to be working from home over the long-term, it is well worth investing in interior design through great furniture, storage and decor to make it as comfortable and welcoming as possible.

Start small

Whether you have an entire room dedicated to your home office or simply a desk in the corner of the living room, implementing some interior design ideas can help elevate your workspace and make it a great place for focus and productivity. A calm mind starts with a tidy desk, so investing in some office storage is a great place to start when it comes to staying organised. One of the best ways to keep your workspace tidy is to declutter your desk, and using storage solutions such as drawers, shelves, or baskets is a great way to ensure it stays that way.

Define your work space

Once you have the basics covered, that is, comfortable furniture and effective storage, using self-adhesive wallpaper to paste wallpaper onto the wall of your office is a great way to add colour, character and pattern to your office. If you are working from the living room or a bedroom, sectioning off one area of the wall is also an interior design technique to divide and allocate activities to dedicated spaces. This can be achieved with a signature wall for example, or adding wallpaper just in the area around your desk. Other design features to consider adding to your home office include the following:

• Plants, which add a touch of nature to your workspace
• A decent desk lamp, especially if you work in the evenings
• A desk near or beside a window for natural daylight
• A rug or mat in your work area to define the space around your desk
• A standing desk if you suffer from back pain from excessive sitting
• Accessories such as a chair cushion and framed prints, which add pops of colour and character

Perfect WFH space

Once your work space is set up and decorated nicely, you may wish to go a step further in designing the perfect home office space by adding some smart technology, investing in devices like a printer, additional monitors, noise cancelling headphones, or by perhaps adding a coffee machine (for the hardcore coffee lovers).

In order to transform a space from something plain and simple, to a space that looks like it’s been designed by a professional, try out MDF cut to size. This type of material is highly versatile for providing wall panelling, a design feature that’s extremely popular right now. It’ll also make your home office space look and feel like a work environment.

It’s a great way to make a space look incredible without having to spend an absolute fortune.

No matter how you set up or decorate your office, however, it’s always good to keep some day-to-day basics in mind to ensure you stay comfortable and focused from dawn to dusk. For example, keep a bottle of water on your desk to ensure you stay hydrated during long working hours, and be sure to get regular movement in throughout the day. Take a walk on your coffee break or at lunchtime, or implement ‘walking meetings’ on the phone if possible. Small daily habits like these will have a significant impact on your focus and productivity levels. Apart from that, a well-designed, beautifully-decorated office will provide an organised, comfortable and welcoming place to work from and is worth the investment for those who will continue to work from home over the long term.