The Sunday Mail
IT is worth putting some work into decorating your home office. To help you get started, we have some tips for you below.
It is no secret that home offices can get messy, and fast, for that matter. To keep the piles at bay, it is tempting to stock up on organisational bins, drawers et cetera. There are about a million great options on the market to help you keep your home office in top shape. The only problem is that it is all too easy to bring a bunch of them home without actually implementing them.
Before you start stocking up on drawer organisers and filing cabinets, put some thought into how you actually organise the stuff.
What works well for you in the rest of your house? If you are already in the habit of scanning your receipts and keeping things digitally, why buy a filing cabinet for your home office? If you have a single favourite pen you always use, why buy a pen cup?
You have the flexibility of creating your own workspace.
Do it in a way that will work for you in the long term. Remember, decorating a home office in a way that does not feel too sterile is much easier when you have avoided accumulating piles of bins, folders and organisers.
Elevate your thinking
Even the smallest home office can be fully stocked with great decor and organisation solutions. The trick is to think up. Maximise your vertical square footage by hanging art you love, adding floating shelves or installing cabinets up the wall. The height of your wall is an asset when decorating a home office.
Do not be afraid of getting playful with what you hang. Open cabinets could be equal parts practical and fun. Fill them with useful bins alongside colourful books or meaningful trinkets.
Never forget that your home office is just that — yours. You can use the entire height of the wall as your canvas for whatever will inspire you and drive your productivity.
Cut cord clutter
In our digital age, one of the absolute worst things about offices is all of the tech clutter that accumulates. You probably need your computer and printer, but that does not mean you need to stare at their tangle of cables all day. Take some steps to keep your home office free of cord clutter.
Cut a hole in the back of an attractive box. Your router and other necessary tech stuff can be located there, with cords fed out through the back. Mount a power strip underneath or at the back of your desk. Use cable ties and command hooks to wrangle any cords that get plugged into that power strip and feed them along the back of furniture, where they are out of sight. You will be amazed at the way your office will feel clean and bright after simply removing the eyesore of cords.
Let there be light
Offices are notorious for their stark lighting — specifically, fluorescents. Why do office designers often opt for sterile, cold lighting that makes you feel like you are under a microscope? Because they know one basic work principle: Sufficient lighting makes work easier. We already strain our eyes staring at screens most of the day. Do not make it worse by limiting lighting in your home office. Use natural light as much as possible, but make sure you supplement where it falls short. A well-lit office is a happy, productive one.
Make yourself at home
Your office is an extension of your house or apartment. It should look and feel like one. Decorate it with the same themes you have used in your house and incorporate items you love. Nothing is off limits. If you are a plant lover, blanket your home office in green.
If hygge is your vibe, add a plush rug and a cosy throw to your office chair. Do not limit yourself just because this is a workspace. You will be more productive in a room that brings you joy, so why not put some extra care into creating an office that feels like home? — freshome
