The lockdown gave many of us a taste of working from home. However, even before that, there’s been a shift towards creating great at-home workspaces that are both functional and stylish.
Whether your home office is a dedicated room, or just a small nook or space in your lounge or living room, ensuring the area is tidy and well organised is crucial to ensuring you can work productively, and effective storage options are critical to a great set up.
Decide on your location
If you are fortunate enough to have a whole room dedicated to being an office, this step is easy. If not, you firstly need to decide on whether to build your office into a nook, existing cupboard, hallway space, or simply into an area of an existing room.
Once you know where your office is going, you need to figure out what will go in it. The essential elements are a work surface – either a permanent one, or something that can be folded away or concealed, shelving or drawers, and whether you will be able to close the area off with doors or cavity sliders.
Select base items carefully
Bulky furniture isn’t always the best use of space. So consider building your work surface and shelving in, rather than using a stand-alone piece. When adding other items, look for smart options like rolling or mobile storage units that can be concealed under desks or in cupboards, but rolled out to create more working surfaces as desired.
Open shelving is an excellent use of wall space and is ideal for holding books, magazines, files, and other items of office equipment. Plus, you can add objects like frames, vases, or prints to increase the attractiveness of your space or stylishly display stationery items.
When planning your office and the items in it, ergonomics are important, so consider the height of your work surface, how far you will need to stretch and move to reach things and ensure you have comfortable and supportive seating.
Conceal the clutter with creative storage
Once you have created your office base, you can add smaller storage solutions to help keep things tidy and organised, plus add elements of your own personal style.
Utilise wall space with pegboards, corkboards, whiteboards or blackboards which you can use for writing or sticking notes, or magnetic options that can double as a home for metal stationery items.
Pigeon hole display boxes can be mounted and used to store craft or stationery items, and rods or rails can be attached underneath shelves, or on the backs of doors to hang pen holders or filings baskets or to clip notes, documents or photos.
Storage boxes can be stacked on shelves, placed in cupboards or under desks, and are great for storing paperwork or items that are not used frequently like cords or equipment. Use labels to show the contents so you can find things quickly when you need them.
For desktop storage, choose from a variety of tiered shelving, boxes, magazine files, organisers, pen holders, and other organisers available in many different colours and styles – adding personality to your workspace while keeping your frequently used items tidy and organised.
By creating a great base, carefully choosing core items, then styling your workspace with creative storage solutions and pieces to suit your style, you can ensure an at-home workspace that is both functional and stylish. Whether building new and including a stand-alone office or converting a corner of an existing room into a new office space, take advantage of a free consultation with a design expert at Innovative Interiors, who will work with you to create the perfect workspace to suit your unique requirements.