Is your home office starting to look a little tired? When quarantine orders started, many of us considered working from home to be a welcome surprise. After nearly half a year working from home, a home office makeover could be just what you need to reinvigorate your home and re-establish your work-life balance.
Keeping your workspace fresh, organised and welcoming is vital to keeping you creative, energized and productive. Of course that is much easier to maintain when that space is in a separate office! When working from home, you may have to work a bit harder to keep your home office in tip-top shape.
Here are our 4 tips to help you turn your tired home office into a more beautiful and functional space.
A fresh coat of paint
What do you find the most displeasing about your old office? For most people, the dull and uninviting cubicle was the main reason they got discouraged with their jobs. Working from home allows you to flex your creativity and create a space that reflects your personality – and helps you stay productive all day!
The fastest way to personalise your space is to change up the colour and layout of the room. You don’t have to repaint the whole room, you can always choose a feature wall, add an accent colour to a door, or even swap out your office chair for a more vibrant design.
Update the layout
With months of time spent working from home, you likely know your home office inside and out. Use that knowledge to update the layout of your space in fun and creative ways. You don’t have to have your desk shoved up against the wall, instead try to orient your setup to give you an inspiring view (whether it’s through a window or just out into the rest of your house).
A couple new trimmings can also go a long way. Updating things like carpets, rugs and window dressings can refresh a room instantly, and introduce much more visual appeal than simply a blank wall!
Indoor Plants
Nothing makes a space feel more alive than introducing some actual living things! Indoor plants add a great splash of colour to your home office while also helping to keep your air fresh. Plus, if you choose the right plants, they can make your home smell amazing.
Plants in the workplace make for fantastic stress relief and provide a boost to your productivity. If you’re not naturally green-fingered, pick easy-to-care house plants such as succulents, cacti and palms.
Don’t forget the basics
Life is too short to sit in an uncomfortable chair, so make sure you keep your basic office setup updated regularly. A good chair, as much natural light as possible, and plenty of storage space can make all the difference when it comes to making your home office feel energized.
- Choose your chair
Avoid using a back-breaking basic kitchen chair for your office chair. Nothing will kill your productivity faster than a chair thats more akin to a torture device! There’s no need to go overboard, but investing in an office chair you can sit in all day without pain is worth its weight in gold!
- Light your space
Natural light is key to a productive workspace. Not only does it wake you up and give you a big dose of vitamin D, but it also helps you keep track of time and stay on task longer. Of course, not every home office has lots of big windows, so supplement natural sources with a mix of artificial sources like overhead lights and desk lamps.
- Storage, storage and more storage
You can never have enough storage space in your home office. A cluttered space means spending more time trying to find important documents and meeting notes than actually following up with clients! Shelves, cupboards, baskets, boxes and colourful binders keep your office organized and your brain free to focus on work.
