Working from home can be a challenge so ensuring you have a functional work space for your  home office goes a long way towards increasing productivity and avoiding distractions.

Whether you work from home full-time like me,  split your time between the office and home, or simply need a space for personal admin, focus on creating a space that’s functional yet inviting.

Design a home office that works for you

Creating an effective home office starts with identifying the right room or space in your house.

While most of us dream of a large custom designed office to work from in, don’t be overly concerned with the size of your space. Instead focus more on working with what you have.  That may be converting a spare room into a home office, or utilising a nook in your living room.

One day we plan on building a studio office in our backyard to run my business from, but for now, it’s a case of working with what we have. In our small home that meant converting an oversized bedroom into a multi-purpose room.

Personally for me to be productive, I need a light, calming space, one free of distractions to maximise inspiration and creative thinking. I gave the once dark bedroom a mini makeover by painting the walls in a fresh, crisp white colour – Dulux Okarito. 

Choosing the right desk is about identifying how much space you need to work from. I don’t need a large desktop, prefering one that is simple in design.   I sourced this one from Freedom Furniture for $250.00, keeping only my essential items on display.

I find I get bored with interiors easily and like to keep the space fresh by changing art and décor around me.  Surround yourself with things you love, place a rug under your feet for the cooler months and add life to your office with plants.

Don’t forget about creating a relaxing space in your home office too, which can be as simple as adding an arcmchair. I like to have somewhere comfy to sit when I’m reviewing documents. Relocating my hanging chair from ico traders to sit in the window near my desk gives me the chance to get away from the desk, while still completing work.

Lighting

Good natural lighting is important. A well lit space not only helps lift your mood but also assists productivity. When converting the bedroom I reorientated the layout to place my desk near a large window.

Additionally, look to add a desk lamp for late afternoon and evening work as overhead lights won’t suffice.

Organisational solutions

There’s nothing like sitting down to an organised desk to jump start your day.

A clean and tidy desk allows you to focus on the task at hand and keep your mind clear.

Too often our home office becomes a dumping space with clutter piling up. Create effective organisation and storage solutions while maximising the desk area.  I like a clear and tidy desktop so I utilise a locker cabinet underneath my desk to store and access files I regularly need.

For all remaining paper work or receipts, I file and archive these to well organised digital folders with back ups to the cloud.

To keep clutter at bay, get into the habit of once a week clean out – sorting through the clutter.  I do this each Friday so when the new week rolls around on Monday I can get stuck into my work and not be distracted by mess.