Designing for Productivity: Unleash the Power of Your Remote Workspace
In the post-pandemic era, working from home is more common than ever. At Ruffell and Brown, we can help create the perfect home office design for any space. From modernizing your home office to creating a brand new office from scratch, our experts can help you determine which home office designs best suit your needs. Whether you have the luxury of a free spare room or just a tiny nook to work with, let us show you how to design a home office in any sized space.
Come along as we delve into the details of modern home office design. These eight office design ideas will help you transform your unused closet, garage or spare room into a productive office that doesn’t skimp on personal style. Try one idea or try them all. The possibilities are endless!
1. Optimizing Space: Maximize Function Without Compromising Style
Don’t have the square footage for a spacious home office? No problem. Whether you enjoy comfy chairs and a couch or prefer a simple desk and office chair set-up, there’s a small home office design idea that will work for you. Here are a couple of office desk layouts to consider.
- L-shaped desk configuration – Ideal for smaller home offices, adding a large worktop area without taking up too much floor space.
- Built-in desk – Ideal for those tricky, hard to accommodate spaces. Optimize awkward and uneven walls and provide extra storage with a customized built-in.
Another consideration when it comes to office configuration is energy flow. To create a Feng Shui office space, place your desk in a power position where you can view those entering.
2. Lighting: From Sun-Drenched to Windowless
Both ambient and task lighting are crucial in a home office. While a bright window flooding your room with natural light will provide beneficial serotonin throughout your workday, managing the glare on your computer screen could be challenging. Ruffell and Brown’s beautiful custom shades and blinds allow the sun in while you think and block out any extra light and glare while you type.
Illuminate your surroundings with flair using task lighting options like antique floor lamps, stylish desk lights, or a captivating hanging chandelier. In contrast, discreet LED strip lighting under shelves might appeal to a minimalist design.
3. Add A Personal Touch: Trinkets, Tchotchkes And Other Touchstones
A home office should reflect your unique personality and inspire you. Adding postcards from places you’ve travelled, your award certificates and diplomas, or maybe some memory-filled mementos to your walls and shelves are a few ways to bring your personality into a space.
Cute office furniture, like an upholstered or rattan chair or charming coat rack, adds extra function and personality.
4. Plants: Oxygenate Your Space And Your Mind
A beautiful plant will elevate your office design while purifying the air. But did you know productivity can increase by fifteen percent when green plants are in view while working?
Some of the best air-purifying house plants include:
- Aloe Vera (direct light)
- Queen Fern (indirect/direct light)
- Spider Plant (indirect light)
- Snake Plant (indirect light)
- English Ivy (indirect light)
These plants will help remove toxins and odours from your home office and make it a place you enjoy spending time.
5. Storage: Customized Shelves and Cabinets
Home office design layout is about more than just desk placement. Ruffell and Brown’s customized filing systems are excellent ways to tuck away all your office supplies and organize your workspace. After all, a clutter-free space increases productivity.
Bookcases can pull double-duty as screens or walls to minimize distractions, while peg and cork boards can help you stay on task.
6. Treadmills: For Those That Think Better On The Go
It’s well known that sitting at a desk for many hours each day is not optimal for our health and wellness. Adding an under-the-desk treadmill could improve your concentration, allow you to get your steps in and boost your mood while working from home.
7. Minimize Distractions: Strategies to Help You Focus
The average employee is interrupted 50-60 times per day. Having a remote home office helps to reduce interruptions, but distractions still abound at home—pets, children and domestic chores, to name a few.
It takes an average of twenty-three minutes to get back into a flow state after switching tasks.
To increase productivity, consider incorporating simple strategies that minimize distractions in these situations.
- Reduce Ambient Noise – Are you making the most of a busy space? You may have an office nook set up in a high-traffic kitchen. Wearing headphones can signal to your family that you are working and don’t want to be disturbed. Add a rug, wall hangings or layered curtains to help quieten an office space.
- Reduce Visual Distractions – Movement in your periphery reduces productivity. While placing your desk at your window may seem idyllic, adding a window covering will minimize distraction.
8. Walls and Colour: How Pops of Colour Effect Mood and Productivity
Adding a pop of colour with a splash of paint is one of the easiest and most economical ways to transform a space. Keep it simple and pick a colour you love, or go ahead and get strategic about your colour choice. Anything goes! A trendy paint colour like mint green adds the right amount of splash for a modern home office design aesthetic, or for a bright, clean, minimalist look, stick with a trusty white.
If it’s a certain mood you’re after, a punch of warm, welcoming citrus on a blank wall can generate excitement and inspire creativity. Cool blue colours will bring a sense of calm to a space, reducing stress and improving focus. Warm gray walls can evoke balance and clarity, while browns bring comfort and grounding.
Tip: Bright yellow, pink, and turquoise may distract in large quantities.
Ruffell and Brown – Bring Your Home Office Design To Life
Ruffell and Brown can help make your home office design ideas a reality. Our talented designers excel at transforming underutilized spaces into functional masterpieces. If you have a closet, garage or nook collecting dust, let us guide you in transforming it into the office you’ve been dreaming of.
Consult with one of our specialists today to elevate the style of your current home office or customize a brand-new workspace.
Our dedicated interior designers have provided exceptional customer service on Vancouver Island since 1987. Visit one of our Victoria, Nanaimo or Sidney showrooms and discover why Ruffell and Brown is the right choice for your home office design needs.
