Home offices are becoming the new norm.
Homes are changing.
With so many people making the shift to working remotely, either part-time or full-time, homes are now where we are expected to focus, concentrate, and be productive, no matter what is going on in the background.
As a result, many people are setting up at-home workspaces and looking for home office decor ideas that will let them do all the things they used to do in the office while surrounded by all of the comforts (and distractions) of home.
If you can relate, and you find yourself wondering how to go about creating a productive workspace at home, we have some ideas to share with you.
As a full-service mortgage broker with over 20 years of serving homeowners, we’ve learned a thing or two about homes and how to adapt them to the people who live in them. So we’ve collected our top tips on designing your home office for minimum distraction and maximum productivity.
1. Choose a Spot with Plenty of Natural Light
Studies have shown that daylight is not only a mood booster, it’s also a productivity booster. It’s also the number one office perk that employees look for in a traditional office.
So when you set up your home office, it makes sense to capitalize on the power of solar energy to energize and uplift you by choosing the sunniest spot in your home. A room that has a large window is an ideal choice—just make sure that you have dark curtains or blinds you can close when the sun gets too bright and too hot for comfort.
If you don’t have the space to devote an entire room to permanent in-home office space, you could also consider setting up a makeshift office in a bright corner of your living room or dining room. A popular home office interior design idea is to partition the space with a folding screen that gives you some much-needed privacy and a clear division between workspace and home space.
2. Use Soundproofing to Create a Quiet Oasis
Noise from children, dogs, delivery people, neighbors, and local wildlife are all part of the “symphony of sound” that can ruin the peace and quiet of a home office. The good news is, you don’t have to live with a constant stream of racket and you also don’t have to go to the trouble of installing professional soundproofing.
There are plenty of simple ways to reduce noise and create a peaceful and productive home office, such as:
· Choose a room with a door that closes fully
· Use area rugs and soft furniture to cushion and absorb sounds
· Hang tapestries and large pieces of wall art
· Position a “door snake” at the base of the door
· Apply insulating tape around the window frames
· Get a white noise machine
3. Make Sure You’re Wired and Ready to Go
A spotty internet connection is a surefire way to interrupt your workflow and zap your productivity. Set yourself up for success by making sure your Wi-Fi is strong enough to reach your in-home office space. This is especially important if you’ve chosen to locate your office in your backyard or garden.
If you find that your internet connection isn’t as strong or reliable as you need it to be, you can improve it with a Wi-Fi signal booster or get a dedicated router for your office.
4. Use Aromatherapy to Boost Your Focus
The best interior design office space ideas are about more than just furniture and objects; they’re about creating an entire environment that promotes focus and concentration. This is why scent is also an important element to consider when creating a productive workspace at home.
Certain scents, such as lemon, lavender, and peppermint, are proven to enhance focus and productivity. So it’s worthwhile to invest in an essential oil diffuser that releases a steady stream of scents that will fill your home office throughout the day and help you stay motivated and on task.
5. Bring in Some Color and Life with a Desk Plant
Another excellent way to upgrade the look and feel of your home office for maximum productivity is with plants. Just like with aromatherapy scents, the mere presence of a plant contributes to an atmosphere that’s vibrant, inspiring, and pulsing with life—just the kind of setting you need to be creative and focused.
There is also a practical reason to keep a plant close by they give your eyes a much-needed rest from staring at your screen. Place one within your eye line, where you can easily use it when applying the 20-20 rule for screen time, which recommends taking a break from your screen every 20 minutes and looking at something else for 20 seconds.
Key Takeaways on How to Design In-Home Office Spaces
Your home is your castle, and for many of us, it’s now our office, too. With a little bit of thought, it’s easy to make the transition to working from home a seamless one. In a well-designed home office, you can actually be more productive than you were at your company’s office space, whether you were in a cubicle or a corner office.
Studies have shown that daylight is not only a mood booster, it’s also a productivity booster. It’s also the number one office perk that employees look for in a traditional office.
So when you set up your home office, it makes sense to capitalize on the power of solar energy to energize and uplift you by choosing the sunniest spot in your home. A room that has a large window is an ideal choice—just make sure that you have dark curtains or blinds you can close when the sun gets too bright and too hot for comfort.
If you don’t have the space to devote an entire room to permanent in-home office space, you could also consider setting up a makeshift office in a bright corner of your living room or dining room. A popular home office interior design idea is to partition the space with a folding screen that gives you some much-needed privacy and a clear division between workspace and home space.
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