Decorating a Home Office For Productivity
With more and more people working from home, it’s essential to have a good home office that feels comfortable, helps you to be productive and suits your style. Wood Furniture Store has lots of tips on decorating a home office for productivity and comfort.
Colour scheme
Colour psychology might sound ‘wishy-washy’, but it’s a well-studied science that shows how colours affect our behaviour.
It suggests certain colours are better for productivity. For example, brighter, more saturated colours are more stimulating than less saturated colours. Blue is the colour that most affects the mind, while yellow affects the emotions. Green, on the other hand, makes things feel more balanced, calm and in control. Mixing colours results in a colour that has both effects.
Think about the kind of work you do. If your work is very mathematical, you might opt for more blue colours. If it’s extremely creative, perhaps yellows and greens. Maybe your work is a mixture of analytical thought and creative process and would benefit from purples.
A primarily white room could be decorated with cushions, curtains or rugs in bright, saturated colours to stimulate your brain.
Decide what ‘type’ of colour you want to go with (eg, mind, emotions, a mixture), then choose the precise colour scheme based on what most appeals to you!
Image: shakemyblog.fr
Recreate the above look with this modern wooden sideboard and bright upholstered chair.
Choosing Furniture
If you’re creating a home office, you’ll need furniture. New furniture allows you to explore a new style and create the look you want. You’ll intuitively know what items are vital: a desk, a chair and a lamp are good places to start! You might also want some storage space such as shelves or drawers, and perhaps a more comfortable chair where you can take breaks.
Image from devongraceinteriors.com
Recreate the look:
Desks
Picking the right desk is essential. It’s important that it’s comfortable to work on and suits the style of your room. Consider how much space you need for your work and how it’s going to fit into the space you have.
Corner desks can be a great option to maximise space. Wooden Scandinavian style furniture can also be an excellent choice as it has a contemporary aesthetic that looks fantastic in most interiors, no matter the overall style.
Maximise vertical space
Even small rooms can be transformed into effective home offices. The trick is to maximise vertical space, making use of storage such as tall shelves or cupboards. If you’re really tight on space, look out for a slim, but tall bookcase which will help to keep floor space clear while still providing room for storing books, paperwork and decorations.
Alternatively, choose furniture that combines drawers and shelves to diversify the type of storage space you have available.
You could try:
Chairs
Your office chair is one of the most important aspects of the room’s furniture. It needs to be supportive and comfortable so you can work without getting aches and pains!
Make sure the chair isn’t too low but allows you to sit at a good height at your desk. It needs to have a tall and supportive back, as well as feeling comfortable.
Decor and finishing touches
The finishing touches which make a room feel like your own are an important part of being productive. If a room feels unfinished, it’s more likely to distract you from work.
Lighting
Good lighting cannot be underestimated. Place your desk in a position where you can make the most of natural lighting from a window. Consider adding a mirror on a wall opposite or beside the window to reflect sunlight and make the whole room brighter.
Choose bright, white bulbs for your main lighting, rather than yellow, so on more gloomy days or in the evenings, you don’t strain your eyes when concentrating on work.
Rugs
A rug can round out the look of an office space, making it cosier or bringing out a certain colour. Choose a size that fills the room, or alternatively draws the eye to important aspects, such as the desk, by matching the size of that item.
Image via Houzz
Extra Tips for Maximising Productivity
Once your office is all set up, there are a few extra ways you can help to boost productivity.
Keep it Tidy and Organised
“Tidy desk, tidy mind” is a well known saying, and there’s a lot of truth to it. A cluttered home office can be a big distraction for many reasons. For those that love organising, you’ll want to tidy it rather than work. For those who don’t mind the clutter, the various items and things around the room can be a distraction in themselves.
Use bookcases, drawers and cupboards to store your items. The more organised you can be, the easier it will make finding things when you need them!
Make it Feel Like Yours
A home office is meant to be an extension of your home. Make it feel like it by choosing a style that works for you, filling it with your favourite photos or items and personalising it so it’s a space you can enjoy.
