How To Customize Your Work Space For Your Home Office

Creating a home office requires a profound thought and careful consideration. While not everyone will need an office in the traditional sense, you have to establish a practical workspace that will inspire comfort, efficiency, and productivity.

Here are the five actionable home office design ideas on how to customize your work space for your home office.

Choose A Suitable Home Office Location

Before carving out a space for your home office, ask yourself if it will suit the kind of job that you do.

Are you a freelance photographer? Then one of your darkrooms would be the ideal workspace. Do you run an automotive paint business? The garage or a freestanding shop out back would be perfect. Are you operating a dental practice from home? A private space with ample seating is a must.

Again, as a professional, you need a dedicated home office that is tucked away from your household distractions. There shouldn’t be kids, pets, TV noises around that could hurt your productivity.

Start Out Clutter-Free. Give It A Fresh Life

Home office design projects end up much better if you start with a clean slate and no clutter. So start by purging any knick-knacks that aren’t essential from the room.

Once the space is as tidy as possible, paint the walls a bold, sophisticated color to give it a fresh look and feel. The ideal color combo is one that gets your work motor humming.

For most people, bright green and gold is a color combo to covet. Others prefer sea foam blue or botanical green hues to boot their oomph.

Furnish Your Home Office

Now that the home office is ready, it’s time to fill it with the tools and resources necessary for your business. It’s best to start with larger furniture pieces like desks and chairs so you still have ample floor space to move around. Be sure to dust and polish your furniture as you set up your office.

Next, bring in your desktop, printer, and other office equipment and put it where it needs to go. Before connecting everything, check to see if something needs to be cleaned or serviced. Also check to ensure all cords are long enough to reach your power outlets.

Complete your home office set-up by bringing in smaller items. Think lamps, organizers, and similar office items. If needed, dust each item as you place it in the room. You can get more home office ideas and inspiration from already furnished homes and combine different designs to make your area look great. 

Be Mindful Of Office Lighting

It’s easy to underestimate the effect of lighting on your motivation to work. You want adequate light to illuminate your work environment so you can easily see what you’re working on.

Natural light diffused with lampshades or curtains to soften harsh light is quite pleasant. Likewise, overhead ceiling light and open-top floor lamps positioned at the corners of your room can bring in good general lighting.

Just be careful not to set a lamp too close to a monitor screen or in your direct field of vision. Doing so leaves you with competing light sources and possible glare.

If possible, place desk lamps in a way that will not create glare on the monitor when the sun shines. Also, ensure the monitor’s brightness is neither too dim nor too bright.

As a general rule of thumb, adjust the monitor’s lighting intensity so it’s just a little brighter than the ambient lighting in the room. That should be sufficient to set the mood and see things without straining your eyes.

Add Storage And Shelving

Lack of proper storage can lead to clutter and poor productivity when working from home. Make sure to put up enough shelving, filling cabinets or cupboards for storing your tools of work.

Consider the flow of your work when setting up your storage facilities. What comes in, where does it stay when being worked on, and what is its destination once it is completed?

Naturally, your current task should stay right on your desk. Place what comes next in the filling cabinet within your arm’s reach. A nearby shelf should hold your reference materials—reference books, use manuals, catalogs, etc.

Conclusion

Ultimately, there is no shortage of creative home office design ideas to customize and improve your remote work environment. Open up your mind to new ideas and plans and make changes where necessary.

Remember, even if your current home office setup is exemplary, your excitement is likely to wane over time. Tapping into new ideas on an ongoing basis can help you give your home office a regular makeover and revive your excitement.