Bring inspiration into your Home Office

With increasingly more people working from home these days, home offices have become an essential. Sometimes, the guest room may be transformed into a home office, however if there is no spare room, a section of a large unused space can be transformed into a corner office. Some people prefer to have a home office out of convenience so they can continue working at home after the usual office hours. Others use their homes as a base when starting a business so for professionalism and organization they set aside a room or two specifically for this purpose. Home offices are both functional and efficient. They will allow you to work more proficiently because you will be more organized and won’t run the risk of moving papers off the dining table each time it’s needed. Neither will you not be frantically searching for an important document because you left it in the living room and it got moved or accidently thrown away by a family member! Home offices also help one to keep things together rather than scattered throughout the house. Setting the right mood is paramount in any office design. When designing a home office, you must aim at creating an appropriate working environment that will appeal to your clients by always inviting them in, while sustaining your enthusiasm to work. This calls for the consideration of several aspects of design and décor such as lighting, furniture location, colour use, and so on. The last thing you want is to feel bored while you work. To avoid this, flood your home office with inspiration and stay motivated. Having established the importance of setting the right mood in a home office, or any office for that matter, the question that remains to be answered is how does one do this? Stimulate a working environment with colour Choose colours that reflect your personality and what you know will work best for you. Adding lively paint color will bring some energy into the room, while a calm colour will sedate it and affect you similarly. Avoid the temptation of using colours simply because they are your favourite. Instead, think about the effect those different colors might have on your working environment and consequently you. Blue is a great colour for a home office, it has a relaxing effect on people and encourages productivity. Despite this, be mindful that too much of it can make any room feel “cold”. Brown is a decent colour to use. It exudes comfort, coziness and luxury. However, it is best suited on furniture, because when used to paint walls, it can make the room feel smaller, cramped and dark. Again this could have a negative effect on your mood. It is best to avoid this. Yellow and orange are energetic colour options to use in a home office, but it is not advisable to use them extensively in a confined space since its overuse can actually be overwhelming and a put off; instead, use them sparingly. What colour then, is best for a home office? It really depends on what kind of business you are in. If your work often requires a bit more motivation, a white-based room with one bright purple or orange accent wall might be just what you need. If you have a business or job that entails you to be creative, reflect this into your office to define the space. You may wish to Stencil a pattern on a wall or paint on it spontaneous imagery. Working on a budget To be as cost effective as possible, make use of what you already have. For example, you can move furniture or accessories from one part of the house to your new home office. If you have some pictures stored away they could be inspiring and decorative on your home office walls, simply look around to see what you can use to piece together a new home office. Rather than buying a bookshelf, it may be less expensive to build in a series of bookshelves into the wall. You can fix and paint one to three horizontal slabs from one end of a wall to another, after which you can arrange books on. Alternatively, a series of rectangle or square open shelves can be built into the wall of one side on the room. Inside, arrange books and place a few corresponding décor items on top such as picture frames, clay objects, or reasonable sized light lamps. A home office should be a place where you can move around with ease. Therefore, if you have a small space to work within, ensure that the furniture isn’t too big or bulky for the room. If you decide to go furniture shopping ensure that you take your room measurements along with you. It would be cumbersome to purchase a desk only to find that it doesn’t comfortably fit in your space. Creating a home office work environment where you will thrive while projecting a professional image for your home business will serve you very well. So it’s worth turning your home office into a place that will have a positive effect on your mood and enable you to work more efficiently. ms.efuahagan@gmail.com The author specializes in Interiors and Fashion