Power Office Design-Modern Boss Home Sanctuary

The home office can be one of a few things; a torture chamber that illicits painful guttural feelings when you walk by it on the weekends, or a place where all your odd unwanted furniture has just happened to land and has been left to die. Or a sad setting for long arduous hours of staring at your computer, where you'll find any excuse to not be. Or, it can be a modern eclectic design sanctuary, a bright collection of your thoughts, passions and creativity, a place to let it all out and to make some serious life decisions. A proper home office is a meeting place for your colleagues and occasionally family and above all should be an organized, personalized productive environment. How does one differ from the other? One word, decor.

All offices no matter how big or small need the same elements: A work space, storage, seating, lighting and personality. Let's walk through each element and take a look at how impactful these few elements can be to your space and really make you enjoy going to work again.

For your viewing pleasure, how amazing is this home office JAC did for one of our desert home designs. I mean, talk about office heaven!

This may be totally obvious, but I'm going to say it anyways. You need, need, need some sort of desk top work space, whether that is a full on desk or just a clean ledge for your computer to live. It makes no difference, as long as it's available, it's clutter free and you can pull a chair up to it and sit up straight like a boss. for example, you can skip a so called 'office desk" and go for a clean, stream lined table instead, as most files are stored digitally now anyway.

Buy a proper desk chair, because goodness, you're doing a lot of sitting while you're taking over the world, one email at a time, and that chair needs to be supportive as well as good looking. Not to mention your power desk will look pretty silly without a chair behind it.

Calling all New Yorkers (and anyone who lives in a teeny, tiny apartment)—you probably don't have room for a formal office, so you need to get creative. Opt for small furniture, and try putting your desk up against a window in your bedroom. That way, it's out of sight from your living room, and you at least have a view to look at to separate it from your sleeping area.

Storage! If you can swing it, built in book cases are invaluable, but you can also pull off the same polished look and function with a free standing modular shelving unit or a really pretty console. You need a place to display you accolades, favorite books, family photos, favorite art pieces, store your printer and files. Organization will keep your mind together and your work efficient, and the pretty art and accessories will keep you inspired.

Lighting! Task lighting, floor lighting, overhead lights, sconces, you name it. Being able to control the light in a room means controlling the mood. Also staring into a computer screen in a dark room is not only bad for your eyes but a sad setting for anyone. This idea encompasses window treatments as well. Being able to block out and frame natural light is key to overall ambiance, and with so many of us on Zoom all day long, you'll want to control the lighting for appearances sake! Because lighting is SO key to a healthy and productive work environment, a few final thoughts on lighting for your home office:

• One overall source of lighting is not enough to accommodate the varied activities of a home office; it’s best to layer light sources.
• Use task lamps to illuminate focused work.
• The correct placement of a task light is important to avoid glare and shadows.
• Natural daylight improves the ambience of a room, but at certain times of day can be too bright.

Sprinkle in a bold rug, some inspiring art pieces, and if you have the space, additional seating for your guests, and you my friends have a chic work space that you will be happy to call your own and can't wait to clock in for. Or for a super trendy look now for those of you that are full time at home, go bohemian! Embrace your inner free spirit and decorate your office with anything that tells a story, has sentimental value to you, or that you picked up on your travels. Add in a bold, patterned rug, color on color, and some plants. Consider yourself creative? More is more in that case.

 

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