How to Decorate your Office at Home

Many people are working remotely now. According to Forbes magazine, it is predicted that by 2035 over 65% of the workforce will be working remotely. Having a well-organized home office is essential to productivity. Learning how to decorate your office at home can help create a highly productive space. Follow these tips to learn how to decorate your office at home.

Start With the Basics

Before you can focus on how to decorate your office at home, you will need to take care of some basics like designating a space for your home office. Not every home is outfitted with separate office space, so you may have to get creative in designating a space. You do not need an office suite, you simply need a space where all you focus on is work.

Here are some suggestions for making room in your home for office space:

• Revamp a walk-in closet. Take the doors off the closet and clear a space for your office furniture.
• Make room in the basement (if you have one) or attic.
• If things are tight, you can make room in the laundry room, dining area, or even in the garage.

Some people convert outdoor sheds into office space. Other people use their screened porch. You may have to get creative about clearing a space for your office, but in the end, it is really necessary to have a designated space. Studies by Harvard University show that people that work remotely that stick to a routine and have a designated space to work are about 40% more productive than their counterparts that do not.

There is one mistake that you want to avoid when you are considering how to decorate your office at home and where that office will be located. Do not short yourself on space. For example, if you have a rarely used guest room, do not feel guilty for converting it into a home office. The next time guests plan on coming to visit you can make other arrangements. You should not deny yourself a great office space 355 days a year for the 10 days a year you need a guest room.

The same is true regarding how to decorate your office at home. Don’t feel bad about investing in the things you need to be productive in your office space.

The space does not have to be huge, as a matter of fact, you can set up your office along one wall in your bedroom or living room, but you do have to make it “feel” separate from the rest of the room. Learning how to decorate your office at home will show you how to make the most out of any space.

Outfit your Office Area with Furniture

Furniture stores have a lot of multi-use furniture options that can double as office furniture. For example, let’s say you and your partner work remotely and you do not have enough space to create two separate office spaces. You can buy a long table and put it up against the wall, and two chairs to create a co-working space. You can go over the top and consider a small office cubicle install to create a physical division between the two of you.

The right furniture options for your office space will be able to fit in the space, be in line with your design tastes, and be comfortable. Keep in mind that your office does not have to be outfitted with traditional office furnishings. It is your office and you can create any look that you want but you do want to make sure that you have a work surface and a comfortable chair to use.

If you are going to splurge on any type of furniture for your home office, invest in a good chair. You will feel better about working if you love the chair you are using.

Paint the Wall In Front of You

One of the keyways to separate your office space from the rest of the house is to paint the wall in front of your work surface a different color than the other walls in the room (this, of course, is assuming that you are using a corner of a room). If you have an actual room for your office, then you can paint it any color you like, but do try to keep it in a lighter range of colors. Studies show that lighter, brighter office colors increase productivity.

Choose Lighting that Will Brighten the Space

If you are wondering how to decorate your office at home to make it feel more “office-like” and less home-like, look to lighting. At-home lighting is not as bright and white as office lighting is. Consider using lamps with true white-colored light bulbs or LED lighting that is true white. You will need focused lighting for all the tasks that you will have to accomplish on your work surface. Lamps and flexible lighting options are worth the investment.

When you think about it most commercial office spaces leave the lights on all day regardless of how much natural light is pouring into the room. Well-lit spaces keep people alert and productive. Brighten up the space with the right lighting.

Consider Floor Covering Options

If you have hardwood floors, you definitely want an area rug for your office. Moving around on your chair and pulling it in and out can cause damage to your floors. A well-placed area rug can help to protect your wall and further delineate the office space from the rest of the room.

Area rugs are a great addition to any home office. Every “how to decorate your office at home” list mentions using area rugs to separate the office space from the rest of the space. Of course, if you do not have hard surface flooring and you have carpeting, you still should cover the carpeting with the area rug to keep down the need for a professional carpet cleaning service.

Invest in New Organizational Tools

Tight spaces like home offices can get cluttered pretty quickly. You may not have room for a standing file cabinet, but you likely do have space for some vertical storage solutions. If you are searching for tips on how to decorate your office at home with an eye on keeping clutter down, the solution is to hang shelves on the wall in front of the workspace.

Hanging shelves solve two problems. Hanging shelves does not take up any real estate footprint, and it can help to keep you organized. Keep in mind, unlike in commercial office settings, no one is going to clean your space. You are the office cleaning service. It benefits you to stay as organized and neat as possible to keep the stress and the mess down. The right storage and organization tools can help.

One of the tips on how to decorate your office at home that you should use is to set up shelving that complements your workflow. You want to make sure that the storage is aesthetically pleasing but you also want to make sure that it is easy to reach and convenient. Consider how you will work in the space before you install the shelves.

Gather Equipment

Many remote workers have all the equipment they need supplied by their employer to them. However, many remote workers must provide their own tech. To keep the clutter down, many remote workers opt for printing services instead of dealing with a printer and the paper that comes with it.

You will have to make decisions about whether you will be using a laptop for work or if you will need a traditional desktop. Will you need a large monitor? Do you have enough room for a large monitor? A computer sales company specializing in business support can help you make informed decisions.

You should invest in a cable organizer to keep all your cables and plugs hidden. You are likely thinking that you want to know how to decorate your office at home and you are getting tips about what to do with cables. The fact is, messy cables hanging off your workspace look terrible and can be a slip and fall risk to other people in your home. Cable organizers can be as simple as hook and loop tape to secure the wires and cables out of the way or as extravagant as decorative floor covers that make your cables and wires disappear.

Find Some Space for Plants

Space may be tight, but it is worth giving up a little space for a plant or two. According to CIPHR, plants are an excellent answer to how to decorate your office at home if you do not want to do too much decorating. Plants can influence productivity in a positive way, they can reduce stress, they clean the air, and they are a great decorative tool.

A well-placed plant or two can help to keep the space feeling cheery and positive. There is one caveat to all the benefits that plants bring to an office space. They must be live plants, not artificial plants.

Add Items You Love To The Office Space

Even a small space has room for things that make you smile. Whether it is a favorite cup that can double as a pen and pencil holder or some framed art that the kids drew, it is nice to have things around you while you work that will make you smile. There are plenty of tips and tricks online for how to decorate your office at home using things you already have in your home that you love.

Going to your home office should not feel like punishment. It should feel like you are entering a space that is designed and decorated especially for you, because it is. In other words, it is okay to set up an office in part of a room, but it is not okay to be miserable in it.

The Final Three Tips for How To Decorate Your Office At Home

If working remotely is your full-time job, it is essential that you make your home office as distraction-free as possible. If you need to hang drapes to separate the office space from the rest of the room, do it. You can use pipes and L brackets to hang from the ceiling to attach the drapes to. It is an easy DIY project that will give you a little more privacy.

Don’t try to do it all on your own. If you need to enlist the help of furniture moving services to move things around the house to create a space, do it. Ask for help when you need it, whether it is to hang your shelves or arrange your workspace. If you need help, ask. You do not want to hate your home office and trying to do it on your own can prove to be very frustrating.

It can be hard to try to get your work done and try to get your office together at the same time. Set aside time on the weekend when you do not have to work to learn more about how to decorate your office at home and do the workspace creating tasks then. Until you get it all together, the dining room table will have to do. Don’t stress yourself out trying to get it all done at once.

You can have a great space to work at home. Follow the tips that you found here, and take a slow and steady approach, and before you know it your home office will be ready for work.