The pandemic has seen many of us permanently switch to home working. As such, we are now faced with carving out a home office area in our private environment.
This is all very well if you have a home study but what if you don’t? How do you create a productive home working space whilst retaining a work / life balance?
1) establish a place to work
Do you constantly ‘hot desk’ between your kitchen and dining room tables? This may have worked as a temporary solution but my guess is there are too many distractions for it to work long term. A dedicated working space allows you to ‘leave work at work’ even when ‘home’ may be the next room! Find a space you can devote to home office working.
2) make your furniture work for you
The obvious solution is to create a working space in your guest room. Multi-functional furniture is the name of the game here, so your office can transform back into a guest room when needed. Think about your desk doubling as a dressing table (I love made.com), having a sofa bed for convertible sleeping, a linen cupboard for sheets (& to hide the laptop & printer!) A beautiful scarf or table cloth draped over a filing cabinet to transform it into a bedside table. Get creative!
3) hidden desk space
What if you don’t have a spare / guest room? You may need to be more inventive about finding a permanent working space in your home. That area underneath the staircase perhaps? I’ve seen many a successful home office squirrelled away there. What about on your landing? Do you have a small alcove in your home which can be converted into daytime office space?
4) office in a cupboard!
Another option could be hiding an office in a bedroom wardrobe or kitchen cupboard. I’ve seen this work particularly well in master bedrooms (a desk sandwiched between two wardrobes with a door to shut the office away at the end of the day). The same can be achieved in a kitchen between two cupboards. Do ensure you have enough power sources to accommodate your laptop, phone charger & additional lighting!
5) give the space the look and feel you want.
Now you are in charge of your home working aesthetics, you can create whatever look and feel you want for that space. Have a think about what colours, furniture and accessories you find comfortable, calm & inspiring. I’ve created a FREE guide ‘Pro Tips For Designing Your Home Office’ where I show how I create beautiful home working spaces. Click here!
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