Office Decoration

Office Decoration

Working from home

More and more of us work from home these days. Yet when it comes to situating on our home office we normally allocate the least used or the smallest space in our home. Many of use the bedroom or the dining room as the office. This is not the ideal solution..

Depending on the nature of your work you should use the most appropriate space in your house. Some time ago, back in college, I investigated the lifestyles of many people working @ home. It seems that those who physically separated their work-life from their home-life could successfully run their business from their home. Those whose bedroom and sitting room acted as their office led a disorganised and inefficient life – both on a professional personal level. So before you decide to work from home, don’t just think about the convenience of it – but remember that it requires you to be more self-disciplined and organised than going to work somewhere else.

Given that you’ll be using the room for 8 hours a day it’s alo important that your environment is comfortable and organised. It should be a place where you like to be rather than where you have to be. So don’t use your room as storage or a junk room. Its main function should be working in it. If you are short of space and you must have a double-use for your office (a guest bedroom perhaps) you can use folding-out cabinets or wardrobes that can hide your working life away.

Normally the desk is the most important furniture in an office, so make sure you buy a decent one. Don’t just use an old dining table or some junk someone gave you – invest in a good desk – that is appropriate for your business. If you have a computer, think about where you put the computer, the monitor, the printer etc. Most importantly – think about the wires (magazines, brochures and adverts never show wires…). When you get a proper desk make sure it’s clutter free – have some shelves next to the desk or above it for your files, bills etc.

Ideally you should have some cabinets where you can keep your files and accessories out of sight, but if you prefer open shelves buy some good looking folders. Makes sure they are the same and that they are displayed in a neat and organised way – if you have many different colours, sizes and styles – this visual mis-match will interfere with your thinking.

As I keep saying, be careful with colours – don’t have too many! Have an overall colour scheme: use maximum three colours – a light one as the backround, a dark one as an accent colour ( for accessories, frames, blinds etc) and a natural one for furniture ( i.e. wood or white or aluminium). Lighting is also very important – you need good ceiling lights as well as directional lights and a desk lamp.It’s always useful to have an armchair (perhaps with a coffee table) where your client or guest could sit – as well as a useful area for having a coffee break, a read or a think. Be efficient and organised – file everything into folders. If you need lots of layouts and to-do lists, why don’t you paint a wall, or part of a wall, with magnetic paint (under your desired colour of final coat) and use it as display zone. Alternatively, you could paint it with blackboard paint and use it as a vertical notepad.

Finally, do have a routine. When we work from home, the boundaries of work and home life tend to disappear. Try to create the scenario of “going to work” at a particular time – and close the office door when you’re “going home”. I know this sounds ridiculous. But it works.

If you’re interested in Feng Shui, read this article about decorating an office with Feng Shui >>

If you have any questions or problems why don’t you discuss them with other members in our Office Decoration Forum?

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