Pandemic Pointers: So, You’re Working From Home (WFH)?
Perfecting the Home Office: Back to Basics
Whether you’re working from home in a spare bedroom or a dedicated office space, this extended WFH period requires extra doses of focus and discipline. Now that we pretty much know where everyone is all of the time, it’s become more difficult to create boundaries between work and home. At least, that’s the case for me and my husband!
Creating a dedicated space to work is essential to setting (and maintaining!) work/life boundaries. This post pinpoints the very basics of building a home office while maintaining design trends and never compromising on style, of course!
Home Office Building Blocks
Every home office needs these three pieces: a proper desk (+chair, of course), some storage, and appropriate lighting. Perfecting each of these pieces is the first step to creating a workspace that can offer you focus, clarity, and good health!
Your Desk and Your Chair
Depending on your space, there are many different kinds of desks to consider for your home office set up. If it’s a shared space, perhaps you have a desk that doubles as an arts & crafts table? Or maybe you only have a counter in your kitchen available as your workspace? At a minimum you should have a work surface that is anywhere between 2’-6” and 3’-6” deep.
This piece could be a kid’s school desk, their arts & crafts table, or your personal at-home office space. The chic simplicity of this set up offers so many solutions to this new always-at-home environment! I also love the whiteboard above the desk; so much room for inspiration! Source.
No matter which desk you choose (or already have), it’s important to pick the right chair to accompany your desk. Ideally, your desk height should be between 26.5” to 30” and your chair seat height between 15” and 18”. Of course, we come in all shapes and sizes, so play around to find what height combo works best for you. An easy way to check if you are seated ergonomically and have the “right” height is to make sure your eyes are level with the top of your monitor screen and your forearms (and thighs, when seated!) are parallel to the floor.
This diagram from MyNelZone perfectly demonstrates the proper position of your chair and monitor relative to your desktop height. Making sure you maintain these metrics will help you stay concentrated and, more importantly, healthy. Proper desk and chair proportions can help your posture and prevent carpal tunnel syndrome!
Investing in an adjustable desk -- or an adjustable desktop that sits on your desk -- is a great way to invite some movement into your day. My husband Ernie just got this adjustable height laptop stand that he is loving for video conferencing. My own makeshift adjustable height desktop uses Architectural Digest magazine issues.
This laptop stand from Nulaxy is a great way to maintain the appropriate monitor height depending on your chair height. (Ignore Ernie’s desktop multitude of computers--he is locked away in his basement office!)
An easy way to bring your monitor to the proper height is to take a stack of books or magazines and place them under your monitor. Always adjustable and makes for an interesting desk-scape! (I admit I may have tidied up a bit before snapping this photo!)
A statement desk, like my client’s 1st Dibs purchase pictured below, sets the tone for this mid-century styled office. I love how this unique desk allows for him and his partner to work side by side. I blogged about this great office project a few months ago (professional photos pending on the pandemic!).
If a “statement piece” is not in the budget, simply adding a beautifully stained wood top to two filing cabinets is an easy way to bring some modern style into your workspace. What a way to kill two birds with one stone! Although, make sure that your file cabinets can support your desktop! Does anyone else notice something funky with the right side drawers in this example? Or am I going stir crazy?
Storage Solutions
The key to maintaining a functional and beautiful home office is to keep your desk as uncluttered as possible. This, obviously, is even more important if that space doubles as another room in your home, like the kitchen, dining room, or family room.
Today’s world of office designs includes many innovative and elegant storage solutions. There’s almost no excuse for not being able to create a storage space. Have you seen all the ways you can turn a staircase into an efficient storage area?
Whether or not you have mountains of paperwork or hard copies of magazines (guilty as charged!…), having a bookcase and a filing cabinet in your home office is always a good idea. (Another pandemic pointer for you: check out this article about how experts are touting their literary collections -- i.e. “Credibility Bookcases” -- as Zoom meeting backgrounds!)
I love the efficiencies in the home office set up below. This “dead end” area of the house has been turned into a double work/study area with a great shelving design. I’d love to get my hands on those shelves and add some more things to spruce up the display!
Let There Be Light
After deciding on your desk, chair, and storage options, the next basic tenet of any office needs to be lighting. Depending on the room you’re in, you might already have an overhead light or floor lamp. However, I believe that what really makes a true office is to have one or two task lamps on your desk perfectly positioned.
This is a simple office setup with alot of bling! The desk lamp really pops with that beautiful lampshade. Source here
A desk lamp turns your already cozy office into a space where you can have laser-like focus on whatever is up next on your to-do list. Task lamps give you the opportunity to add a decorative and functional piece that completes the office set up. Having additional light sources also saves you from being sucked in too deeply to the blue-light vortex of your various screens (refer back to Ernie’s desk set up!).
This gorgeous yellow lamp offers some lighting in addition to what must be natural light from a window behind that chair. Plus, it makes that desk look extra sophisticated and chic! By Jan Showers Interior Design.
Need a change of pace from sitting behind your desk? Moving to another space in your office, like a sofa or comfortable chair, is a great idea to improve motivation, reenergize, and take a break from your usual working spot (stay tuned for Part 2 where I will go more into this!). However, it’s key that your lighting is up to par in all spaces of your office! Recessed lighting, floor lamps, and side table lamps all offer great solutions to making sure your home office is adequately lit.
The natural light behind those chairs offers a cozy spot to try out halfway through your work day (see Part 2!). Source
Stay Tuned for Part 2…
Home offices have become a staple in our everyday lives in these recent months, and I have a lot of information I want to share with you all! I hope you’ve found this first part of Perfecting the Home Office helpful as you start to revamp (or begin building) your home working space. In Part 2, I’ll be focusing on the finer details and small touches that can really bring the whole space together. Feel free to contact me (I’ll be WFH!) with your thoughts on this blog, questions you may have, or if you want to work together on creating your own perfect home office!
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