Many of us have had to adapt our homes to make way for small home offices over the last few years, and where space can often be a premium, trying to make a small home office feel productive and separate from home life, can be somewhat of a challenge!
The reality is, you actually don’t need to have a completely separate room, or even a large space to make one work for you.
I’ve pulled together some of my top tips on creating a small, but perfectly practical environment that will make your home and work life feel that bit easier.
Optimising small work-from-home spaces for a productive office environment
Clever Zoning
Tackling a small home office space generally means having to carve out space in a room that has a completely different purpose.
The key to getting this divide right without blurring the lines between home and work is to cleverly zone the area. There are so many different ways you can do this, and it totally depends on the room it’s being shared with.
In a bedroom or living room you could use a divider and add trailing plants to it to introduce privacy, but also colour and air purifying qualities.
Alternatively, you might want to have some fun by adding some wallpaper or painted shapes in front of your desk to clearly define it as a separate area for work.
Comfortable Office Furniture
It can be all too tempting to focus solely on aesthetics when designing a home office, but after one week, you’ll realise why you should never do that.
Office furniture doesn’t have to be ugly, but purchasing it with comfort and practicality should be at the top of your list. Ergonomic office chairs will completely transform how your office feels, when you have somewhere comfortable to sit, it makes life easier and it won’t leave you with long term back problems.
If you do spend a lot of time at your desk each day, I’d definitely consider adding a standing desk to your setup. This allows you the option to sit and stand, changing your posture throughout the day. My chiropractor says this is an absolute game changer for clients that he sees!
Muted, Soft Colour Scheme
Subconsciously, paint colours have an effect on how we feel (especially if you’re surrounded by them 9-5!), and generally bright, bold colours can make us feel on edge, and dark shades can feel oppressive.
To boost productivity and to feel calm in your surroundings, I always recommend leaning into a muted, soft colour scheme. Neutrals such as creams, soft greys, greens and blush pinks are some of the easiest on the eye and feel good to be around.
There’s nothing stopping you adding bolder touches of colour to accent areas or accessories, but for your walls and ceiling, a muted colour will feel so much more comfortable to be surrounded by.
Declutter Your Work Space
Something that I always remember is the saying ‘you are a product of your environment’, and there’s definitely something about having a cluttered, untidy desk and not feeling as motivated or as productive as you know you can be.
It becomes even more important to manage clutter in a very small office space. Focus on clearing the top of your desk away at the end of everyday so you have a clean surface to work from in the morning.
Focus on good organisation so there is a dedicated home for each thing, whether that’s documents, pens or filing away receipts. Having a clean and organised space really helps you to think more clearly without being distracted by the mess.
Window Treatments
If you can position your desk near to natural light coming in from a window, it really does make a difference to how you feel throughout the working day, whether you notice it or not.
However, as light changes throughout the day and can become more intense, good window treatments should be installed so you don’t spend most of your day straining your eyes.
I personally like to have flexibility with window treatments, whilst of course looking aesthetic. Classic roller or roman blinds are an easy and affordable window covering. But, if the room is being shared with another purpose such as a living room, I would potentially lean more into a floor length filtered, voile curtain so you can still enjoy natural light without the intensity. I’d then add another track for floor length curtains for privacy and evening use.
Get The Lighting Right
I always encourage people to consider lighting before anything else in design, and so commonly it gets left to the end. Lighting really does make or break a room, and for a home office where task lighting is required, it’s really important to get it right.
For overhead lighting, you’ll want to lean into using a daylight bulb (5000K to 6500K), this is the closest to daylight light and it will make being able to work on dark mornings or evenings that bit easier without having to strain your eyes underneath a dimly lit bulb.
In addition to this, layering your lighting will help make the space feel more ambient, allowing you to be more flexible with your lightning choices throughout the day.
Invest in a good table lamp, and if you don’t have a plug socket nearby there are so many rechargeable options on the market now. You might also want to consider a floor lamp for additional lighting, and candles for those rainy, cold days!
Small home offices don’t have to be a hindrance, with the right approach they can become productive spaces that feel comfortable to be in throughout the day!
