Setting up a home office: This is how you really work smart from home

A home office should primarily be a place where you can work without distractions. However, this does not mean eschewing comfort. In fact, only those who feel relatively comfortable can be productive for long periods. A workplace that is both well-structured and attractively designed is one that also sparks motivation and creativity. If you’re looking to do just that, read our following tips.

1. Separate work and private life

Whether you work at home regularly or even all the time, a separate study is ideal. Not having a separate room isn’t an excuse, either. You can

very easily create a space in the living room or dining room. You can use room dividers, open shelves or even half-height cupboards or colour walls which visually separate living and working areas. With subdued, natural tones and pastels, you can enjoy a flair of colour without too much distraction. Separate work areas also mean that it is easier to switch to leisure mode after you wind down from the day.

2. Home office design for clarity & function

A home office setup certainly depends on how much space you have. However, your own tastes and the work you have to do also play a key role. You can get modular, flexible furniture systems which can be adapted to your work habits and living situation. Purist furniture with

clear lines create visual order, perfect for encouraging structure. Any small pieces of office equipment you might need to use should be stored in drawers or behind cupboard doors. This helps to create visual calm and clarity.

3. Find the right desk

A desk is at the centre of a fully-fledged home office. It’s the star piece of furniture and should be the focus of your home office planning. Desk size and additional equipment depends on your needs. If you work with large files, for example, then you need to ensure you have enough surface

area. If you spend most of your time sitting in front of a PC screen, a height-adjustable desk is an alternative – so you can work standing change. This not only promotes a healthy back, but also sometimes unexpected flashes of inspiration.

4. Don’t forget about comfort

The indispensable counterpart to the desk is the matching office chair. It should be comfortable and ideally also height-adjustable to adapt to your sitting posture and height. Models with back and armrests are also easy on the spine. Despite its ergonomic shape and flexibility, seating can look

good. Vitra, for example, has a range of elegant office chairs and design classics in its range that combine style and functionality.

Should you spend longer periods at your desk, you may want to occasionally switch to sitting on a gymnastics ball. This keeps your movement light, helping to promote fitness. However, a gymnastics ball is not a permanent seat replacement option.

5. Use every centimetre for storage space

If you’re converting part of your living space into a home office, you don’t want to waste an inch. You can fill small niches with cut-to-size shelves which offer even more storage space. You can place small, mobile pedestals in spaces under your desk. If you have limited floor space, you can use your room’s height by stacking boxes. A monitor holder on the wall can also provide more desk space. Using telescopic shelves, you can create adjustable storage space between the floor and ceiling. These can also function as room dividers.

6. Light up, intelligently

Ideally, your desk should be near a window. Natural light doesn’t just save electricity costs, but makes you more alert and productive. Daylight

lamps, however, can be a great alternative for the darker months and evening hours. A warm artificial light with a colour temperature of up to around 3,000 Kelvin, on the other hand, provides a cosy and comfortable atmosphere. Intelligent lighting systems are practical, allowing you to adjust the lighting to suit the situation and requirements at the touch of a button or at the touch of a finger on your smartphone.

You can also get flexible, rotatable and swivelling light sources. The Gira Plug & Light is one such source of illumination, which creates light straight from the socket outlet. This innovative spotlight illuminates your work surface using an attachment that you can rotate through 360 degrees as required.

7. Moderate decoration

A beautiful carpet, an artist’s portrait or anything similar can add a personal touch to your home office and contribute to a feel-good ambience. Too much small decoration in your field of vision can,

however, be distracting. Accessories should be used sparingly, especially when it comes to your desk. Maybe a plant, photos of loved ones and a few office supplies are really all you need.