Not many people enjoyed the lockdowns of recent years – but what many discovered was that they actually liked working from home. Which is why many workers are still operating full or part-time from home offices, and why 50 of the biggest UK employers have no plans to return all staff to the office full-time in the near future.
This massive shift has had a big effect on the way we organise our homes, and even the smallest abode now has a space that’s given over to working.
There’s a definite art to create the perfect home office. It boils down to successfully blending your domestic and working spaces so that one doesn’t negatively impact the other.
A spare bedroom is the obvious space, although in some cases it means creating a multi-functional room that doubles as sleeping space and a desk or office storage.
Garden buildings have become a hugely popular purchase for home workers who want to keep work separated from their living space: with a bit of creativity, even a humble garden shed can be turned into a cosy place and functional place to work.
For those having to work from home while keeping an eye on children, it’s better to have a workspace near the kitchen or sitting room, perhaps in a little-used dining room.
When your office is part of an open-plan area, it’s usually a good idea to keep the whole décor to the same colour or design scheme so it blends seamlessly rather than taking over. Having a work station that can be closed off when not in use will also help – as well as encouraging you to keep your office space tidy.
If even that is a stretch, any small space can produce surprising results. Hallways and landings are often wasted space and can be a perfect spot for a small home office, or even a small nook under the stairs or in the living room could neatly house a small desk and a chair without it encroaching on the living space.