Working From Home - Creating A Practical Home Office

In recent years, more and more people have started working from home, whether they’ve decided to go freelance, or they simply need more time and flexibility to look after the kids.

Furniture giant IKEA have been quick to pick up on this trend, producing a number of blog posts and articles with their own tips and advice to help you create a practical and inspirational home office. Want to find out more?

Before we get started, it’s important to remember that while some houses might have enough space for you to dedicate an entire room to your home office, decorating it and transforming it however you like, others might be a little smaller in size, meaning that your work area might have to be limited to one corner of your living room or bedroom.

According to IKEA’s Life at Home study, published in 2019, bedrooms are spaces that have become increasingly functional over time. As well as being used for sleep, they often serve as our own private sanctuaries, providing moments of peace and tranquillity that simply aren’t possible elsewhere in the house.

Another interesting piece of data to come out of this study is that it’s often difficult to find functional, aesthetic and ergonomic office furniture that can be easily integrated into existing decor. What’s more, the report found that lighting and storage are two of the most difficult aspects to get right when it comes to creating a home office.

How to survive and thrive while working from home

While creating the ideal home office isn’t always easy, interior designer Manuel Delgado has devised 6 top tips to help you create a functional and comfortable place to work. Follow his advice, and you’ll be able to maintain maximum concentration and productivity while working from home.

1. Choosing the perfect place for your home office

While this might sound obvious, it’s sometimes easy to overlook. You need to find a quiet, peaceful space where there’s as little noise as possible. That way, you can maximize concentration, and avoid any distractions from noisy neighbors or passing traffic. You’ll also need to make sure you have a good internet connection, and plenty of wall sockets to plug in all your electronic devices.

2. Lighting and ventilation – the keys to creating the perfect environment

It’s important to ensure that your chosen workspace is a cool, well-lit environment that you can ventilate. This will help to improve productivity, and prevent eye irritation.

Ideally, you should try to look for somewhere with plenty of natural light. However, if that isn’t an option, we recommend choosing LED bulbs that allow you to regulate the color and intensity of the light. For example, IKEA recommends using its TRÅDFRI lighting system, which comes with its own remote control kit.

We probably don’t need to tell you how important it is to have plants in your office. As well as helping to oxygenate the room, they’ll also create a beautiful, healthy and inspirational environment.

3. Working from home – dividing your space

Once you’ve decided where you want your home office to be, we recommend looking for ways to separate it from the rest of the room. That way, both you and those you live with will know to respect your office area during work hours. This is especially important if you have kids.

4. Choosing the best furniture for your home office

Choose ergonomic, versatile furniture that will allow you to work comfortably all day long, without compromising on productivity or concentration levels. Pay special attention to your office chair; it will be essential for helping you maintain good posture throughout the working day. Experts recommend choosing chairs that have integrated lumbar support, and allow you to adjust the height and angle of your seat.

5. Office accessories to make your life easier

As you probably already know, smart accessories are just some of the latest innovations brought to us by the IKEA catalog this year. There’s no doubt that these novel devices look set to make working from home ten times easier. These include a number of dual-function devices, such as the RIGGAD work lamp and cellphone charger.

6. Working from home – order is fundamental

You’re going to need to keep your work space neatly organized at all times. Trays, shelves and boxes are the perfect tools to help you do this. Create a personalized filing system, placing the most urgent and important documents close by so you can grab them whenever you need them, and storing those that are less important elsewhere.

Finally, don’t forget to put everything back in its place at the end of the working day. This is a great way to help you mentally switch off from your work once you clock out.

Now that you’ve decided to embrace the work-from-home lifestyle, we hope that these simple tips will help you to maximize peace and productivity in your home office.