Working from home

If you run a full-time business from home, or if you have the good fortune of being able to #wfh (work from home) on flexi-time, or, if you simply just have a mountain of personal admin to trawl through (the latter applies to most of us), you’ll need a home office.

But what is this? A home office can come in many different forms depending on the requirements and scale of tasks at hand. It can be a dedicated space for your family paperwork, a craft area, a man/woman cave, your office away from the office, the HQ for a smart new startup, or maybe just somewhere that isn’t the kitchen table!

There are many reasons that we carve out parts of our homes to provide that ‘office’ space. The real question is, how much space are you willing to dedicate to a work environment? Then, how best to make it look attractive while keeping things uncluttered and functional? The myth of a paperless office has yet to be fully achieved.

There are some really clever ideas on the web and Pinterest on how to make your office look attractive, but most of them appear to require the neatness of a pin and have the storage capacity of a single A4 file.

In reality, a lot of us are not particularly tidy, especially when it comes to pesky paperwork, and thus we need shelves and storage for the excess of ‘stuff’ that we are required to keep for the sake of the tax man, utility company, phone company and the like. So, how to carve out some space in your house to fulfil these requirements?

▲ Bed and Desk combination from studybed.co.uk

▲ Mid-Century Mini Secretary Desk from westelm.co.uk

▲ Ample storage is vital for keeping things neat and tidy

▲ Home office with an airy vintage feel

We’ve picked out a few creative examples like the space saving bed and desk combination from studybed.co.uk. The desk always stays level, which means you don’t need to clear it when you need your bed! Excellent for students.

An office doesn’t necessarily require a room of its own. RJV Designs created a small office space sandwiched in the walk-through between a kitchen and reception room with space for two people to work comfortably with their computers and plenty of storage.

A garden office is an ideal way to keep work and life separate without actually leaving the house. A nook under the stairs is a great place to snuggle in a small work station.

Nothing beats the old fashioned way: a stylish desk in a quiet room with drawers and space for your laptop. If you spend significant time at your desk, every back guru will tell you a good chair is an essential requirement and worth investing in. For comfortable, supportive chairs in funky colours, have a look at the wide range from leyform.co.uk.

▲ Narrow office by RJV Designs with two workstations and storage.

▲ Bone Inlaid Desk from westelm.co.uk

▲ Sprint Chair (Task Range) from leyform.co.uk

▲ Bentwood Leather Office Chair westelm.co.uk