Does your home workspace feel less than inspiring? There are plenty of little lifts you can use to upgrade your temporary office, from DIY paint jobs to embracing nature. We asked design pros to share their tips for making your WFH space both chicer and more functional.
Meagan Camp | Founder, Meagan Camp Interiors
Paint is the easiest way to update furniture if your office desk and chair needs to be refreshed. I'm a huge advocate of painting pieces either semi-gloss or high-gloss white or black, or metallic silver. I love the look of a wooden piece of furniture painted silver to make it look like an old metal piece. White painted furniture always looks fresh. Embrace the chips and nicks as it ages, that's what makes it feel more like an antique you spent months hunting for, rather than a new store-bought piece. Another easy way to upgrade furniture is changing out the hardware. Brass or silver is always a classic and chic choice.
My mantra for any space, especially a work space, is declutter and edit, edit, edit. It's okay to have easy access to items you use on a daily basis, but reducing the unnecessary items will instantly make your desk space look beautifully set up and organized. Store as many things away and out of sight as possible using decorative boxes and baskets, or bring in storage pieces like a credenza or a dresser. For the items you do leave out, think about alternative ways to display using non-traditional office items. We love using vintage vases to hold pens and pencils, little vessels for paperclips and pushpins, and decorative trays to hold paper and miscellaneous items.
Daun Curry | Founder & Creative Director, Daun Curry
Incorporating nature into the built environment is a primary tenet of biophilic design—and something everyone should incorporate into their workspace. Rearrange your workstations so that the sunlight pours in and livens up your mood and your space. There is a reason light therapy lamps are made to combat winter blues and darker days—light helps your body stay in tune with the natural rhythms designed to inform your internal body clock. In addition, the simplicity of adding in plants or fresh cut flowers—even wildflowers—to your workspace, adds a surprising amount of cheer and style.
Vanessa Alexander | Founder, Alexander Design
While the desire to create a WFH-office-in-the-bed is very tempting, there's something extremely mentally beneficial about carving out a designated space for the work day. To up your home office game, consider introducing objects into your workspace that you normally reserve for your more traveled and exposed areas of your home, like that vessel you brought home from a trip or a favorite throw that's usually hanging out in your living room. In essence, pull in objects that make your office feel like the rest of your home, not a sectioned off quarter. Feeling physically comfortable and at ease encourages productivity. And even though it might sound obvious, work in the light! If your desk is currently in the shadows in your home office, play around with a new arrangement. In a time when we are relying a lot more on what we already have in our homes, be resourceful.
Anne England | Founder, Industry West & Favor
Photo credit: Lyric.
Upgrading your space is all about a change in perspective, so it should start the way any design update does: by determining how you want to live in that space, how you want it to function around you. Transitional spaces are more important now than ever, and a huge advantage to leverage for multi-functional rooms is by going with the less-is-more approach, focusing on pieces with silhouettes that are interesting from every angle and have distinct but subtle details. Going more minimal with the number of pieces and accessories makes it easier to switch between work and play mode, and at the same time makes the functionality of the space feel much more elevated.
Courtney Rossi, Director of Strategy and Experience, EQ Office
One of the keys for managing this complete spatial invasion successfully is to create proper physical boundaries in our homes. That will help working families maintain a sense of concentration, collaboration and community. In addition to establishing new boundaries, it’s important to consider a new set of social agreements for navigating them. This could mean transforming a favorite room or nook into a home office. It could also mean designating a special place for your child’s homeschooling, or creating a sign to tell your kids not to interrupt you while you’re on a Zoom video call. Adding physical boundaries will help you create the mental and emotional space that all of us need to get work done in our home offices.
One57
To create a calming home environment, start by omitting clutter, including furniture to open up the space, and try a tone-on-tone color palate. Go for soft, indirect lighting with adjustable level. Uplight instead of down light, and decorative lamps with shades. Bring in nature in every form: think light, greenery, textiles. To allow as much natural light in, opt for more minimal window treatment instead of a heavy drapery. Finally, always place something you love that gives you joy in the space -- art, collectible, throw, books, etc.
Dan Brunn | Principal, Dan Brunn Architecture
I have great value in appreciating the space around you, introducing natural light, and finding a way to bring nature into your workspace.
