Previously, the idea of working from your couch or the embrace of your snuggly comforter might have seemed like a dream come true – until it actually did.
The coronavirus pandemic made the world realize this dream is more like a nightmare, including nagging family members, space constraints, household clutter, ergonomic limitations, and lower motivation.
However, the way you organize your home office impacts your productivity and attentiveness at work. While office cubicles are tiny spaces that can only be decorated with sticky notes, potted plants, and calendars, your home office gives you a ton of room for interior design.
The near future seems to include work-from-home on a regular basis. So, why not go all out in decorating your home office with high-end luxury items and state-of-the-art decor pieces.
The Effect of the Pandemic on WFH Functionalities
While home offices were once a space for occasionally brainstorming or taking an important call, they’re now an area for full-time work. Therefore, you need to focus on having proper work surfaces, seating, temperature control, acoustics, and lighting.
Andrew Mann, a San Francisco architect, says that we should differentiate space rather than working on the dining room or the living room since it empowers people. Having a separate space makes you just as productive as you would be in an office setting.
The Herman Miller director of high-performance task seating, Amy Smith, reported that the sales of ergonomic task seating soared during quarantine.
Ergonomics were never as important as they are today. Back in the day, people could work on a subpar chair since it was just a one-time-a-week sort of thing. However, now, people are working from home for the whole week or most part of the week.
So, they need a WFH setting that supports them fully.
Christian Lemieux, a designer, says that people will be opting for a more personal design that’s equally technical since they’re using their homes for school and work too.
Design Features For High-End Luxury Home Offices
When planning a high-end luxury home office, you have to consider everything from aesthetic to functionality. Look at different home office designs for inspiration. For starters, take a look at Jarvis Studio and their work; it will help you form better ideas.
In any case, here are a few tips for creating a high-end luxury home office during the pandemic.
Location Matters
Your home office can be any place in the house – a separate room, a section of your living room, or the guest bedroom. The important thing is to select the right place where you feel the most comfortable while working.
If you work full office hours, you might want to select a room away from familial distractions. Even better, choose a room that gets natural light or a beautiful view of the garden or street outside.
Make sure the office area has enough space for working comfortably. Can you move easily from side to side? Is there a wide, clean area with a backdrop you can use for Zoom meetings? You have to consider all these things before you start bringing in the furniture and lighting.
Manage The Technological Wizardry
Working from home also meant we had to manage our wires and cables ourselves – shoutout to the IT departments. If you don’t want your office desk to look like a jungle of tangling wires from the UPS, printer, computer, scanner, etc., you need to make some strategic adjustments.
Tangled wires give your home office a disorganized look (imagine being judged by your clients over Zoom – the horror!) and attract dust bunnies. Here are a few ways to manage the cables:
- Matching Access Panel: Get matching access panels with your desk material to hide the electric cords. A larger desk might be difficult to fit in your home office, but it hides the trillion wires from all your electrical equipment.
- Pull-Out Printer Drawer: Beth Martin, a designer at Martin Group SF, reports that people aren’t using printers as often as they did before. So, there’s hardly a need for filing cabinets, freeing up space for other things, like secondary seating. However, if you still need a printer, hide it from sight in a pull-out printer drawer.
- Grommets: Grommets are your allies when it comes to connecting the hidden cords to the appliances and wall outlets. Opt for grommets with lids as you can close them to prevent dust accumulation.
Get the Lighting Right
If possible, set up your home office in a room that gets natural light. Research shows that workplaces with natural light have 3% to 40% higher productivity.
However, if you’re unable to capture sunlight, bring in ambient light. Some common sources include:
- LED lights in the open shelves to illuminate the books (a stunning backdrop for a Zoom meeting)
- Track lighting
- Chandeliers or ceiling fixtures
- Torchiers
- Lighting kits in the ceiling fans for an additional pomp
- Wall sconces for areas that need a little more than a spotlight
If you spend most of your time on the desk, it’s better to invest in task lighting. Some fixtures to look for include:
- Table lamps
- Swing arm lamps
- Desk lamps
- Vanity lights
- Pendant lights
- Adjustable floor lamps
While these lights are useful for work, nothing screams a luxury atmosphere like accent lighting. Get a few niche lighting, picture lights, or light bridges on the furniture to create a vibrant vibe in your home office.
Choosing the Furniture
A work desk is obviously the most important furniture item in your home office, but you also need a comfortable chair if you’ll be sitting for eight hours a day.
Having an additional couch in the home office was previously useful for holding informal client meetings. However, now that all appointments are virtual, you can skip the extra seating.
If you’re running low on space, get a poof or an ottoman instead of a chair. It could take on multiple jobs, including that of a footstool, bookshelf, or extra chair.
Conclusion
The pandemic isn’t even close to ending any time soon, so it only makes sense to adapt to this ‘new normal’. Working from home gives you the liberty to design and decorate your office just the way you want.
Whether you want to channel your inner Anna Wintour with a Devil Wears Prada-style luxury office or go for a sleek, contemporary work den, now is the time to get your creative shoes on.
