Making working from home work for you

Working from home is the new norm, we have all turned our attention to where exactly is the best spot for your new office desk?  Where will you look best for that Zoom call, where is close to natural light and furthest away from the hustle and bustle of a busy home.

At Architectural Spaces we are all about looking for a diamond in the rough, finding the room in that neglected corner, the use for that back room.  Here are some top tips to making a Home Office that lets you work smartly, in a positive environment and feels more like work with just a very short commute!

1. Important if you can position yourself facing out towards or within view of a window or in the direction of natural light. To glance at nature / light is to introduce calmness.  If you don’t have a window to let you see the outside you can hang a painting or photo of a landscape or flowing water to create a connection to the outside.  This can help relax, ease and can lift your mood and diffuse any negative energy.
2. If possible, place yourself so that your back is not directly facing the door into the room you are working in. If this is not avoidable, place a small mirror on your desk facing the door behind you so that you are not twisting around every time someone walks into the room and so you can monitor (or sometimes ignore!!) what’s going on behind you. This gives a better sense of security.
3. Consider Feng Shui – we all have a best direction that suits us whether it’s sitting, sleeping and since you might spend 8 hours a day in this space, it might be an idea to speak to one of our experts to get that direction working well for you.
4. If your office is in your everyday living space, use furniture that doesn’t shout work when you are off, no one needs to or should look at work when you are relaxing and or family time. 
5. Remember to add interest, personality and layers to your space.  Architectural Spaces can recommend furniture that will work for your personality and your way of working. 
6. Nature and plants are such an important addition to interior spaces, they boost mood, productivity, concentration and creativity. They help reduce stress and fatigue and clean indoor air by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity whilst producing oxygen. Add life to a sterile office space and consider a soft leaf plant suitable for the light in your space. Please try and avoid artificial plants if possible.
7. Good task lighting at your work area is vital.  Look for a lamp that you like and suits your style but check if it can take a daylight LED bulb. Daylight/natural light bulbs are softer to work under and easier on your eyes than traditional bulbs. Colours look more true and white paper has less glare. 
8. Include some inspirational artwork – a piece of fun or humour that reflects your own personality lifts your workspace and adds your own personal twist.
9. If you do happen to have the luxury of having a designated office within your home, a comfortable sofa or easy chair is a great addition to have as it can be good to move around your working space and helps move the energies around and stops them becoming stagnant. If you do not have a chair or sofa in the area, getting up from your work chair and walking around for a couple of minutes also helps move all the energies and so aids productivity. It goes without saying a comfy work chair is a must.
10. If you have a timber or tiled floor the introduction of a rug under your working area helps soften your space and give a cosy texture under foot. It is so important to be very comfortable while you work and the more comfortable you are the more productive you can be. If you can work in your bare feet, it can be so good to help you ground yourself and connect to your spaces especially if you’re a thinker.