Designing and Loving YOUR Home Office
Take it from someone who’s lived with a home based business for most of the past 20 years, there are a great many benefits to the home office accompanied by inevitable challenges. Whether you are a sole proprietor, company employee or executive on-the-go, working from home is likely in your future. Accelerated by the COVID19 quarantine and assisted by convenience of the internet, home offices are becoming more widely sought and are here to stay.
What does this mean for you? You get to enjoy the short commute, free parking and quick-start mornings. On the other hand you may need to schedule clients as it suits the household schedule, receive commercial deliveries and importantly find a way to turn away from your work when the day should be done.
How you design your space affects your enjoyment, comfort and most of all productivity. Many people are currently in the honeymoon stage of working from home and loving it. Iggy Domagalski, CEO of Tundra Process Solutions was speaking to local entrepreneurs, stating the most common request he receives from employees during COVID quarantine is to work from home a couple of days a week when this is over.
I cringe to think of the effects on commercial office vacancies but imagine if there were 20% fewer cars on the roads!
Chris Varcoe of The Calgary Herald reported June 12, 2020 that 20% of people now working from home expect to stay there after the pandemic. 44% expect to be working remotely at least part of the time.
Apart from missing the social aspect of business, people are coming to appreciate the convenience and comfort of their home office.
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I’ve designed home offices across the breadth of office styles with different job requirements and working styles.
As a designer, my work is very much my hobby and it’s quite literally everywhere I turn. No matter where, I’m observing and contemplating design, layout, form, function, lighting and space. My work doesn’t turn off and that’s ok.
I stay accessible to clients who have my cellular number for calls and texts 7 days a week. Meetings are held in client’s homes or offices after all, their design is all about them.
Years ago I embraced this lifestyle and it works – for me.
But that’s not for everyone. Personalities and professions vary so widely there’s no one formula for a great home office and work/life balance. For some people, the distractions of home may simply be too much. Design your space to suit your personality.
Allow yourself some creature comforts but avoid the ones that might lure you away from the task at hand. For many a television, fireplace and soft seating are essential to comfortable office environs. Myself, I have a tread mill beside my drafting table for a quick and convenient workday break.
Let your Home Office be a space you want to spend time in.
One significant challenge in designing an effective home office is finding a way to distance professional from personal.
Design alone can’t fix with your state of mind, but a well-organized space makes it easy to work and be a pleasure to work in.
Una HirUndelle Design
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Designing your Home Office
In designing your home office it’s not enough to simply set up a printer, desk and rolling chair if you plan to spend any quality time in the space. Plan for the longer term to avoid reorganizing again and again (also called ‘administrative time’ or ‘time I’d rather be doing anything else with on the weekend’). Larger offices have the advantage of being created by contract Interior Designers looking after those devilish little details.
David Baker Design provides office consulting for homes.
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Ask yourself the questions below to help focus on your needs.
Will you be meeting co-workers or customers at your Home Office?
It’s important to maintain a professional impression with a home office and have a plan for visitors. It may be convenient to sit a customer at your kitchen island for a meeting but this can confuse your message and be seen as less professional (unless your business happens be kitchen design).
One very successful design solution for a public home office locates the workspace close to the entry, keeping the private areas of the home private. Is your Powder Room guest friendly or just family friendly? If you’re designing new try to locate a washroom near the office and entry as well. Separation of public and private space in your home can be challenging.
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Have you considered your work environment?
Is your home office buffered from unexpected interruptions? While they might be laughed off at first, barking dogs or kids and cats running through a video call could haze your professional polish.
If you’re easily distracted (or distractions just find you) a separate room with a solid sound reducing door is probably best. If you’re like me and your personal and work lives are entwined this isn’t so much a concern.
If your work space must be open to other parts of the house, consider sliding partitions or built-in furniture that allows you to quickly put the office clutter to ‘sleep’ at the end of the work day.
Be sure to make time for your home life.
Architect Paul Bernier - Photo Marc Cramer
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Have you considered your day to day comfort?
If you work for long periods of time on a keyboard be sure to consider ergonomics – the science of body posture and position. Ergonomically designed desks are typically 28” inches high (at the most) based on a 6’ tall person. Some are made with adjustable legs to provide better posture for different people. Typical residential tables are 30” high or more causing your wrists and elbows to be at awkward angles when used as a desk. Standing desks are a great solution, allowing you to adjust your work position easily. Allow yourself to move around.
If your work surface will be a cabinet instead of a desk, remember that most counters are 24” deep while desks are 30-42” deep. Deeper is better to move your monitor farther back and give more room to be sure coffee and keyboard never meet.
Style at Home Magazine
If you can, situate your monitor so it’s not affected by glare from exterior light and try to set up your space with a view outside. Looking away at distant objects reduces eye strain caused by tablets, smart phones and monitors. If you plan to work in a lower floor room, check your cellular reception. Often basements, surrounded in concrete are poor for phone signals and a land line is a better solution.
For many working at home, background sound helps to fill uncomfortable silence much like the white noise in public offices. If you like music, radio or even podcasts, allow yourself to indulge with a good sound system and be sure the controls are close at hand to turn it off when you’re on the phone.
Better Homes and Garden Magazine
Have you considered your lighting?
Often a first-time home office space is a spare bedroom conversion (once you realize all your work just can’t live on the dining room table). Home offices in partial garage remodels can work very well as the office is cleanly separated from the home and can include a separate entrance. Do you have a walkout basement? Home Office Gold!
Most likely the re-purposing of these spaces will result in an inadequate lighting and outlets. The amount of power required for printers, routers, chargers, docks and task lighting is unlike anything else you will find in your house. Although re-locating electrical may not be in the startup budget it does make your space more functional without miles of wires and extension cords twisting and tracing back to wall outlets. If electrical needs to be added it will be more efficient to do this work before shelves and cabinets line the walls. Functional spaces are favorite spaces.
And what about your lighting? Ambient and adjustable lighting make a difference in function and comfort. Workspace light tends to be at a higher luminance but it’s nice to dim the room down to that household feel sometimes or even lower if you’re working late at night. Let your light sources be flexible and you will enjoy your space that much more.
Know as you’re selecting light sources, which color temperature of light you prefer and be consistent in the space. Many people find 2700k LED is a warm, residential light tone but doesn’t have the punch of 3000k LED. There is no difference in the brightness levels - the same number of lux exist in either LED type - it’s the color of light that gives a brighter perception. 3000k is cooler (bluer) which can make colors pop and whites appear more crisp.
Have you considered how your home office relates to the street?
With changing purchasing profiles, more goods are being delivered to doors. While the current COVID quarantine levels of one-off delivery use may not be sustained, on-line purchasing is undeniably here to stay. Consider a courier box or out of the way space to screen parcels from public view. If you’re in an apartment building, these procedures are more difficult hopefully your home-owners association has addressed this already. Be aware that the City of Calgary (like most municipalities) requires home businesses to be licensed and under by-laws, limit the number of non-resident employees and a maximum number of deliveries that can be received weekly. Remember to respect your neighbours especially in areas where parking is in high demand.
Have you considered your on line appearance?
Your home office will now be seen in every zoom meeting and conference call. Have fun with this setting.
It defines you to your customers, co-workers and people you may never otherwise meet in person.
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Create a broadcast setting appropriate for your professional
image. Consider the effect of changing daylight on your web camera and even how hollow sounds of space affect how your presentations may be received. A window blind might soften the light in the space, reducing distracting glare. And don’t position yourself in front of a window with the camera facing you - you’ll be in silhouette (unless maybe you prefer it that way).
Soft surfaces in a room such as drapes, throw pillows and especially an area rug or carpet will absorb bouncy sound making a room sound complete, not empty and temporary.
Last and most important of all when designing a home workspace, keep it simple.
With your choices of shelves, cabinets and work surfaces, create a space that begins with order and logic and the rest will follow.
Simplified space simplifies your life.
by Marrimor Interiors - Vancouver
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Contact David Baker Design for hourly consultation and planning of your space.
Images are credited when origin is known.