Home office ideas and hacks
With another three weeks of lockdown on the cards, you might be looking for ways to update your home office to make it a more inspiring place to work. Whether you have a small office or study or have set your working from home space up in the corner of your lounge/bedroom/kitchen, here’s our tops tips to make it as inviting a place as possible to work.
Plus, we showcase some ESPC properties with home offices or studies for extra inspiration.
Make sure you’re comfortable
Hopefully by now you’ve managed to source a desk chair and table that you’re happy working at. If not and you’ve been noticing a few aches and pains as a result, it may be worth sourcing one or both. Some shops are offering contactless delivery so it might be worth the investment now, particularly if you plan to work from home more after lockdown.
Many modern offices now have monitors you can adjust the height of, but if you’re working on your laptop or home computer, you might have found craning your neck over the screen is starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. A simple way round this is to put some books underneath to bring it up to a better height for you.
Keep it tidy
Without co-workers around, it’s even easier than usual to let your desk fall into disarray with paper and pens everywhere. But this will make it a less inviting place to work and you’ll probably quickly get fed up of knocking things off your desk every five minutes.
Store notebooks, paper files and items you don't need to hand away in boxes – you can use any that you have lying around in the house such as old shoeboxes (if you have any nice wrapping paper, cover them to make them a bit more colourful).
And if you haven’t got a pencil case, save an old jam jar or grab a large mug or glass that you don’t use very often to keep pens and pencils tidied away.
Get creative with office artwork
Adding some artwork to your office space can be a great way to inspire creativity. Dig out some posters and pictures to pin up. Or embark on an art project at the weekends – if you’re not great at painting or drawing, grab some old photographs and postcards and make a collage.
Add plants to your home office
It has been said that indoor plants help to improve mood and concentration. Regardless, adding some greenery to your home office or study is a lovely way to make it a more colourful and inviting space. You can always opt for low-maintenance ones such as spider plants. Many supermarkets have potted plants available, so you may be able to pick one or more plants up from there.
Let the light in
If you have any flexibility about where to position your desk, try to place it under or near a window so you get lots of natural light when working. This will make it a more inviting place to work. But try to position it so that you don’t get any glare from the sun on your laptop or computer screen during the day.
ESPC properties with studies or home offices
The study in this lovely four bedroom house in Anstruther features direct access to the garden, perfect for when you want to take a break outside in the sunshine.
A study space has been incorporated into one of the rooms in this five bedroom house in Dunbar, with a sofa and TV for breaks. The property also benefits from a gym, sauna and hot tub – ideal for winding down after a day of work!
With large windows, the study in this impressive five bedroom house in Cramond would be filled with natural light during the day.
