Smart and flexible working is evolving rapidly, and for many of us our homes have turned into home offices, sometimes with two or more people sharing the same space.
Today we chat to Kate Whitfield, interior architect with 20 years experience and founder of An Artful Life - Interior Architecture & Design Studio, on how to adapt your house to smart working and do it with style. An Artful Life is also part of the MOXON family - you can buy Kate's Handcast concrete letters from our website.
1. BOUNDARIES ON WORK / LIFE BALANCE
How to use your space to switch off when you aren’t leaving the office
- Find a nook/area of your home that can be used as a dedicated work-space
- Your workspace may just be a chair with your laptop on your knee. And you might need the distinction that this is your ‘work’ chair. MOXONDOST chair is the perfect combination of contemporary style and great design that will make your WFM more comfort.
- Even better if it can be ‘closed away’ at the end of your working day so you can leave it behind (out of sight out of mind)
- If you’re working at your kitchen/dining table, purposefully clear it of your work stuff and redress it with homely accessories come the end of the day. Make the effort to ‘tidy’ your desk to signal the end of each working day.
2. LACK OF STORAGE
- Consider bespoke built in storage with flexible work-space incorporated. Something that is permanent, well-considered and beautiful will stand the test of time for multiple uses, not just a temporary WFH fix. An Artful Life can design and commission tailor-made solutions for clients.
- Ugly ‘work’ publications can always be stacked backwards if it’s visually offending you and your home’s creative style!
- Styling is key. Even if you have to add some boring work related titles and files to your home shelves, consider grouping these and breaking them up with home accessories. MOXON Sahara bookend is perfect to keep you shelves tidy and stylish.
- Be inventive with what you use for storage
- Plain card box files are a cheap and effective way to keep your area looking neat
3. SHARING PHYSICAL WORK SPACE WITH OTHERS
- If the only option is your kitchen/ dining table and you are sharing this with others, perhaps work on a rota system and coordinate diaries for calls and who gets to sit with the most ‘zoom’ appropriate backdrop!
- Agree an “end of work day” time when all work paraphernalia must be cleared from the communal spaces.
- Be thoughtful and kind with others you are sharing with. Keep the area as tidy as possible and give each other regular feedback as to what’s working and what isn’t.
- Be creative with fitting in clever and flexible working areas (or get help from an interior design firm if this is beyond your capabilities)
- Discuss ideas around sharing the communal spaces, perhaps suggesting that calls are to be taken in your own bedrooms.
- Natural light and sunshine are really important to mood and productivity, so, if you can, locate your workspace in a position to maximise on this. If the shared workspace is not promoting creativity, take regular breaks to sit at or look out of a window
4. WORKING IN YOUR BEDROOM
Making it an inviting place to work and stay focused
- If you’re having to work from your bedroom think about whether you can screen off your bed (people seeing where you sleep on video calls can seem a bit too personal - for you or them)
- Consider having some internal glazed partition walls installed (if you have the space) to create secondary areas and give privacy on calls etc.
Using curtains to separate rooms is a great and functional idea too.
- A dressing table could double as a desk, just make sure it is suitably cleared with no distracting items for people on video calls
- Keep it tidy, calm and as neutral a space as possible
- If people are going to be seeing your bedroom, take more care in the styling and accessorising
Discover MOXON Art Prints to gorgeously dress your blank wall!
5. HOW TO DECORATE YOUR TEMPORARY DESK
- New desk purchase: desks don’t have to give an ‘office’ look. Choose beautiful pieces of furniture that will be a joy to use in the future (whether for working from home or otherwise). Integral shelving can be artistically styled
- Any small corner of the room could be fashioned into a work surface
- Keep styling tidy and as minimal as possible for a calm, professional look
- Depending on the size of your desk, a lamp, beautiful pot and notepad, laptop and small plant could be plenty. Keep it simple with space to breath
- If you need inspiration to do good work, tape up things that inspire you to the wall above your desk. Get things done with MiGoals notebooks and journals - the perfect WFH tools to help you get organised and feel empowered
- Include indoor plants - they have so many benefits:
Boost mood, productivity, concentration and creativity Reduce stress, fatigue, sore throats and colds Clean indoor air by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity and producing oxygen - Add life to a sterile space, give privacy and reduce noise levels Are therapeutic and cheaper than a therapist!
