For many people, daily working patterns have changed and employers have become more flexible around remote working from home. Perhaps your kitchen table has become a makeshift office, or you find yourself endlessly shuffling things around throughout the day. At Bower WIllis Designs, we’ve taken our interior design expertise to address the latest, and possibly most pressing, space in the house. The home office.
Using the same design techniques, materials and craftsmen as we do with our unique and high quality kitchens, we’re here to help you transform an underutilised corner of your home into a dedicated work space. One that’s actually nice to look at and feels like part of your home too.
Here are a few things to think about:
Location. Do you need peace and quiet away from the noise and traffic of your household, or should your home office space be in the middle of your home so you can keep an eye on the kids while you’re working?
Worktop space. How much space do you need? Do you have a laptop with minimal equipment, or a large desktop computer with additional screens and a printer?
Design. Should your home office complement or contrast with the look and feel of furniture in your home? This can be especially important in open plan rooms.
Materials. How hard wearing does your home office space need to be? Also think about comfort; for example granite and quartz surfaces are cold to touch which might not be ideal if you spend lots of time writing or working at a keyboard.
Storage. Do you use lots of files, paperwork and samples in your work? Having somewhere to put things away will help keep your home office space tidy when you finish, allow you to relax without looking at things when you’ve finished for the day, and keep things safe from being touched or played with by children, pets or helpful family members.
Sharing space. Is there more than one person working from home and how does that shared space work with video calls and telephone conversations?
Inspiration. What view are you looking out onto? It’s much more inspiring to see the garden or watch the world go by than face a blank wall.
Lighting. Think about natural light coming into your room as well as task lighting over working areas.
Seating. With an appropriate working height desk, you’ll also need a comfortable chair.
Communication. Wifi connections can be patchy in old properties with thick walls, or in townhouses where the signal has to reach up several flights of stairs. Do you need hardwired internet for video calls, live streaming or downloading large files?
We’d love to discuss your kitchen design dreams with you
Call us on 01608 690870 or email [email protected] to discuss how we can create the perfect home office space for your home.