Tips & Ideas for Creating An Ideal Work Space at Home

Thanks to this god-awful pandemic, a lot of us have started working from home. When work and home life blend together, it makes unwinding difficult. Creating a separate and organized space to work in makes a world of difference.

What makes a good work space?

The first and obvious thing to think about is the location of your work desk. Good lighting is vital, especially if it’s natural. Placing your desk near a window would be best but you can make use of lamps if this is not possible. Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to lighting:

• Avoid direct lights as this can be too harsh on the eyes. Aim for diffused lighting.
• Make sure the light isn’t behind you, especially if you’re using a computer.
• If you’re writing or drawing at your desk, try to use a lamp that is adjustable so that you can move it around easily.

The next thing to decide on is your desk and chair. This depends entirely on your taste and budget. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to the placement of your desk and chair, as this infographic helpfully shows:

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The home offices that you see online and in magazines are often styled with a specific colour palette in mind. It takes a lot of time and money to hunt for things that fit a colour scheme, so I’d suggest not making that a priority. Choose the basics that you need and slowly build a beautiful work space around that.

An easy way to add charm and liveliness to your office is by adding plants. We all know the benefits of having indoor plants. If you’re like me and don’t have much of a green thumb, you can get some that are low maintenance. If even that’s too much work, try adding in pictures or paintings of plants. It’s not the same but it can liven up a space just as well.

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Work on the wall

Once you’ve got those basics down, it’s time to add more character to your space. The easiest thing to do would be to put up a couple of movie posters or art prints. It doesn’t have to be a wall of carefully curated pictures. Put up any image that you like! Did you see a beautiful ad in a magazine? Put it up there! Do you have pieces of your favourite scrapbook paper lying around? It can go on the wall!

It’s important to make your work space your own. Frames hung in a neat grid above your desk can look polished and classy, but it can also make that space feel cold. Create a place where you feel free to get messy.

If, like me, you have a simple black or brown desk, adding in any vivid colour brightens everything up dramatically. You could put up pictures in this manner:

DIY washi tape frames (Source)

Or you could just stick all kinds of art and images, in a somewhat chaotic pattern. Don’t worry about misalignments and overlapping.

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This looks haphazard but it can be stimulating, especially if you use your work space for creative things.

If you want a wall that’s constantly changing. try setting up a motivation wall such as this:

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Doodles and quotes on post-its are the fastest way to decorate your space. You can keep switching things out. This can also be replaced with a memo or peg board. Peg boards are easy to find at places like IKEA. There are also many DIY tutorials that show you how to make them yourself.

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If you’re aiming for something really unique, try the radiator screen organizer. You’ll have to go looking for a radiator screen, but it’ll make a fun project. You can see how to make it here.

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I recently stumbled on another style of “memo board” (seen below) that’s rustic and quirky. Follow the tutorial here so that you can make it yourself. It’s rather unusual but it’s bound to stand out.

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Organization

Did you know that a messy desk encourages creativity? This might not apply to everyone as it depends on one’s working style. If your work desk is set up in your bedroom or the living room, leaving it messy might not always be a great idea. Here are some ways in which you can keep the mess to a minimum:

Tame those wires

By neatly organizing all the wires on and below your desk, you create more space, and cleaning becomes way easier. Labelling all your cables makes things less confusing. The easiest way to do this is to use washi tape.

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Alternatively, you can use labelled binder clips. This has the additional bonus of preventing your wires from sliding off the desk every time you unplug a device.

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Here’s another useful hack: Fix two pairs of hooks on the underside of your desk to hang a basket off of, and you can use it to place your power strip so that it’s out of sight.

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Make your own colourful storage containers!

Sometimes the boxes and organizers at the store can be dull and boring, but you can make your own in easy and fun ways. Compartmentalise your drawers with pretty cardboard organizers like this:

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There are so many ways in which you can make desktop organizers that are unusual. This simple and easy triangle organizer is one. Learn how to make it here.

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If you’re a stationery addict, your desk is definitely overflowing with pens, pencils and brushes. Storing them in boxes is inconvenient as sifting through them takes ages. Here’s a simple idea you could implement with a little bit of cardboard, decorative paper and toilet rolls:

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Tin cans can be easily upcycled to make beautiful pen stands with the help of some fancy paper and glue.

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Sorting through documents on your desk is made much easier with this simple organizer made from cereal boxes:

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Making an ideal work space takes time and can seem like too much work to do at once. Try adding little things to it everyday and before you know it, you’ll have a lovely space to work in!

We hope you find this post useful. Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

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