Working from Home: Get the Designer Office

For many entrepreneurs and start-ups, the perks of working from home are many. Flexible hours, access to your own comfortable living and dining space, the freedom to have breaks whenever needed, zero commute time and reduced gas costs; these are just a few of the benefits of having a home office.

But just as there are perks, there are also many downfalls. If you don’t have the right working space, working from home can be distracting and work hours can become indistinguishable as you juggle homelife and worklife with no structure. So having an attractive and comfortable office room in your home (one which is organized and won’t leave you distracted) is extremely important. Here are some great tips of getting that designer office feel for your home based business.

 

Find a Quiet and Spacious Location

Many people will find that working on the dining room table or in a cramped desk space in the living room, simply doesn’t work. If you have a busy family life, it’s important to have a quiet area or a room where you can shut off from the rest of the household. Having a dedicated office area will give you a sense of purpose and you can start to make this space your own with practical yet stylish furniture and inspiring decor.

 

Creative Use of Space

Not every house has a spare room for you to work your magic on. But there are other ways you can transform your home into an office by choosing some ergonomic solutions. Loft conversions, under stair office rooms (see amazing examples), pool houses or summer houses all make fantastic places for running your start-up business.

 

 

Choose Stylish Yet Practical Furniture

You will spend many hours a day, every single day in the same room/area of your home, so it really is important to make the interior design as comfortable, inspiring, relaxing and practical as possible. The furniture you choose should be to your taste and make it easy for you to concentrate. A Vitra Eames red leather lobby chair sure does make a great stand-out feature, and a Sophie Kirkpatrick desk sure gives your office that quirky, creative edge. But don’t forget the essentials; bookcases for storage , filing cabinets for paperwork (upcycling ideas here), and drawers for keeping your desk free of junk at all times.

 

 

 

 

Put Your Stamp On It

Working as a freelancer or as a solo self-employed business owner can be lonely and it’s not always easy when you don’t have someone else to bounce ideas off. So putting your own personal stamp on your office and making the space feel as a creative and exciting as possible is a great way of staying motivated. Get that designer office look with some unique and quirky décor. Test your DIY skills with some upcycling, add some interesting pieces of art to your wall or invest in some inspiring sculptures, or feature your eclectic book collection so you can make your office not just a desirable place to work, but a desirable place to do some Sunday afternoon reading.

Ms. Career Girl

Ms. Career Girl was started in 2008 to help ambitious young professional women figure out who they are, what they want and how to get it.