Work from home? Home offices are in such high demand these days. My current home office? An ultra-thin, light laptop allowing me to work anywhere, and I never stay in one place too long. We have a cozy sitting area streaming with sunlight in our bedroom which works well for inspiration from nature. I also have a dressing room/office which works well when I don’t want to disturb my husband’s sleep. Handsome Workspace Designs will spotlight a variety of designs and offer relief with a parade of ridiculous tweets.
Handsome Workspace Designs
How do you design a home office?
A smart place to begin? Look to designers and experts with experience maximizing space who understand architecture, function, beauty, and resources. As a DIYer, I am always learning from selections designers make. I’m a huge fan of everything designer Sherry Hart dreams up and admire her sense of color. Let’s peek at her own home office.
Studying images of attractive workspaces will help you land on the mood you’re after.
We actually have a desk chair just like the one above, and aren’t the shelves perfect for adding accents, accessories, and artwork as well as smart storage? Dark walls contrast beautifully with the warmth of wood, and the gorgeous rug anchors the work space.
Shop for an Appropriate Office Chair
Home offices require comfy ergonomic seating. Since you’ll be seated for long stretches of time, intelligent planning helps to prevent repetitive strain injuries.
As tempting as it is to choose an aesthetically stunning chair, it pays to stick to a handsome design that also supports your health.
If you have long worked from home like me, you may already feel confident about particulars that help you stay focused. Architectural Digest and Country Living shared amazing examples and wisdom for thoughtful and handsome workspaces.
If working from home is brand new, it may take some trial and error to understand your needs and discover options to work for your unique needs.
Lighting a Workspace
You’ll note from this gallery of workspaces how time, expense, and planning went into the lighting. In some cases, a table lamp is sufficient auxiliary light for reading and tasks. However, multiple sources of light may be more helpful.
For example, for built-in worktops or s small desk area, a pendant or sconce may be ideal. I can imagine how the following sconce could be added without hardwiring. The light’s cord could be easily concealed in the grooves of the paneling!
While I don’t spy sconces, lamps, or hanging fixtures in this next beautiful workspace, it’s easy to picture how sconces on the sides of the shelves could add lovely illumination to the top of the desk. A hanging pendant could also be centered to direct light downward.
Ideas to make a handsome workspace also look professional
There isn’t just one approach to guide your office design’s style. Sometimes the nature of your work demands a professional looking space that contrasts with the rest of your home’s look.
Work Table or Desk?
A more professional-like home office likely includes a traditional desk, but depending on the work you do, other work surfaces may suffice if the environment need not look clinical.
In this living room work space above, there’s nothing stuffy about the workspace area. In fact, it’s a seamless look adjoining the living area. Sometimes a work table makes more sense since it can provide more surface area. (Note the clever placement above near the sofa). Work tables can also lend an airier feel than a clunky desk. (And don’t forget art or a gallery wall to inject personality and life.)
Not your typical desk and such an inspiring custom idea. That ceiling, and all of the architectural wonder!
Carving out a Space to Transform a Corner
This Ellwood-Lomax drop front desk is genius in its ability to disappear when the work day is over. Wouldn’t this be an incredible DIY if you have carpentry skills? I admire the curves of the desk chair, cone shaped sconce, softly sculptured pieces, and round ottoman. It’s a good reminder to make sure all of your rooms have a mix of shapes represented. There’s a subtle ease that emerges when the balance is right, and you can mindfully create that ease.
Thank goodness an ugly printer is not always necessary for offices these days! So many lovely desktop options so you need not sacrifice style.
Workspace Designs: Consider the View from Your Desk
Placing a work area near a window may do wonders for mood and productivity. Because of glare, noise, and distractions, it’s also possible a window seat is not ideal. A light filtering blind may be helpful, and I admire how the one below is installed high at ceiling level…it’s possible the window is actually much shorter than how it appears!
Even the architecturally attractive memo boards in the office below provide a pleasant view. Their interesting shape and the multiples feel like beautiful wall panels that also serve an important function.
If natural light and/or a view are important for productivity and focus, is there space in a den or family room for a home office? This next space looks as if it could function as a dining space as well as a space to work.
The tropical branch in a vase (above) is another good reminder that bringing nature to a space can be impactful if the view is not relaxing or natural.
Should the Style Be Modern, Vintage or a Mix?
There’s something so serenely beautiful about this next classic modern yet traditional home office. The sconce is rather traditional in style, the millwork and built-ins are classic, and the uncluttered feel keeps it feeling freshly modern.
Need more ideas for light grey paint colors?
The vertical lines of the paneled area above the desktop add so much rich texture and interest and draw the eye up. (I’m struck too by the absence of visible cords and power strips. Perhaps they are on the underside of the desk’s top.)
Natural Elements for Home Office Design
A quiet, minimal, sanctuary of a spot for your desk may be just the ticket when you require calm to get business done. While this office below seems best suited for a writer or minimalist, we can still take cues from the mood of the design and the power of natural materials.
Knotty wood planks on the ceiling (do you suppose it is cedar?) warm the space and feel anything but sterile or commercial cubicle central. The wood floors are also rustic and feel so clean. Don’t underestimate the power of an attic space or closet to carve out an office!
Natural elements may be as simple as living plants, a wood desk, wallpaper with a nature motif and earth tones, or woven baskets for storage.
Office Nook Workspace Designs
I love how this home office nook is just wide enough to accommodate the desk. We don’t often think of nooks for rooms beyond the kitchen or dining room, but here’s a reminder they can live large everywhere. The monochromatic blue is also so calm and comforting.
The space appears to be able to function as a small guest bedroom, and the stand for tablet/TV is also a smart addition to note for small spaces. An office with desk nook, daybed, and media area all represented in a rather small footprint.
Should the Office Design Be Colorful or Calm?
We all know color affects us psychologically, and if you need it to feel high energy, go for it! There are plenty of ways to use color without wrapping a room in it. Notice how the inside of these built-in cupboards provides bold color and contrast.
What Color Should You Paint Your Workspace?
Here’s a shortcut if you’re curious about the psychological underpinnings of color:
Bold Colors in Office Design
RED: Associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination, red brings to mind passion, desire, and love.
BROWN: Here’s a hue associated with the traits of dependability, reliability, and resilience. Brown-lovers are most often reserved and not looking to attract attention to oneself.
ORANGE: Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. Associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics, it represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.
YELLOW: Associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy, yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Bright, pure yellow is an attention-getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color.
Calm Colors for Design
GREEN: This is the color of nature symbolizing growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Considered beneficial to the mind and body, green slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect.
BLUE: Unique and authentic, blue is enthusiastic, sympathetic, and personal. Those who favor blue seek meaning and significance in life. Warm, communicative, and compassionate; they care about what they do.
PINK: This is a color that represents a gentle type of love. Pink stands for tenderness, vulnerability, and youth. It is a calming, non-threatening color linked to innocence, hope, and optimism.
PURPLE: Combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition.
WHITE: Associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity, white is considered to be the color of perfection. The color signifies safety, purity, and cleanliness and usually has a positive connotation.
Where to Hide Clutter?
Depending on your comfort level with clutter and your organization style, it is sometimes beneficial to hide it all away.
Make it Mobile
If you work in a living area rather than a room devoted exclusively for an office, it’s helpful when your work table is mobile. Casters help!
This beautifully designed study below does not feel ‘office-y’ at all, and the work area blends seamlessly.
A den with a sofa, builtins, minimal modern style and tone on tone decor is an ideal multipurpose flex space!
Laptop Lifestyle
I tend to move around and am comfy working just about anywhere since my work doesn’t require file cabinets or office supplies.
What a discovery when I found a modern standing desk!
I enjoy changing it up and working wherever the view is inspiring and the distractions minimal.
So sometimes I’ll get cozy in the kitchen and enjoy watching woodland creatures or snow fall outside.
You can see my desk chair on this mood board below. It looks great with my lift desk when I want to sit rather than stand, and it is even better in person:
If you’re fond of Old World and European inspired style, you might enjoy these resources (please pin the goodness to help this blog!) for an elegant, tonal office that feels anything but office-y:
Ideas for a French Inspired Home Office
Tour Sarah Richardson Designed Home Offices
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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