Your home office should be your work haven. It’s the space where you can get things done. This is where you go to get away from your actual office but it’s also a retreat within your home, an energizing space where your entire focus can be on productivity and making sure your career is thriving.
But right now, your home office is less of a haven and more of a mess. Do you feel overwhelmed by the lack of organization? Do you avoid going to your office because looking at everything in there makes you feel less productive instead of more? At 180 Closet Design, we have been helping people all over Northern Virginia find home office design solutions that actually work for them.
Create A Control Panel
As you design your ideal home office, create an area that will be your “Control Panel.” Your Control Panel is a section of your wall or desk where you can check in on every major organizational aspect of your life. A control panel is where you will find a calendar, to-do lists, bills, notes about important projects, and anything else that is especially relevant to your productivity (and keeping your life afloat).
Design The Room To Harmonize With Your Workflow
When you walk into your office what is the first thing you do? Do you go right to your computer? Do you check through invoices that you picked up in the mail? Do you walk up to the window with your cup of coffee, pull back the curtains and look out into the yard for a bit? Keep this flow in mind when designing what kind of office layout works for you.
To get the most out of your office, you will need to be able to easily sit down at the computer first thing. You can’t have a large piece of furniture in front of that window if you relish standing in front of it. You can’t keep your mail in a box far away from the door if you enjoy the flow of opening it as you walk in. Designing your office with your natural patterns in mind can make you feel more energized and productive.
Declutter Through Design
Most people don’t have a massive, gigantic room to use as their home office. That’s fine! What is most important is that the room energizes you, so you can be your most productive and creative self. If you don’t have as much space as you’d prefer, try a few of these home office design tricks:
Hang Lighting From The Ceiling
You read that right. Save floor space through intentionally placed lighting. If high-up ceiling lights just don’t feel homey and comfortable enough there is an easy solution. A hanging light, (especially one that can be adjusted for height), can make the room feel warm and inviting at night, leaves plenty of space for other things on the floor and on your desk, and lets you focus on the most important thing: getting your work done.
Display And Store On Your Walls
If you are storing all of your important paperwork in stacks on your desk, in the dark recesses of your filing system, or worse, just anywhere that it fits — this is no good. Consider filing solutions that go on your walls. You can reach for your invoices, important correspondences, or whatever else you need easily if you store it on the wall.
Treat it like a display and make it look good. Maybe even put it where your control panel is. You will feel the difference immediately.Â
Clearly Label Everything
Of course, we don’t mean “everything,” everything. But if you want an organized office, all of your items are going to need a place that is their “home,” a place they can be stored. If you label things, you are more likely to remember them. Even if your brain no longer notices the label on your filing cabinet drawer that says “old tax documents,” you’ve already mapped out that location in the room as the receptacle for, well, old tax documents.
Labels can help clarify and keep things settled in your space. If you know where all of your office supplies are then you don’t need to do deep cleanings as often, you will feel more peaceful in the space, and you can finally just focus on your work.
Further Custom Details
One of the most important parts of your home office is the little details you have dreamed up on your own. Maybe it’s a specific type of wood from a region of the world you traveled to when you were younger. Maybe it’s cabinetry with a matte finish and a desk designed for a left-handed writer. Maybe you have an unconventional layout in mind, or maybe you need a safe installed.
If your office is going to flow the way you need it to, then at least one aspect of it will need to be customized. And that is why the next solution is so important:
Find The Right Contractor
When you dedicate all this time into designing the perfect home office for yourself, you need to be absolutely sure that your contractor understands what you have in mind. Even more than that, you need to feel sure that they can elevate your vision, show you options that match up with what you are thinking and focus on getting you what you want.
It’s time to give 180 Closet Design a call. We’ve been creating custom closets and other organization systems for 10 years now, and home offices are one of our specialties. Call us today for your complimentary consultation.
