Working From Home: How To Create a Home Office Space That Encourages Productivity

The ‘home office’ can be anything from a cupboard under the stairs, a laptop on the sofa, or a crowded space at the end of the breakfast bar! However, if your job allows working from home we think it’s far more productive to create a specific home office space to help organisation, mental clarity and of course to provide somewhere for those papers that magically appear, however ‘paperless’ you try to be! As today is National Work From Home Day, we thought we’d bring some brilliant interior additions that can help create the perfect working environment within your own home…

On The Table

If you need the home office to function as a proper writing space, it’s vital to use a proper table or desk and, of course, to have it at the right height. It’s fine to doodle around on a laptop or tablet whilst you’re reclining on the sofa and checking headlines or the socials, but concerted creativity and thinking time is best addressed on a surface at the right height. Stand-up desks are a fabulous idea, but in my experience, take up quite a lot of space. Although the Pro Plus 36 from Varidesk does the job absolutely perfectly, but it needs to be a pretty permanent addition to the dining room table. The little console desk above, from a selection of console tables and desks at MADE.com is a nice idea for organised folk who just need a laptop space and a paper tray.

Under The Sea

As the sort of people who can work virtually anywhere – on the breakfast bar, dining table, allocated desk space, on the train, Sometimes we think it would be nice to have an official allocated desk space and something interesting to gaze at whilst staring down the looming deadline. Something like the magnificent quirky wallpapers from Cole & Sons Fornasetti Senza Tempo collection of monkeys, books and architecture perhaps. Or maybe something a little more restful and dreamlike, such as Algae Moss from Mind The Gap. We’re firm believers that natural colours and motifs are more restful and allow creative thoughts to flow…

Shine A Light

A new work-space needs decent lighting, and of course desk lamps, ceiling spots and table lamps are all perfectly suitable. However, we do like the idea of using these Katy Paty Roo Pastels sockets and switches (left and right) to add a bit of colour and pizzazz! Best used for new rooms/new walls though, as they’ll need European-style round back-boxes – so consult a professional electrician. If it’s just a new desk lamp you need though, we’re also looking rather admiringly at the Brass Maya desk lamp from Cult Furniture – it’s a neat, classic design that will suit all room schemes.

Ideas for Alcoves

Alcoves in bedrooms are great spots to position a work-desk or study-desk, especially if you (or your offspring) need quiet time to get productive and/or creative. Darker shades are soothing too, as long as there’s plenty of light to enable a focus on the task in hand. This is the Lisabo ash-veneered computer desk from IKEA; always our ‘go-to’ destination for any storage, table, desk or shelf-related products!

Paints by Graham & Brown

Paints by Graham & Brown

Moody Blues

We’ve been getting inspired by some of the new paint colours from Graham & Brown and of course, once you start looking at the paint colours it’s impossible not to have a scroll through the wallpapers as well! So, if your floors have been sorted out with our tiles or luxury vinyls, and you need a bit of colourful input, we are pretty keen on the idea of blues of all shades to create a restful scheme that won’t distract too much from the task in hand. Rather a good idea for a grown up home office, we think.

Kitchen Seating & Units | Harvey Jones

Kitchen Seating & Units | Harvey Jones

Seating & Storage

If the kitchen is your place of work, then this would be a rather nice option…there is hidden storage in the bench seating, and the table is big enough to be able to spread out all your paperwork and books. Once again, it features a bold blue to create a calm and, dare we say it, inspirational space with a view of the garden. This beautiful bespoke kitchen is by Harvey Jones. For similar tile style, take a look at our Imperial Ivory Porcelain tiles.

Serious Inspiration

If there was a study-space, home-office or library like this in your home, wouldn’t you just want to use it every single day, and surely that would increase your productivity! This is made-to-order and fully fitted by Neville Johnson, and we think it’s a fabulous combination of a contemporary colour and design that still fits in with traditional looks. Design-wise, it’s a good way of linking two separate rooms perhaps, or simply making the best use of an otherwise little-used walk through space.

Subtle Accents

And if that blue library concept has sparked further creative thoughts, pair it with some practical flooring … our Cleveland Oak Luxury Vinyl Tiles are easy to install, using a click-drop, no-adhesive system, easy to keep clean, and are also perfectly suited to bathrooms and kitchens too, so could be used throughout the home, adding a gorgeous finishing touch to both ground floor and upper floor installations.

Have you got any office or study space projects that you’ve finished recently? Do send us your pics – hit us up @TileMountainUK or tag us on Instagram with your  project photos and you could receive a £20 instagram voucher should we use your pics on our website!

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