Working from home is a reality right now through the pandemic and may become a common theme in the future. Here are a few suggestions to elevate your home office space into a functional and inspiring work environment.
Install a gallery wall
Whether you are on zoom calls all day and would like an interesting backdrop, or need to imbue some colour or inspiration into your space, try adding a gallery wall. You can do this by grouping existing artwork you already have together in an interesting way.
In this office space my client had a series of photographs from a favourite artist framed consistently and wanted to showcase them in an interesting way. These are stunning pieces of art by themselves but together they make a bold statement on this charcoal wall. I made sure the space between each piece was consistent and filled the wall space from top to bottom for greatest impact.
This office space needed some personality so I took a variety of pieces and fit them together to make an interesting and personal reflection for my client. In this case all of the items on the gallery wall are framed differently, and consist of different mediums. What makes this work is all the pieces fit together in tone and I’ve balanced it with composition and colour.
Convert a closet
If you have a closet space that is either not being used, or could be repurposed for the time being, why not set-up a workstation in there! You don’t have to take the doors off or do any construction work if this is just a temporary solution (leaving the doors on is actually nice because you can shut your work away and not see it!).
In this space, the closet was just used for box storage. Luckily the boxes could be moved to another space and a simple laptop table from Ikea could be fit in the space.
Create a portable home office
Since your home is most likely being used by all members of your family, you may not have a solo office space to use. In that case a dining room table or kitchen counter may be your temporary office. When using a common area in your home to work at, try to differentiate it when it is being used for the workday compared to downtime.
I would suggest finding a basket, bin or box that you can store all the supplies you need for your work day, and that can be easily packed back up and stored away for the next day. Use smaller containers or boxes within your main one to organize the items you need for the day. Make it fun and personal to your likes with a favourite colour, a scented candle to light for inspiration, or a picture of a loved one to put out on your temporary desk that you haven’t seen in a while. We need all the inspiration and joy we can find in simple pleasures right now, so readily add them to your daily routine!
If you have any questions about energizing your home office space, or coming up with a temporary solution, I’m happy to help! Contact me to book an online virtual consultation, here.