By Megan Totka
Working from home doesn’t have to be blah. Here are four simple ways to add flair and style to your home office, whether you’re dealing with cramped or wide open space. Make your home office yours and style your way to more uplifting workdays.
Revisit Your Color Scheme
What are your favorite colors? What colors make you happy? If you’re excited about the design of the room, you’ll want to spend more time there, and you’ll naturally be more productive. If you dread being in the area, your productivity levels will decline.
If you’re using an entire room, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint. You don’t have to go bright and bold—but jazz it up with something you love, other than white or beige. If you can’t repaint the entire room because you’re sharing space in the living room or bedroom, consider adding color to other elements to your space.
Use a piece of fabric, a throw pillow, your favorite patterned notebook or an accessory as the jumping point for your color scheme if you’re feeling short on inspiration.
Deck Your Walls
Fill your home office walls with photos of people, places, and things you love. Have a favorite quote or painting? Find a print, frame it, and mount it in an area you’ll easily see from your desk. If you have room, hang a corkboard to create your own dream board. It’ll help keep you motivated, and you can update it as you grow in your business. Decorate the frame of the board with paint or fabric to help it flow with the rest of your color scheme and decor.
Pair Function with Style
What does your workflow look like? Consider how you work before you invest in your furniture. Choose items that will serve their purpose well, but also consider how well each piece fits into your design. Your chair is an important item to consider. It needs to be ergonomic because of how much time you’ll spend there, but ergonomic chairs are available in so many styles you’re sure to find something that fits.
You can find a variety of office supplies that still meet your function requirements, while still offering styles you’ll love. From funky staplers and pencil holders to storage solutions and more, you can find the necessities you need for productivity, without resorting to bland and boring. Even the small stuff can be beautiful, like these colorful folders and envelopes. They’ll hold your papers and important documents, and they’ll look fashionable doing it!
Hide Unsightly Cords
You can’t really beautify your computer, printer, and other office technology, but you can at least make them look crisp, clean, and tidy when you hide the cords. If necessary, rearrange items to get them as close to the outlets as you can.
Some fun and classy ideas:
- Cover the cords with a fabric cord cover.
- Use LEGO mini-figures to hold cables.
- Use a cord winder to tame the mess on the floor.
For ultimate productivity in your home office, you’ll need the right tools, but without the right layout and design, even the tools won’t matter. If you’ve been in a slump lately, step back and think about how to beautify your office. You may just be surprised at the difference it makes!
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources and business news. Megan has several years of experience on the topics of small business marketing, copywriting, SEO, online conversions and social media. Megan spends much of her time establishing new relationships for ChamberofCommerce.com, publishing weekly newsletters educating small business on the importance of web presence, and contributing to a number of publications on the web. Megan can be reached at megan@chamberofcommerce.com.
