The Home Office
Hello, my friends! I hope you are having a great weekend!
So,…. most of the people I know (with the exception of my healthcare worker friends!) have all had to work from home the last year. You’ve had to make adjustments to your homes to make things sort-of work, you’ve had your kids crying in the background of those zoom calls, and you may still be using that dining chair to sit in!
In the early years of my career, I designed many many many workplaces. With that experience, I learned how important it is to have a work surface at the right ratio from arm/elbow/hand (it should be slightly angled below 90 degrees), as well as a chair to sit in that works best for your body. Honestly, if you don’t have this right, you WILL start to experience injuries, I know it myself personally.
So, what do I recommend for your home office? A height-adjustable desk is number 1. You can get these in a wide variety of options, where you “crank it up” manually, or you have one that automatically rises and falls when it’s time for you to move. The price varies greatly, but honestly, this is what I have from Ikea, and it works wonderfully! Steelcase, Knoll, and Haworth all carry options as well—- but these only scratch the surface, you can find many many many more than these.
For the second most important element for your office is a task chair. This is so incredible personal to you, so you may actually need to try a few before you find the right fit. My personal favorite—- the only chair I will work in—— is the Knoll Generation Chair. I’ve sat in it now for over 12 years, and every time I am presented with a different option, it lasts about 2 days before my body is sore and I need to revert back to my Generation. But again, Knoll, Steelcase, Haworth, Humanscale, and Herman Miller all have great options worth checking out! If these look too expensive, you can hunt for a used one online. But again, not being in pain from how you sit all day is worth it in my opinion!
Once you have these two key items, you can start playing with the wall color, task and ceiling lighting, art, and botanicals, to personalize and bring your space to life. Here are some inspo images of how you can turn your home into a personalized office. These images were designed by: #kelseyleighdesignco, #kenlinsteadtarchitects, #proem_studio, and #elledecorationdk.
Keep me posted on your home office, and any questions you may have for some additional tips and tricks!!! And be sure you personalize your space— botanicals (fake or real) make a HUGE difference!
xoxo—Ann
