Spruce up your WFH space

S p r u c e u p y ou r W F H s p a c e

Whether you work from a corner in the bedroom, the space under the stairs or even the kitchen table, check out our clever ideas and essential buys to freshen up your home office ready for the new year, and make this space work hard for you C r e a t i n g a z o n e f o r y o u r w o r k s p a c e i n y o u r b e d r o o m o r l i v i n g r o o m w i l l h e l p t o s e t h e a l t h y b o u n d a r i e s b e t w e e n w o r k a n d r e l a x a t i o n . S t a r t b y c h o o s i n g a w a l l c o l o u r f o r y o u r w o r k a r e a , s u c h a s w a r m g r e e n a n d c o n t r a s t i t w i t h a w h i t e w a l l f o r s l e e p i n g

Rebecca Snowden, Interior Style Advisor at Furniture & Choice

White Mist, Mint Macaroon, Goose Down and Warm Pewter matt emulsion, all £20 per 2.5L; Urban Obsession matt emulsion, from £16.34 per 1.5L, all Dulux

Hone your zone

Creating a dedicated work space when you’re working from home is the best way of making the most of your time and cranking up your productivity too. If your living room, bedroom, hallway or dining room has become your new office space, carve out an area that allows you to focus and have everything you need to hand to get the job done, with no distractions.

A great way of creating your work zone is to use colour. Paint a section of wall behind your desk so that it’s clear that this space has a different purpose – be creative and use geometric shapes, stripes or you could even add a mural. You could also consider placing a rug on the floor to make it feel different under foot too.

Mark out your WFH space with an eye-catching wall mural. Painting geometric shapes in complementary colours on the wall in front of your desk is an effective way to highlight the area as your work space, helping you to stay task-focussed.

Hide your desk from the rest of the room with a cleverly constructed DIY screen. Use a clothing rail as a stand and hang a variety of indoor plants from it, encouraging the greenery to create a natural screen to zone your work space. Research shows that plants are key when it comes to concentration. The American Psychological Association found that workers in spaces with plants showed 15 per cent higher productivity than those without.

Use real or faux plants to create a stylish screen that won’t block natural light

green screen

This screen idea, as envisioned by Furniture and Choice, is ideal for an office in a bedroom

divide & conquer

If you want to break up an open-plan space to create a nook for your desk, use freestanding shelving or room dividers to help you draw a line between living and work areas. Alternatively, if you’ve managed to squeeze your desk into an alcove or under the stairs, you might want to hide it from view after office hours, so choose a stylish screen to make clocking off a breeze.

01 Freestanding bookcases are multi-functional when it comes to arranging your home office. Choose a smart design with storage to hide away your work essentials, then position it perpendicular from the wall for the perfect storage screen. 02 Invest in an on-trend rattan or bamboo room divider to hide your desk away after hours.

T O P T I P

Define your WFH space with a bold backdrop that contrasts against the main wall colour

01

Morgan mango wood shelving unit, £475, Homebase

02

Tolkning rattan room divider, £99, IKEA

Work with colour

As well as being ideal for zoning, colour can have a huge impact on our mood, so surrounding yourself with the best hues to encourage productivity and generate a positive outlook is key for your WFH space.

Cooler shades are known to be the most stress relieving hues, and can create a professional backdrop for video meetings too.

blues and greens

Green is uplifting and can improve efficiency and focus, so is ideal in a work space. It’s also known to be restful for the eyes, so if you look at a screen all day this could be the best antidote to help relieve the strain.

Blue promotes productivity, calm and concentration. If you choose to decorate with a darker shade then make sure there’s plenty of natural light to prevent it from becoming a dark corner. Add leafy green house plants and metallic gold highlights to lift the scheme and break up your colour choice.

Easycare Blush Pink emulsion, £20 per 2.5L, Dulux

Beige 02 Soho Farmhouse matt paint, £42 per 2.5L, Lick

Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan in Greek Blue, Louis Blue, Napoleonic Blue, Giverny and Athenian Black, from £6.95 per 120ml, all Annie Sloan

I t h i n k s t r o n g c o l o u r s a r e i m p o r t a n t w h a t e v e r y o u r j o b r o l e : t h i s i s n o t a r o o m f o r r e l a x i n g , y o u w a n t t h e s p a c e t o f e e l d y n a m i c

Annie Sloan, Colour and Paint Expert

Blue 06 matt paint, £42 per 2.5L, Lick Green 02 matt paint, £42 per 2.5L, Lick

neutrals and pinks

If blues and greens don’t appeal to you, or fit with your décor, soft pastels and warm neutrals can create a calm work space.

A sophisticated soft pink ticks the friendly and stylish boxes and works well with hints of gold (the colour of success!) as well as alongside earthy tones – great for reducing stress levels.

A neutral palette can be comforting and make your office feel homely rather than completely separate space. It also provides a chic backdrop for monochrome accessories and plants to bring in a touch of nature.

I f y o u,r e l i m i t e d o n s p a c e , p i c k a d e s k t h a t c a n b e e a s i l y m o v e d o r f o l d e d u p . L a d d e r d e s k s a r e p e r f e c t f o r s l i m m e r s p a c e s , o r i f y o u,r e r e a l l y s t r u g g l i n g o p t f o r a l a p t o p t a b l e

Emily Caloe, Senior Furniture Buyer at VonHaus

Ladder desk, £64.99, VonHaus

hot desks

Banish dark, wasted space in a room with a corner solution. Look for desks with built-in storage to help keep worktops clutter free. There’s been a recent surge in popularity with sit-to-standing desks, as these are believed to aid focus and productivity, improve posture and break up the hours of sitting. This could be a great option if you’re looking for more flexibility with your work space.

01 This clever corner unit is perfect for squeezing a work space into a living area. 02 For the occasional WFH day, this wall-mounted solution is a great find. 03 A sit-to-standing desk is great for you physically, and it can help improve your mental health. Having the flexibility to work in different positions can reduce aches, pains and fatigue and, in turn, increase productivity. 02

Brenta wall mounted occasional desk, £195, A Place for Everything

03 01

Micke corner workstation in oak effect, £179, IKEA

Murphy wide ergonomic sit to-standing desk in White, £159, Dunelm Industrial style office chair in Tan, £281.25; Loft desk, £487.50, both Cox & Cox

One of the most important elements in your WFH space is your desk. The type that you choose largely depends on the space that you have – if you’ve transformed the spare room into a complete office then you can choose a solution that offers the most desktop space, drawers for storage and doesn’t scrimp on style either. But if space is limited, you’ll need to start thinking smart!

space savers

Narrower desks that don’t intrude into the room are ideal for shared spaces, or where your work area needs to slot into the hallway or landing. Ladder-style desks are another great space saver, often providing shelving above the worktop that can be arranged with both office essentials and eye-catching homeware to help it blend seamlessly with the rest of your home.

A ladder desk is a great way of introducing a work space into a living room, dining room or bedroom. The perfect space saver, this desk incorporates storage and desk top space in one sleek solution. Where space isn’t an issue, look for a desk with storage and ample work surface.

A n e a s y w a y t o m a k e t h e m o s t o f y o u r s p a c e i s t o o r g a n i s e y o u r f o l d e r s a n d b o o k s . T h i n k i n g v e r t i c a l l y , w i t h w a l l - m o u n t e d o r s t a c k i n g s t o r a g e s o l u t i o n s c a n h e l p c l e a r t h e c l u t t e r

Simon Glanville, MD, A Place for Everything

01

Natural water hyacinth basket, £14, George Home 03

Hornton wall shelf, £38, Garden Trading

02

Mustard Made Skinny Locker, £289, Scandiborn

up and away

Look to your walls to make the most of the space available; floating shelves or complete shelving units will lift clutter off your desk. Baskets and lidded boxes are ideal for smaller essentials.

01 Put walls to work and free up floor space with wallmounted solutions, like these stylish metal shelves. 02 Storage baskets are handy in any room of the house, but in your WFH space they’re a must-have! 03 Bring style and a pop of colour to your space with a storage locker. The slim design can make use of narrower spaces, while keeping your essentials to hand.

Vox Stige modular wall shelf in Pine, £115, Cuckooland Bekant storage unit, on casters in Black, £219, IKEA

storage solutions

To ensure your home office doesn’t spill over into the rest of your living space, tailor your storage solutions to your individual needs. If your desk doesn’t have drawers, don’t let the space underneath it go to waste by adding a set of free-standing drawers that fit neatly under the desktop.

wheely good ideas

Storage on wheels is a life saver in a flexible WFH space, bringing it to exactly where you need it during office hours, then when the working day is done you can roll it out of the way, into a cupboard or behind a screen.

For awkward spaces, such as under stairs or rooms with sloped ceilings, consider a built-in solution – whether you seek a professional or adapt a DIY modular kit to make use of every inch, if you have a lot to store this could be the way forward. For a dedicated home office space with awkward angles and nooks, a built-in solution will help you to make the most of the room and maximise your storage options.

T O P T I P

Off-the -shelf modular systems are a great way to create bespoke storage on a budget

Clean desk, clear mind

Keep clutter at bay with these practical, yet stylish desk accessories

01

03 02

05 04

06

1 Memo board in Mustard Yellow, £65, Peg & Board 2 Pastel scalloped pen pot in Peachy Pink, £20.95, Martha Brook 3 White terrazzo phone stand, £18, Lisa Angel 4 Loire Gold & Glass multi pen pot, £24.50, Oliver Bonas 5 Hungry hippo desk tidy, £29, Red Candy 6 Gold dot storage box, £4, Hobbycraft

What to do if your WFH space is the kitchen table?

Many of us don’t have the luxury of a desk to work from, so the kitchen table has quickly become known as the home office. If you work from a laptop and can keep the clutter at bay, there’s no reason why this solution can’t become the best option for you. A few smart purchases can help you work from the table comfortably and efficiently, without it affecting the rest of the household.

With your desk space being multipurpose it’s even more important to find storage solutions that can hold all of your work essentials in one place. Trolleys and drawers on wheels are great for this; they provide instant, easy access to books, stationery and files while you work, yet can be moved out of the way as soon as the working day is done.

Invest In an office chair

Buying an office chair might seem crazy when there are several dining chairs to choose from, but an adjustable office chair can be raised or lowered to suit the table and your own needs. They often offer better support for your back too, so that you don’t suffer as a result. And, if you choose a chair on wheels it can easily be moved out of the way by the time that dinner’s on the table

Choose some dedicated work storage

Set up your office before you begi n

Making a few small alterations to your table before you start your working day can help you make the switch from home to work mode. Why not choose a favourite house plant to sit on the table, along with a desk caddy, calendar and scented candle? Opt for an air purifying plant to help clean the air around you to optimise your working space. Then, treat yourself to a new tablecloth, so that when you’re finished you can change the vibe up in an instant, which will help you switch off from work and enjoy some family time.

T O P T I P

This dining table even boas ts a handy drawer so you can s tore away office essentials

Hattefjall office chair with arm rests in Gunnared Light BrownPink, £250, IKEA

Alocasia Zebrina with Elizabeth planter in Shell, from £28, Leaf Envy

Industrial Schoolhouse side table, £155, Vincent and Barn

Three-tier storage trolley in Teal, £30, Hobbycraft