By Zephyr and Stone

As we move into another year of virtual meetings and more hours spent working from the home office, it’s time to get serious about creating a functional space that will make staying productive while working from home a breeze. We share our top work from home tips that can be easily incorporated into your existing WFH setup or essential to consider if you’re planning the design of your new home office space…

coastal home office with white study desk and wooden chair and custom timber joinery — Zephyr and Stone • Beach House Study Nook

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Ventilation

Have you ever worked in a stuffy office environment and felt your energy (and productivity) levels slowly crash throughout the day? You weren’t imagining it — studies like this one from the Harvard Business Review prove there’s a clear link between indoor air quality, poor ventilation and your health! Basically, people who work under optimal conditions for temperature and air quality outperform their colleagues who are essentially breathing stale, uncirculated air. This affects everything from your concentration, decision-making, strategising, planning and even your mood!

To keep yourself productive throughout the day, it’s important to consider the air you are breathing in as well as the temperature of your home. One of the easiest and most effective ways to achieve clean, fresh air and keep you inspired is to open up windows and doors to bring in fresh air from the outside. It helps to naturally filter your workspace and also regulate the temperature to avoid that mid-afternoon productivity slump. Regulating your WFH space’s temperature will help you avoid common workplace issues like dehydration and migraines, as well as dry skin and allergies. Fans and air filters are also a great way to keep your workspace at a comfortable temperature throughout the day while circulating air throughout so you can focus on your to-do list.

contemporary coastal study nook under sith light oak joinerytairs w — Zephyr and Stone • Contemporary Coastal Study Nook

Natural Light

Second, on the list of top complaints by office workers in a Forbes workplace study, was access to natural light. Natural light throughout the day is recognised as significantly impacting our feeling healthy and productive while working. Now that a lot of us have the ability to work from our own homes, we’re able to design our own ideal workspace, with ample natural lighting being high on the list of priorities. Having windows, doors or even skylights in your WFH space automatically creates an inviting, bright area that connects you with the outdoors, even if you’re spending hours at a time at the desk.

Access to natural daylight and outdoor views when at work is not only linked to better health and overall mood, but studies have also revealed that people working in environments with low levels of light need to take more breaks from their work, leading to a drop in productivity as well. If you’re about to start your day in your home office, open the curtains and position your desk in a place where you’ll be able to look outside, to help keep you inspired, feeling happy and motivated.

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Desktop Space

Whether you’ve got a study nook under the stairs or a dedicated room for your home office, giving yourself ample space to work, with any essentials you’ll need throughout the day on hand is key to staying on track and as productive as you can be! When planning or designing your workspace, think about how much desktop space you’ll need to complete work effectively. Is space for a laptop enough, or do you need extra room for things like documents, monitors etc.? You don’t want to be shuffling your workspace around to make room throughout the day or week, so make sure you have a desk that’s the right fit for you. Factor in a bit of extra elbow room in your design, or plan for an extra long desk if there’ll often be a second person using the area, or a child completing homework in the space by night.

black timber joinery home office study nook — Zephyr and Stone • Resort Study Nook

Storage

If you’re like us, a tidy, organised workspace is the best environment to power through a to-do list with ease. Adding clutter to your desktop with things like utility bills, files, document trays and bits and pieces like spare cords and keyboards will only make your workspace less user-friendly. Plus you’ll end up spending valuable work time moving things around or searching for misplaced documents. Investing in clever storage solutions is essential to maintaining an organised and productive workspace.

When designing our own home offices, we love to include a range of different storage options such as tall cupboards, drawers underneath the desk and even a floating shelf or two above. This way everything from computer gadgets to important documents can be neatly and safely tucked away and organised so you know exactly where to look to find them. You can utilise a floating shelf for frequently-used items for easy access, as well as incorporate styling items so that your office area is reflective of your style and continues to inspire you. And don’t forget to include power points both at your desk, as well as inside cupboards, to allow for a printer and chargers to be stored plugged in but hidden behind closed doors!

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