14 Tips For Creating Your Dream Office Space At Home

Whether you work for yourself full time or your current job is so demanding that it bleeds into your personal life long after the office has closed, having your own designated workspace at home can make the world of difference to your wellbeing. And as more and more Irish companies adjust to more flexible working arrangements (HOORAY!), working from home is becoming more and more popular. It can also save you a considerable amount of money in the long run, when you add up all those chai lattes you wind up buying for the privilege of squashing yourself in among other freelancers at the nearest Starbucks.

Instead of clacking on your keyboard from under your duvet (a place of comfort where work should never go) and blurring the lines between your personal and professional life to the point of no return, it’s hugely important to create a space that you can walk away from at the end of the day, ensuring your work mind has less a chance of sticking with you as you go on to enjoy some down time. The structure and routine of a clearly defined workspace can not only help save your living room from becoming your boardroom, it will also help you work better and more productively. You’ll be more focused, and less likely to turn on the TV or get lured in by the kettle and its sidekick cookie jar (we’ve all been there). What’s more, the chance to create your own office where you’re the boss and nobody can tell you what to do is ALL kinds of fun. Especially when you start mooching around Pinterest for inspiration. Gone are the days when it was a clothes shopping haul alone that set our hearts aflutter; today, we go gaga for interiors too. That’s a side effect of what they call ‘adulting’.

Clara uses ring binders and folders for her most important documents. Price DKK 16,90 / SEK 23,40 / NOK 23,90 / EUR 2,37 / ISK 498 #office #organising #ringbinders #binders #folders #patterns #inspiration #sostrenegrene #s’strenegrene #grenehome

A photo posted by S’strene Grene (@sostrenegrene) on Feb 21, 2016 at 5:01am PST

Browse our gallery above for some neat ideas that’ll have you hopping out of bed to get working in no time. A short term investment for a long term gain; who’s on board?

i’m conducting my annual magazine purge: clipping & pasting favorite images into my inspiration journals, and sorting the magazines i simply can’t part with and organizing them into these sweet @targetstyle metal baskets. a clean slate = more space for creativity! #HowDoYouDo me time? #

A photo posted by Victoria Smith (@sfgirlbybay) on Jan 9, 2016 at 11:09am PST

Top tips

• You don’t need a huge space to make this work; just a free corner.
• Try to create your office space near enough to a window; the light will make a huge difference to your mood.
• Hang some inspirational prints and images that make you happy on the nearby walls; they’ll motivate you and perk you up when you hit a rough spot.
• If you prefer the look of a stylish chair such as the Eames style chairs in the gallery above, kit yourself out with a back support cushion that you sit on to ensure your posture doesn’t suffer.
• Keep your office desk as clean and uncluttered as possible; messiness and creativity don’t mix well.
• Set alarms on your computer at hourly intervals to encourage you to hop up and get moving, get a glass of water, take a bathroom break, step outside for some fresh air.
• Invest in a cheap and cheerful blackboard for ideas and reminders.
  Invest in chic notebooks and stationary. Never underestimate the power of decent stationary for its ability to encourage and inspire you. It worked when you were in school; it will still work now.

This is the beautiful business corner of @nina_pinza. L O V E all the little details #mybusinesscorner #creativity #diy #creativeentrepreneur

A photo posted by HOME OFFICE INSPIRATION – (@mybusinesscorner) on Feb 21, 2016 at 12:47pm PST

• You don’t have to buy ugly office lighting just because this is an office space; you also don’t need to stick to the office department of a homeware store; opt for soft lighting that creates a relaxing atmosphere instead of an industrial bulb that may have once been used as part of an interrogation. Be nice to yourself! IKEA’s general desk collection has far more to offer than their specific office desks so make sure to browse in all homeware departments.
• Tiger, Ikea and Dun Laoghaire’s new interiors store Sostrene and Grene are packed to the brim with storage solutions. Don’t allow your papers to pile up and get messy; make a conscious effort to file thing away in these kinds of boxes and baskets that really are as cheap as chips.
• One simple shelf above your desk will do; you don’t need to invest in entire shelving and storage units.
• Set about decorating this space with the same love you’d give to the rest of your home; if it’s a place you’re happy to spend time in, it’s a win win.
• Be ruthless in your organisation of everything from documents to pens and staplers. Everywhere should have its home.
• Have fun; it’s your space and you’re the boss. If you feel that a mini basketball net will enhance your work day, set one up. If you’re a minimalist nut, keep things clean, white and grey. If you’re obsessed with pink, paint your table pink.
• Create yourself a board on pinterest before you make any major purchases?and please, oh please, invest in a good measuring tape.