The mailbox is full. The to-do list is even fuller. The desk is calling. However, if the home office is well organised, comfortable and inviting, there’s no need to get stressed. We discovered a wealth of ideas at Ambiente for making the home workspace a welcoming place for effective working and creative inspiration. There were lots of practical gadgets, stylish accessories and decorative classics for the perfect work-life balance.
Workplace wellness
There are countless practical guides for setting up an office or workspace – advice on the best ergonomic seating position, the ideal lighting arrangement and even how to optimise the flow of chi. However, the most important things to ensure with your home office is that it fits harmoniously with the home environment, that you like it and that you feel comfortable there. Achieving a work-life balance is vital, and is possible even where space is extremely limited. No matter whether it’s an office or a desk in the corner of the room – if you’re well organised and let the design be shaped by your imagination and your own sense of style, you can make the home workspace a ‘home sweet home office’.
Everything in view
Stress in the workplace is caused primarily by poor organisation. The solution is to make sure everything is under control. If each item of equipment – from marker pen to scissors – has its own place and each piece of paper is correctly filed as soon as it arrives, you save time and lower stress levels. The ideal solution is to have magazine racks, storage boxes, letter trays etc. positioned in clear view so that everything can quickly be found. There are no limits to personal styles and organisation systems, as was clearly shown at Ambiente by, for instance, the ‘House Doctor’ company from Denmark. If you like vivid contrasts, you can simply choose different colours – yellow for tax affairs, blue for invoices, red for love letters … Or you can harmonise with existing interior colour schemes. Cardboard, wooden or plastic patterns and motifs can also be used to bring order in your own distinctive style. Organisation systems that can be expanded are particularly useful. Stackable letter trays not only save space but also stop you having to rummage through folders. Storage boxes and magazine racks act as small shelves for easy access. A clear overview can be maintained with magnetic systems of rails, desk back panels and pinboards such as those from ‘Design Ideas’ that create order from the paper chaos of individual reminders, photos, postcards and other mementos.
Show me your desk and I’ll tell you who you are!
Basically, the surface of any desk can be transformed into a sort of personal organiser, tailored to cater for individual needs, workflows and – above all – tastes and styles. The opportunities for custom home office styling that we saw at Ambiente seem to be endless. Fashion bloggers, hipsters and the like can make a trendy fashionista workspace out of their desk with gadgets, accessories, attractive prints and graphic designs. Or if you prefer the classic look, you can choose desk pads and products made from high-quality materials such as wood and leather. From evergreen designs such as the British mallard design in moss-green and earth tones and unfussy Bauhaus chic in restrained nuances of black, grey and white through to retro looks in flowerpower colours, shapes and patterns and romantically playful work areas in pastel shades with floral wallpaper prints – the underlying theme is the combination of work with individual style.
