Like many people, I’ve been working from home since the UK lockdown began back in March. I guess I’m very fortunate that my work as a digital project manager and freelance content marketing consultant lend themselves quite well to working remotely, so things haven’t been too different for me.
Being totally honest though, I do prefer the routine of getting up and going out to work, leaving any work-related stress at the office and coming home to enjoy some downtime. I feel that the separation between work and home is really important, however, I have worked from home one day a week in a previous job and when the world is normal i.e you can actually nip out for a coffee, or split your time between home and a co-working space, I really enjoy the freedoms that working from home allows.
Plumber coming round? No problem! Have a needy animal that needs constant attention? Sorted!
Don’t get me wrong though, working from home is a little more annoying in the current climate as there are two of us bumbling around the house and getting under each other’s feet.
Working from home will become the new normal for digital businesses post COVID-19
But as many digital businesses think about future-proofing their infrastructure and are leaning towards working from home indefinitely (where possible) I’ve decided to think about how I could revamp my home office for more productive home working, not just for now, but in the long run too.
What to wear when working from home – Comfy (but smart) loungewear
Revamping my home office for productive home working
As Adam and I don’t have any kids, it’s just the two of us and our fur baby Alf, we are extremely fortunate to be able to have our own home offices. My home office actually doubles up as a dressing room, spare bedroom, gym and hamster house.
The furniture in my home office was an amalgamation of things I’d had from my old studio flat and when I first moved in with Adam – I was keen to get some cohesion going and it was time for a change. And so I started planning some little update here and there to help breathe some new life into the space.
How to make working from home, work for YOU
I tried to choose pieces that will fit in when we move into our own house (Still pending and not completely off the cards yet!) as well as think about the colour palette and vibe I’d like to portray when I can actually paint the walls and go to town with bougie wallpaper.
Choosing new artwork
I love freshening up a room with new artwork. I think artwork can be super inspiring when you’re in need of some creative juices flowing, not to mention insanely good at brightening up any space.
Green and purple are two of my favourite colours so I decided to try and find prints that worked together within this theme. As the first port of call, I headed over to Desenio to see what they had.
I ended up buying 4 prints and their respective frames in both dark brown wood and gold. There’s no real cohesion to these prints but I absolutely loved them all as soon as I saw them and I know I’ll hang on to them for a long time to come.
The main event: A new desk
I didn’t need a new desk but I wasn’t entirely happy with the previous solution I was using as it was too deep and it didn’t have the storage I needed to house all my bits and bobs. I decided to look for a desk that could double up as a dressing table/beauty area AND a desk for productive home working.
I found one that was well up my street in terms of aesthetic, crafted in India and made from reclaimed materials, however, I don’t want to recommend the company I bought it from as I had such a bad customer service experience and I’d hate for you to have the same.
Alas, it is, however, exactly what I was looking for with two deep drawers to house all of my makeup, as well as plenty of desktop space to place my beauty bits, laptop stand and secondary screen.
(As well as a cat sometimes sat on the keyboard!)
Improving productivity with just one small change
One of the main ways that I updated my space and improved productivity was by turning my desk around the face into the room. Previously, if you saw this blog post when I first moved in – you’ll see that my desk was against the wall, and I had my back to the door. I didn’t really like this and decided to instead turn into the room and sit by the window. Just a small change, made a big difference.
Other flourishes I added to the room were some seagrass belly baskets to hide all my wires and cables, some William Morris print postcards to brighten up my old wardrobes and a new gold tray to organise my many perfumes – Just little things to help add some personality. Overall, I’m really happy with the space now and enjoy coming in each day to start work!
Do you have any working from home tips or advice?
*Desk bought using my ‘Working From Home’ Allowance
