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Creating space for working from home

Working from home: our top tips for creating inspiring spaces

Make space

Not all properties will have endlWith numerous companies across the UK looking to adopt more flexible working from home policies in the future, many people will be reconsidering their temporary home working arrangements and hoping to replace them with more permanent solutions that go beyond propping open a laptop at the kitchen table. 

While working from your sofa or sitting on your bed might have been a welcome alternative to commuting in the early days, clearly these aren’t effective long term ways to maintain productivity or support emotional stability. Here, we provide our top tips for creating inspiring spaces and ideal areas that will ensure working from home will work for you. ess space available to create separate studies or office areas and likewise not everyone will have endless amounts of money to plough into a pricey renovation project. However, there are ways to improve existing rooms and reclaim dead space for your desk. 

If you are lucky enough to have a loft or basement, and a fairly sizeable budget to go with it, then an obvious solution would be to renovate the space to incorporate a study area. If done well, a loft or basement conversion will not only improve your living arrangements, but can also add value to your property.

Alternatively, removing an existing internal wall could open up a whole host of possibilities and allow you to reconfigure current living space to incorporate your working arrangements. For more information on removing internal walls, take a look at our blog Five things to consider before you remove an internal wall.

If budget isn’t a barrier, you might even be considering building an extension.Building an extension can be an appealing option as you’re unlikely to need planning permission, as long as it is built within the boundary of your property and doesn’t exceed half the area of the existing house. 

However, for those living in smaller properties, or with limited funding, finding a suitable space might not be that straightforward. Re-imagining the layout of your home could be the answer. For example, empty, unused or forgotten space such as under the stairs, in bay windows or on a landing could be reconfigured to create enough room for a desk and PC. It’s also worth taking a look at existing furniture layouts to see if clutter can be removed and corners opened up.

Define areas

Once you have worked out where you want to set up your home office, creating a clearly defined area will allow you to move seamlessly between your working day and home life. If you can’t shut the door at the end of the day, then building in appropriate storage, adding well placed shelving and painting walls in contrasting shades are good ways to organise smaller areas and keep things separate. 

For larger rooms, you can help to segregate areas by installing different types of flooring. We recommend using Quick Step laminate flooring, which comes in a variety of colours, is easy to install and extremely hardwearing. This makes it ideal for swivel chairs, which can cause havoc to rugs and carpets, churning up the pile and leaving them threadbare.

Bright ideas

Gloomy areas can negatively impact our mood and generally affect our overall wellbeing so good lighting is key to maintaining motivation. Ensuring your working area is well lit with natural light will do wonders for your working day. You can brighten up a room in a variety of ways, including painting walls in white, tackling overgrown trees and shrubs that are blocking out light and investing in a Velux window.

Whether you’re working in the construction trade or making home improvements, we can help. For more information about our products, get in touch and our friendly team will be happy to assist you.