Home Office Design 101 - Going Beyond Function

In my last post I covered the basics of creating a functional home office. In brief summary:

1. Adequately-sized area with some privacy
2. Adequate work space with comfortable and supportive seating
3. Adequate storage space 
4. Good Lighting

Once you've covered these, you should certainly have the makings of a functional home office that will support your business and personal needs. Some people don't even get this far and settle for a less-than-functional space. Many others stop at these four functional basics. But a home office can be much more. Home offices deserve good design, too.

"Form follows function - that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union." ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

What can you do to take your home office to the next level?  Start asking questions and work with your answers.

A questions that I ask every client of every room we design: Does this room help you to be the right self at the right time? Do you need to be energetic? Creative? Focused? Professional? Or, if you work in an office during the day, perhaps you need a relaxing home office space to unwind. What things can we build into your office space to help you be that person?

What motivates you? How can we build in motivators in the space?

The office makeover that I've been featuring was predominately functional. However, we did go beyond function. My client is retired, so did not need to have strong work or professional cues. However, she does have motivators - family. So we ensured that there was plenty of room for family photos.

And a vital element of home offices that is often missed is transition. You need cues to help you transition from work to home and home to work. Sometimes this is a simple as closing and opening a door.But perhaps you need more and the transition can be the formality and tone of the room, wall color, or other cues to help you be the right self at the right time.

Look for future blog posts that incorporate these functional and other elements into the design to create wonderful home offices!

Beautiful Habitat: Interior Design & Decoration www.beautifulhabitat.com