Having a suitable home office is essential to our productivity when we are expected to work from home. However, too much foot traffic or too many cognitive distractions in our chosen space can make it very difficult to be productive and effective while working from home.
Here we are going to explore several home office ideas to find the perfect modern home office idea to suit your personal needs.
The reality is that not everyone will have an entire room available to them that can be designated as the home office. As a result, some will have to use space in shared rooms. Although this is not ideal, it is by no means a deal-breaker, and even a designated space within a shared area can serve the purpose of a home office quite successfully.
It is not recommended to work in different spaces around the house. There is a lot of benefit to using dedicated office space of some sort. It is a place where you can have a home office desk and where you can store your office supplies. This will help you get into the right frame of mind to work from home successfully.
Often, when we have to create home office spaces in a shared space, we will be working with a relatively small space. Do not let this deter you. There is no reason why small spaces cannot be as magical as entire rooms for home office design.
A small workstation in a dedicated space is all that some of us need to do our work efficiently. And when you do not have an entire room to dedicate to your home office design, then you could benefit significantly from identifying a specific space within your home or apartment and simply start by installing a desk and going from there.
Deciding to create an office space in your dining room is a popular choice. Many of us use dining rooms only when entertaining, or even if we use them daily, they are usually only used during mealtimes and not much during the rest of the day. So there is a chance that a dining room can offer a relatively quiet workspace for your home office setup. It can also be a great option if you do not have a desk. The dining table is a great alternative.
In many contemporary homes, this area is often the room in the house with an impressive light fixture, perhaps along with a more traditional light fixture in the living room. These rooms often do not have a lot of built-in storage.
Another popular modern option for a home office is the guest bedroom, especially during the pandemic. These spaces were not often used in the home, and it is possible to maintain it as a bedroom while also installing home office equipment and furniture. It is usually not a good idea to have a home office in your master bedroom because that can have a negative effect on your sleep hygiene patterns, but a guest bedroom is a different story.
Guest rooms are quiet and often isolated from the rest of the home if not in use, making it an excellent modern office space solution. In addition, these rooms are a great choice for modern home offices as they likely already have quite a bit of built-in storage — either as built-in wardrobes or something more exciting like a built-in desk or other kinds of a wall unit.
It would also be less of an inconvenience to get a crew in to build such a custom desk insertion and add some floating shelves while they are there.
If your only option is to create a home office area in your master bedroom, then there are some steps you can take to make sure that the presence of the home office area in your sleeping space does not have a negative impact on your health. Of course, you can always install panels or curtains or other room dividers to separate the spaces somewhat.
This area is perhaps the least suited to a home office setup simply because it often tends to be the area in the home with the most foot traffic and the most distractions. As far as modern home office ideas go, making your office space in a living area is not advised. These rooms are very busy, quickly become cluttered, and offer too many distractions.
If you have a separate room within your house dedicated to a modern home office, there are almost endless possibilities for you to explore.
We mention the traditional style first because there is quite a conscious step away from this style. It is not one of the best home office ideas in the modern office climate.
Traditional designs for a home office often rely on dark wood, brown leather, and lots of books. There is also an emphasis on oversized furniture and an overall stuffy academic feel, which is not conducive to what you would want to achieve through a vibrant modern home office.
While there is nothing truly wrong with the traditional style, it does have a particular visual space and requires a lot of room to pull off correctly. We often do not have this much space in modern homes, which is why it is best to move away from the traditional oversized designs to more modern home office ideas. In addition, traditional styles might be a little too challenging to incorporate into a modern home office plan.
Glam is a style that has evolved with the times and brings design ideas that speak of a glamorous and exciting lifestyle that is both sophisticated and whimsical. Emphasis is placed on modern pieces with sparkle. Metallic fixtures are mixed with sparkling glass, and the color palette tends to focus on lighter colors.
This design is less reliant on natural light and makes accommodations for more contemporary design ideas, and incorporates a desk lamp as easy as an open window.
The boho style is also comparatively new and modern. Emphasis is placed on natural elements, such as plants and natural light. Other popular elements are colorful quilts, macramé, skylights, and natural wood.
Having a wooden desk or several plants along walls in the office is pretty common with this style. Hanging a macramé piece behind a door or on an accent wall can also add a beautiful and calming element to this modern home office style.
Natural accents are the way to go with this style and create a very peaceful atmosphere for your modern home office.
Scandi styles rely on clean finishes and incorporate a lot of open shelving, clean lines, and predominantly a color palette that primarily revolves around shades of white.
Because it effortlessly incorporates vertical space, it is an excellent option to go with when you have a small home office and need to include a wall or two into your plan, even more so if you are designing an office area in the corner of a shared space. In addition, it allows for a lot of visual interest focused on a floating shelf component. Plain white lacquer is popular for a Scandi style desk or other office feature.
Many contemporary modern office spaces are based on a Scandi style palette. However, this is not exclusive to modern home offices but also applies to many offices within the cities, especially those who incorporate interior design elements into their office plan.
When considering the abstract style for your home office ideas, we draw attention to moody walls, lots of abstract art, and desk placement at odd angles. This style is highly contemporary, and a gallery wall is popular, often behind or to the side of the desk. The style is very popular as a modern home office design.
When we start talking about modern home office ideas, we need to talk about color. One of the central debates with home office ideas is whether to go monochrome or incorporate moody walls.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both options.
Monochrome is simple and sets a stage for consistency and reliability. It is common in a modern home and even an outside office. In the modern world, monochrome offers a reliable sense of security to create and rest as required. However, if you have an unquiet mind, a monochromatic design can quickly become tedious.
Alternatively, choosing moody colors is a notably modern choice. Modern and exciting colors for office furniture, an accent wall, a gallery wall in a corner, or another feature in a modern home is rising in popularity. Still, we have to be careful that we choose the best home office designs for our own needs.
We need to create an office in a modern home that suits our lifestyle. If we do not like the idea of painting a wood floor or having a navy wall, we should refrain from indulging simply because we are on a hunt for something modern.
Rather go with something less permanent, such as a moody color carpet or desk for our modern home office. However, we also have to bear in mind that many modern homes are rentals, and we might not be able to paint moody colors on our walls in our home office even if we want to.
Once we have settled on a style, we need to make appropriate choices for furniture to suit that style.
Once you have selected a style that works for you, it is time to move on to the desk. When selecting a desk, there are several elements that we need to consider—namely, the material, the style, and the size. However, just because you are looking for ideas for a home office does not mean that you need to neglect the necessity for a desk.
Very few homes will have built-in desks, so it is a good idea to invest in a visually appealing desk and highly functional desk for your home office. There is no longer a need for large, clunky desks in the modern office space. Modern home office designs more than accommodate smaller workspaces that are more functional.
Choosing the ideal desk chair is extremely important when setting up your home office. Again, the style, material, and size would be essential in your selection.
Selecting a desk chair can be just as important. Do not underestimate the usefulness of a swivel chair in small spaces. Your desk and chair are vital furniture pieces and need to be chosen with care.
If you are working from home exclusively, you should not rely on a desk or table and chair doing double duty as something else in your downtime. Instead, you should have an office and a desk with a proper chair that is reserved only for your work hours.
The most obvious source of natural light in the home is through windows or glass doors, but we need to remember that this kind of natural light can cause glare if we are working on a computer. We also need to bear in mind that sitting in sunlight can be as bad for our health as it can be good. Therefore, it is essential to be mindful of balance.
A great source of artificial light in a home office is a desk lamp. However, selecting a suitable lamp for the desk in your home office can be quite a mission in some cases. These days there are a great many options available, and one must sift through all of these options and choose a desk lamp that suits the style plan for your office.
Also, remember that some of these might require wall mounting.
Artwork, especially in a shared space, can be extremely valuable, not only to liven up your workspace and create inspiration but also to define your workspace.
Closed storage space is exceedingly popular. However, burying yourself in filing cabinets and other storage cupboards can make an office seem much smaller than it actually is.
Most people shy away from open storage space because they can quickly appear cluttered and need additional cleaning that closed storage does not.
Accent walls are ever-popular and easy to achieve. They can be a fantastic and eye-catching addition to your office.
A more modern approach to accenting is to paint your ceiling an eye-catching or moody color.
Since we are talking about ceilings, there is no reason why your accent piece cannot be the floor. Think of a perfectly exquisite and unique rug or distressed recycled wooden floorboards.
Bringing a little bit of nature into your home office space can help to enhance the sense of peace and flow of positive energy throughout the space. There are several helpful articles available regarding appropriate plants for your office.
Ideally, you would select indigenous plants and require little maintenance to put in your office. They are there to brighten up the office and give you something to draw inspiration from, not to create extra work for you.
A last exciting design idea to keep in mind when planning your home office is a consideration that needs to be made when sharing the office with a roommate or significant other, or even a parent or child.
This is where you can explore combining two different styles and finding harmony, or where you can coordinate and decide on a style and design that works for both parties.
Load-bearing walls are a bit more complex than non-load-bearing walls when it comes to framing. This is due to the stud spacing requirements, of which load-bearing walls have more per square foot. Unlike an interior wall, exterior walls call for extra insulation as well as extra studs in the corners.
Additional costs come into play when a wall supports another floor, and even the roof, as this will affect the amount and spacing of all the studs used. A support beam is essential over doors, windows, and pass-throughs. Your building code is a major factor to consider and may force you to do some work on your electrical lines. You may even require a building permit even when minor electrical work needs adjustment.
Wood is known to be an easier material to work with, especially when you attempt building an exterior or interior wall as a DIY project. Metal, however, is undoubtedly the more durable option. The prices of wood versus metal framing are not as distinct as one might think. Wood prices range from $1 to $5 per square foot, whereas metal framing ranges between $2 and $4 per square foot.
Your choice of material in this aspect won’t influence the final cost to a great extent.
Materials for doors and windows can cost you up to $500, and installing multiple windows will increase this rate even more. Framing a door or a window will require you to have king and jack studs as well as standard and saddle studs, increasing material costs by up to $200.
