what does your WFH area look like?

[nuttymomma]

What does your work from home area look like? I return to work next week after some annual leave although I'm obviously RTW on a WFH basis.

I will be using our dining room table with a rather uncomfortable chair and possibly clothes horses / piles of ironing in the background. My 12yo DD does her homework in her own room and obviously I don't want to use our own bedroom as that's a private area and not really got a desk or a workspace.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to tidy it up and make it more motivational. I'm obviously very conscious of my nosey (and not always very nice) colleagues looking at my house.

Tell me about your work from home areas and give me some tips please?

It looks exactly like my kitchen table, but with added children,

Mine sounds very similar to yours I have a 1-year-old and our sitting room (where I work) is full of her stuff.

No tips from me but I would say for video calls just make sure nothing unflattering is visible in the background. No piles of ironing etc. If you can sit in front of a plain wall that's probably best. Maybe put a plant behind you if you've got one?

Spare room with desk, positioned so that wardrobes can't be seen on webcam.

I cleared off my dressing table in my bedroom and use that. The chair is more comfortable and with three children and nowhere else, I really didn’t want to have to rely on them being quiet while I’m in one of the two common areas.

I turn off my video conferencing. Any company that insists when you wouldn’t normally work from home is an arsehole.

Like you OP - dining table. DH and DD swanning about asking me for stuff every 2 mins. Most of downstairs is open plan and this is a nightmare. We'll have more options once weather warms up (I'll shove them outside).
Right now this absolutely is not working and it's stressing me out!!

I'm using the dining table, with my back to a neutral wall and bookshelves. At least then there's no chance of DS deciding to dive bomb my team meeting calls.

I pack it all up neatly each day so we can use the table for meals. As I'm sitting on a dining chair. I've added a cushion, and I also had the foresight to bring home my footrest from my desk at work. Which has helped keep me comfortable. Otherwise, I'd have created a footrest anyway.

Sat in an Ikea Poang chair in my conservatory with the laptop on my lap. Luckily for me I don't have to do videocalls :)

My sofa! It's hurting my back but my house is tiny and the only table I have is the little kids Ikea one...

Here's mine.
Luckily, dc2 and I had already converted my dining room (which was barely used), to a study. Dc2 has their own desk and PC in their bedroom.
It works for us! I'm very glad we did it.
It makes my day a bit more sane as I am glued to my computer for most of the day.

I sit on my bed and have a little desk there. It means I have a quiet area the kids can't disrupt easily and there's a window in front of me.
The sound is better for Skype calls too.

Only reason we bought this house was because it had a study.

I wfh 50% of the time anyway, so have a separate study that I can close the door on. It’s got an old school headteachers desk that I work from, with a second monitor & lamp.

Fold up chair bed from MADE in the corner where the cats sleep.

DH doesn’t normally wfh but has commandeered the dining room table. We now eat in the lounge, cos he was finding it too weird to be sat at the same place all day.

We’re advised not to use video chat as that places additional IT strain on system - use that reasoning and leave ironing where it is!

I am v lucky and have a study as often work from home so nothing new, though we’ve only just enabled VC at work so only just getting used to the slight intrusion of having people look into my private space - it’s a room I love and am proud of because I spent a lot of time getting it exactly how I wanted it.

I’ve had several comments about it being a dungeon because it’s painted black. I love it, it’s not for everyone but it’s my bloody study I work my arse off to pay for my house and I’ll have it painted black if I want!!! It’s got a beautiful wood floor and loads of light despite the black paint, and all the things I need to both work and relax around me (got a soda if I need to lay down too as have a dodgy back).

Sorry for rant, the comments annoyed the shit out of me. There’ve been some backgrounds I have seen which aren’t to my taste, but I’ve never commented because it would be incredibly rude, and it’s someone’s personal space so being respectful should be a given.

I think if you can find somewhere which is quiet and comfortable that’s all you need. Bedroom isn’t the worse option if you have a dressing table or similar.

For those struggling with unsuitable chairs (and therefore sore backs) I have a laptop riser which means I can stand and type too (it just goes on the top of the desk).

Also if you can get hold of a headset (or use AirPods or other ear phones) they are also a lifesaver.

Hope you get sorted OP

*soda not sofa

Ffs sofa not soda... I’m going to sleep now - sorry, swipe text is failing me!

If you’re using zoom you can set your own background to your calls. Keep your drying laundry out and pop your self in the set of a tropical beach at the same time.

Redred9 I would love to set my Zoom background to something akin to “respectable neutral home office”. I can’t get Zoom background to work at all on the iPad. Any tips?

I sit on my sofa with the recliner up, very comfy

@LarkDescending is it being too simplistic to ask if you’ve tapped the three dots at the bottom of your screen during a meeting and chosen ‘more’ and then ‘virtual background’?

@RedRed9 not too simplistic at all - those were the instructions I found online and expected to follow. But the app on the iPad (mobile app?) doesn’t look like that, and most importantly doesn’t have “virtual background” as an option. Or at least if it is there I have failed to find it despite following every instruction that Google has yielded.

I really want to do this. as some of the stuff I have to do requires a mutual video link, so I can’t always stick to audio only!

Standing up in the living room, it's a high table. Need to be comfy as I'm glued to it for 9hrs a day!

Kitchen table. Also fairly open and dh was wandering in to make cereal while I was on a Skype meeting today 🙄
Going to try the bedroom next week for osme peace and because my neck hurts at the kitchen table.

Hmm that’s so odd @LarkDescending I have the mobile app and the option is there. Although I’m not on iPad. I wonder if anyone else on this thread is?

Dining table. But i have a green screen (long story) and so am using zoom virtual backgrounds. Today I have mostly been in Disneyworld and the Royal Albert Hall.

EvilTwins I need to know the green screen story!

Also, you know you can use the backgrounds without one?