Home office tips

[TiddleTaddleTat]

So it looks like I'll be home based for the foreseeable future, with the odd trip to my sites of work. I've been crammed into a small box bedroom since the start of COVID and just cleared it out so I can redecorate. Was sorely needed as it had half bare plaster walls etc and needs carpeting.

Any tips for good quality and reasonably priced desks , shelving etc?
Links to inspiration?!
I am trying to resist buying another cheap IKEA desk that bows in the middle.

I like dark interior schemes and am thinking about a deep blue/green or grey/blue on the walls...

well I love a good IKEA table top as a desk because I can adjust the height to be lower than most desks, which is much more comfortable (feet properly on the floor).

If you are going to treat yourself, go for a really good chair, e.g. Aeron.

and a pinboard or magnetic whiteboard that you can cover in nice photos / post-its / messages is always good

and a pot plant.

@parietal ooh yes!! Definitely some plants! The ones I had before seemed to languish a bit as they were out of my line of sight so rarely watered...
I have a rather basic but height adjustable and reclining office chair. It takes up about half of the room but is comfortable so I will be keeping that.

I'm following this with interest as I am in the same situation. I treated myself to an electric desk that you can sit or stand at but I'm also looking for inspiration for colour schemes/decor and suchlike. I also need a new chair! I've always had to share a space with my husband but we have our own spaces now so I'm quite looking forward to it!

If it's a box room might you use a worktop as a desk, attached to the wall? Frees up loads of space.
A nice brightly coloured feature wall, lots of shelves and magazine files, tubs etc, a few plants, some good blinds to manage any glares, you'll be grand

Oh yes! I like the worktop as a desk idea... I saw this one on Pinterest that I liked. Don't know how easy it would be with the tools we have here though ...

@Gardenwalldilema do you just use a basic blind or is there some special anti glare one?!? I have a linen curtain in there now but the sun is at the window from 1ish and I end up pulling across the curtain and sitting in the dark!!

In the process of extending for office space. If you have lots of Zoom /Teams calls, you appear best / don't appear in shadow if you face towards the light - so we're looking at desk under the window. H is spending lots of time on chair selection and we're getting cables / internet connection direct to room. Lots of plug sockets with USB ports, telephone line etc. There are some gorgeous design ideas on pinterest.

@Africa2go sounds great! The space I'm using is similar to that in the pic shown up thread. Am considering putting desk in front of the window , it was previously to the left as in the picture. I do a lot of zoom calls... will also be thinking about background more carefully too!

You could try looking at second-hand desks. I have some wooden desk drawer units and cupboards in my workroom, nicer than plastic edged ones, and cost me next to nothing second-hand. An old wooden desktop and some ply to extend it, and I got a lot of workspace and storage space for just a few quid. A second-hand filing cabinet cost a lot less than a new one, it was old grey/green metal so I spray painted it pale grey. I splurged a few quid on new brass drawer handles for the drawers and cupboards, so they now all match and look very nice.

Is there a local charity shop that sells second hand furniture - we have got some great bargains recently and delivery is quite cheap as well.

Desks seem to come up fairly regularly on our local freegle, too.

I did the oak worktop thing, spanning the complete length of the room (around 2.5m) I had eye strain / sun glare when facing the window directly, even with wooden Venetian blinds, so the desk is perpendicular to window.

Think about where you will sit in relation to the window, and what the view is. Directly in front might mean your monitor blocking the view and the light (and the screen being in shadow), and looking directly out of the window can be distracting especially if you're overlooking the street (neighbours and delivery people coming and going etc) or have a nice view. But I like to be able to look out sometimes, so I put my desk on the side wall, which means the window is to the side of my chair, the light is fairly good (though sometimes a bit of glare - might look into a voile curtain to filter it without having to draw the proper curtain), and I can look out of the window when I'm thinking for a screen break, or if it sounds like someone's coming to the door, without being too distracted.

I got a surprisingly nice desk which was originally from Argos (though I got mine cheap from a reseller online because it had a small scratch) - it's discontinued (hence why I got it from the other place) but they might have other nice ones now...

Invest in a decent wide monitor. I have one from lenovo which is 27inches which first seemed too big but is just really comfortable esp if reading lots of data, reports. The screen quality is great, I would reccomend. Also ikea do these mats, I have one white one for £3 and one for £20 - they're great if you eat at your desk but want to protect from spills, heat etc.

I also keep gum at my desk, I find when working from home especially I start to lose focus a lot quicker and chewing gum refreshes me (makes me feel like im in a real office).

I have an ikea desk and like another poster like how height adjustable it is - vital for getting a good seating position.

My other desk must haves are: rounded edges for wrist comfort when typing and a deep desk so there is room for the screen directly in front of me, plus keyboard and room for papers.

We have just done up a room to be my husband's office - it looks lovely.

We used dark blue / green on back wall with black and white framed pictures (good zoom background) with pale bluey grey paint on other three walls

Desk positioned at 90 degree angle to the window so he has a view but the screen doesn't block the window and light.

Reclaimed wood desk - (we sanded & oiled the wood & bought black hairpin legs online for about £60

Big mirror opposite the window to make the room feel lighter & more spacious

Big fluffy Berber rug underfoot - makes sitting at your desk feel a bit nicer! We got a black and white one from John Lewis for about £80 and it looks gorgeous on the painted white floorboards

Best office chair you can afford

Storage so you can hide files / paperwork away

Plain light filtering blind

Mixture of task lighting & a couple of background lamps

Lots of plants

We used a piece of worktop (ikea) to make a desk in my son's room a few years ago.
He had one of those small Argos desks and we took it apart and used the drawers and bookshelf as supports on each side and put the worktop on top (then reused the old desktop of shelving elsewhere).
Also used blocks as support along the back.
It's given him a really good space.

Ignore random kitchen picture 🤨

Thanks for all these tips, lots of great ideas - loving the mirror opposite window and cosy rug idea ...

A nice plant or two works well.

I have a small ikea dining table as desk. it's the right height for me.
most important is the chair, again ikea has a few options.
definitely get one or two good monitors and a good, flat keyboard and ergonomic mouse.
a bright desk lamp that gives you a good complexion on video calls.
maybe a nice background behind you for video calls.

consider a 'commute'. 10 minutes walk before you start or other exercise.

Yes to a commute! School drop off seems to work well for this. I'm doing couch to 5k too so thinking I might try and run after drop off.
I have a 27in external monitor which has been a lifesaver for my eyes. Also an ergonomic keyboard and mouse although they take up so much space.
Most of my work is reading and writing on screen, some notes by hand, and quite a few video calls.
Definitely need a better light, blind, good solid desk - maybe diy with a worktop and drawers underneath, and wall mounted shelves with some carefully chosen books behind me !!

I had my desk made by these guys.

www.blueislandhome.co.uk/

It was my splurge as everything else came from the cheaper end of Wayfair.

I have a small double sofa bed in case I ever have guests. And some wee things (technical) off Amazon that fold out to make clothes hangers. In case you need a bed space in there :)