Enterprise Nation

For home workers the balance between work and home is often a blurred line – do you find yourself cleaning during the day and still answering emails at nine o’clock at night?  Why does this happen? For some people it could be on account of not having enough space. Interior designer, Kia Richardson, offers her top 5 tips to creating the perfect home office.

The right environment

Space planning is very important in a working environment and shouldn’t lose its importance when our office is at home!

Here are my five tips to creating the perfect home office:

1. Set up your space properly - although a desk in the living room may not be quite the interior design you were looking for there is no point in putting all your important files and papers away in boxes and then spending half a day looking for something!
2. Picking your desk - there are some beautiful ones out there, remember to think out of the box; just because it says console or dresser on it doesn’t mean it won’t be your perfect desk.
3. Space planning - make sure you have all the things you need throughout the day at arm’s reach. If (like me) you may need scissors throughout the day and the only pair in the house is in the kitchen then buy another pair – trust me it will not be worth it when you are doing dinner and realise you have to go into another room to cut open a packet!
4. Clearing away - if your office space is in the living room or bedroom then remember to clear it up at the end of the day or invest in a desk that you can close away to stop you feeling guilty every-time you walk by it.
5. Get yourself a memo board – these are useful everywhere in the house but especially useful in a home office. If you remember something at ten o clock at night write it on the board and then you won’t have to worry about it till the morning. YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT THERE AND THEN! (wise word’s from a disgruntled partner who is sick of hearing “I’ll just be one minute”

Remember it isn’t about not having the space - it’s about not using it properly. Sometimes all we need is a fresh set of eyes to be able to transform a room that can look cluttered into a space that suits both an office and a living area!

Good luck!

• Kia Richardson, Kia Designs