5 Home Office Design Ideas

The Rise of the Home Office

As the UK was put on lockdown, due to COVID-19, most workers were told to work from home. That was all well and good to prevent coronavirus from spreading but a lot of people weren’t equipped to work from home let alone have a home office.

Now, lockdown restrictions are slowly easing and employees are allowed to return to the workplace but some businesses are keeping their staff working from home. Companies have realised that their staff can work from home just as productively as they do when they are in the office and it keeps them from unnecessary travel.

Now, employees are staying to work from home for longer, permanently or as a flexible working option. This means those employees need a suitable home working environment which employers are responsible for setting up to ensure their staff are safe while working.

At Rap Interiors, we have put together 5 Home Office Design Ideas to inspire your new home working environment.

Whether you live in a flat, a 5-bed house or a garden shed there is a solution to suit everyone:

1. The Study
2. Space Saving Desk
3. The Dining Room Table
4. A Garden Office
5. Multi-Use Space

The Study

A dedicated workers dream to have a separate room in the home as an office.

It gives a better work-life balance as the door can be closed at 5PM and doesn’t have to be opened again until 9AM the next day. Rather than eating your dinner in the same place you work!

You can have full reign on how you design your home office too so it matches the interior of your home and it’s exactly how you want it to be for how you work. Choosing the colour scheme, furniture and storage all to suit your working needs gives you control over your workspace.

Space Saving Desk

Perfect for flats or houses with little space for furniture, these types of desks fold away so when they’re not in use they do not compromise the space.

They are creative solutions to provide an additional design feature in your room or that can be stored away using minimal space.

There are different types of space-saving desks to suit all home setups; corner desk, fold-up tables, flap down wall-mounted shelving and many more innovative options.

The Dining Room Table

Working at the dining room table isn’t an ideal place to work and your employer should provide you with a more appropriate working environment if you are working from home long term. But if it’s just a temporary solution then here’s what you can do to ensure how you work from your dining room table is the most comfortable it can be:

• Swapping out the dining room chair for an ergonomic option to prevent any back pain
• An adjustable laptop stand will alter the height and angle to your suits your posture

A Garden Office

If there isn’t a spare room to transform into a home office, why not take up some space in the garden for a designated home working environment. They don’t usually require planning permission as they are classed as ‘outbuildings’ and are more cost-effective in comparison to a home extension.

Having an entirely separate building to your home will give an office-like experience while still essentially working from home:

• You have to leave the house to get to your workplace, but the commute won’t be as long.
• Your home office interior design can be separate from your homes so it’s work appropriate with the relevant office furniture and storage.
• Your work-life balance will be more balanced than having the home office in your home while still leaving you more time to do personal tasks and spend time with your family.

In these photos, we are featuring The Garden Office.

Multi-Use Office Space

Commercial Director Martyn is demonstrating how a workout bench can also be used as a desk and proving that he can multi-task!

Design Director Julie is sporting an ironing board as her desk. At least it’s adjustable and comes with gin!

Definitely not recommended as home office solution but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do in the desperate times we are living in.

If you have a creative home office that you would like to share, please email franki@rapinteriors.co.uk as we would love to see them.

Need some home offices set up for your employees?

If your business has employees working from home without a proper setup, a DSE assessment will need to be carried out. This will ensure that whatever home office style they have is suitable and health and safety approved.

Call our team on 0333 600 1234 or fill out the form below to discuss Rap Interiors carrying out these assessments and getting your team set up to work remotely comfortably and confidently.