5 new trends to try in your home office

With more people working from home than ever, the home office is no longer seen as a useful extra room  – it is an absolute must-have. We show you the top 5 trends for working at home and how to incorporate them into your interior design scheme.

The Home Office in the Garden

If space and finances allow, the best place for your home office has to be in the garden — this way you can feel your work life is truly separate from your home life.

Although one of the biggest home office trends of the moment has to be modular ‘pods’, cabins or summerhouses fitted with all your home office equipment, there are other, more affordable, ways to create a similar set up, such as fitting insulation and getting electricity and heating into an existing shed or outbuilding.

For something that exudes vintage style and will make working a pleasure, consider a shepherd’s hut — they may come at a cost, but with the option of integrated woodburners and sleeping space, they are an investment that will almost certainly increase the value of your home.

‘Pod’ style home offices are available with everything you need for your home office needs built-in, whilst a shepherd’s hut, adds rustic charm to your garden

Home Office Technology

Trends for working at home don’t just cover home office furniture — the technology you invest in is even more vital.

Pieces to look out for include wireless devices that keep clutter to a minimum such as a good wireless printer that also scans, copies and faxes, a wireless solar keyboard and a wireless multi-surface mouse.

It is also important to ensure that you are available for ‘remote meetings’ when the need arises, get a top quality webcam for conferences and set your phone up for 3-way calls — BT will be able to help you with this one.

Other useful gadgets include a neat shredder and a ‘cloud’ that connects to your router and allows you to share and download pictures, documents and videos via the Internet.

And if you want to get really clever, take a look at a smart pen that will record everything you write and hear before being plugged into your computer to play it all back.

Invest in wireless home office technology where possible to minimise clutter

Clever Home Office Storage

Second to home office technology has to be storage. If you are aiming for your home office to blend in with the rest of your interior design scheme, clever home office storage is a must.

Computer consoles are ideal for home offices that are combined with another room. There are some beautiful designs out there, contemporary and vintage, that can be closed up again when not in use.

Zespoke’s Nesting Computer Desk comprises a surface for your monitor, another for a keyboard and a seat all in one handy unit — plus it can be customised in your colour choice in to fit in with the rest of your décor. Alternatively, a stylish console table can double up as the perfect place on which to perch your laptop.

Where space is tight, consider desks that incorporate filing drawers into their design, such as this industrial design from made.com. A great idea is to use deep filing drawers for other uses, such as to house a wireless printer out of sight.

Wall shelves, baskets, pots and tubs hung on the walls make good use of space too, as do chairs that fold away when not in use.

The perfect example of using storage wisely — a roomy filing cabinet hides away a wireless printer.

Squeezing a Home Office In

It is not always possible to have a room dedicated to your home office, but this need not mean you end up perched on the end of your bed balancing a laptop on your knees. Think creatively and use a built-in wardrobe to hide away a pull out desk surface and shelving for all your working equipment.

Spaces under the stairs, a hallway or landing that is nothing more than wasted space are all ideal. If you are lucky enough to have a loft or basement to convert all the better. Those out there with reasonable height ceilings might even consider building a simple mezzanine level accessed via space saving stairs.

Utilise wasted space and turn it into a neat home office, complete with built-in furniture and storage

Making the Most of Natural Light

As somewhere you will undoubtedly be spending quite a lot of your time, the amount and, more importantly, the quality of light entering your home office space is really important.

Wherever possible, locate your new home office where it will benefit from a source of natural light — standard windows are not your only option here. A rooflight inserted into a hallway will provide a beautiful clear light with no screen glare, whilst a lightpipe (try Monodraught) can be fitted in most situations.

Be aware that placing your desk in front of a window could lead to the sun shining directly into your eyes at certain times of day, whilst sitting with your back to a window could result in annoying screen glare — if this is unavoidable invest in a good Venetian style blind.

A source of natural light is so important for a home office — think creatively with your home office design too. This cork wall is genius.