How to Start Improving Your Home Office
Once your basic home office set up is done, it’s time to give the room some personality. As a professional, you want your DIY home office to instil confidence, exude efficiency and promote concentration, while being comfortable and charismatic at the same time. With Dremel’s tips for improving your home office, you’re well on your way to achieving all that, and more. From decluttering your desk to injecting colour and adding natural touches, Dremel has the lowdown on how to enhance your workspace from standard to successful.
TAME YOUR CORD CLUTTER
A fully functioning home office set up relies on an ever-increasing number of electrical goods – including their chargers, plugs and cables. Before you know it, the back of your desk is covered in wire spaghetti. Luckily, there are several simple yet stylish solutions, from trunking strips to double sided tape and hiding wires inside or behind walls. The smartest fix of them all, keeping your cords tangle-free and neatly organised, is a clever cable box – you’ll create one in no time with your Dremel® Multi-Tool and THIS TUTORIAL .
CREATE A PROFESSIONAL YET HOMELY FEEL
Did you know a comfortable, cosy work environment could give you a creative boost as well as increase your productivity? Adding a few personal, homely touches, such as a rustic rug, a snug seat or some decorative plants, can make all the difference. A FLOATING SHELF carrying beautiful books, a work of art or a few framed photographs are other ways of improving your home office decor. Don’t go overboard though; keeping it minimalistic and uncluttered optimises concentration while exuding a level of professionalism and competence.
GO FOR BRIGHT COLOURS
Most office interiors are decked out in somewhat dull colours, such as beige, grey, white or black. Yet bright colours are known to influence our mood and productivity. Add colour to your home office and you’ll nudge yourself towards great things! Red, for instance, inspires you to get things done. Orange boosts creativity, while blue increases productivity and yellow ups your energy levels. Green encourages you to get up more, impacting both mental and physical health. Convinced? Go on, paint that wall, buy a bright beanbag or dot some well-chosen accessories around your custom-made home office.
BRING IN THE OUTDOORS
Introducing natural elements to your workspace has a ton of advantages. When you add luscious green plants, rustic wooden touches or even some sturdy leather items to your home office decor, you’re not just creating a comfortable, enjoyable space… You’re also boosting your morale, upping your work efficiency and reducing your stress levels. Impressive, eh? Why not upcycle a pretty piece of wood to function as a PHONE CHARGING STATION , or hang a few plants from the ceiling with a DIY plant hanger? With Dremel, improving your work environment is effortless and enjoyable too.
GET YOUR LIGHTING RIGHT
Good lighting is of vital importance to your work performance. A lack of light will make you sleepy long before the day is done, whereas overly bright lights can lead to headaches and tired eyes. Natural light is best – if you’ve a (large) window, simply place your desk at a right angle to it for optimal results. Not all is lost, though, if your space is low on natural light. Ambient lighting can be a good alternative: simply use daylight bulbs in your lamps. A mirror or two on the office wall nearest the window will reflect any sunrays that do come in, helping you to make the most of what you have.
CREATE SPACE FOR IDEAS
Once you are settled into your new and improved home office space, it won’t be long before those creative juices start flowing. Once inspiration strikes, make sure you have somewhere to jot things down or pin things up! Whether you prefer simple sticky notes, a modern metal grid or a magnetic board, they all suit their purpose perfectly. For a funky version of the old-fashioned cork board, cut some cork into interesting shapes and hang them in a compelling collage on the wall.
GET PERFECTLY ORGANISED
If you’re not careful, the must-have items on your desk – pens, notebooks, receipts and even mobile devices – will not just clutter your work surface, but muddle your brain too! All those bits and bobs are likely to distract you, lowering your concentration and therefore your output. Time to get organised! By taking Dremel’s lead, you can transform a plain old table into a CUSTOM-MADE, HIGHLY ORGANISED DESK , complete with routed pencil grooves, a tablet stand and a cable catcher. This way, you’ll have all your essentials within grabbing distance without the distraction of a messy desk.
EMBRACE ROUND SHAPES
Did you know that round shapes, such as circles and curves, evoke feelings of kindness, continuity and, above all, positivity? If you want to improve your DIY home office and take it beyond the sum of its parts – a floor, a ceiling and four walls – all you have to do is welcome some curves into your workspace. Think circular desk lamps, a bowl-shaped vase or a curvy side table. Go on, it’s worth it. You won’t just be lifting your home office space, you’ll be lifting your spirits too, making each working day spent in your customised home office a joy.