Reignite your Inspiration: Design a New Office Space

Whether you work from home or if you just do extra bits and pieces outside of the office; it is important to have a space that really encourages you to work. Your study doesn’t have to be a boring area rammed with nothing but paper, instead it should be a pleasant environment that inspires you. Here, we have compiled a list of suggestions that will transform your dull, untidy study into a practical, inviting office.

Step 1: A Good Clear-Out

The first step to improving your study is to dedicate a weekend (it might well take two full days!) to going through everything that is stored there. You will find that the 20 folders you currently have on the shelf are filled with outdated invoices, ancient bank statements, and dull magazines.

Every piece of paper has a use by date:
- newspapers should be binned after 1 week
- credit card statements after 1 month
- prescriptions and bank statements 1 year
- payslips 5 years
- paperwork that has been ignored for 3 years+ can be binned.

As well as the above you will undoubtedly have a drawer dedicated to old pens, pencils, colour pencils, rubbers, sharpeners, paper clips, staples, rubber bands, etc. Most pens will not work, the pencils will not have been used since the kids were babies, and the rubbers are so black that they serve no function. Bin the majority of this and store what remains in one neat box.

Step 2: Repaint the Walls

Redecorating the office is an opportunity to reignite your passion for the job. A fresh new room represents a revived mind that is ready to find inspiration in everything. To begin with think about the colour scheme that you want for the room. A lot of people think that dark blues and grey are serious colours and therefore appropriate for a working environment. However, they can be dull and depressing; not a brilliant source of motivation.

Farrow &Ball paints come in a vast array of colours including very dark reds and purples right through to light, airy magnolias. Look at the rest of your home and think about the rooms that you really enjoy spending time in. If you generally prefer rooms with dark, warm tones such as deep reds consider these tones for your office. A modern twist is to paint one room a dark red (or whichever colour you like) and decorate the other walls in a neutral tone such as cream. Adding wallpaper to one side of an otherwise painted room is very modern. Many Farrow and Ball wallpapers have brilliant patterns that are ideal for feature walls; when one wall is covered in a beautiful pattern and the others remain a plain colour.

Step 3: Storage Space

Hopefully now that you have cleared out a lot of the unnecessary clutter you will have found that there is less stuff that needs hiding away. However storage is always vital to maintaining a pleasant, workable space. The desk is potentially the most important piece of furniture in the room. It needs to be large enough for you to spread out your work. Many desks are now designed with in-built shelving as well as drawers so if you are planning to buy a new desk look out for that.

Ten years ago the thought of binning several folders might have seemed like a distant dream but you need to get up to date. Everybody communicates via email now so you do not need to print much out. Instead ensure that the files on your laptop are as organised as possible and save documents in accessible PDFs. You no longer require shelves brimming with large, overfilled, disorganised files. Moving from paper to virtual will cut the number of files that you have by at least 60%.

Step 4: Lighting

The room needs to be lit in a way that enables you to see all of your work throughout the day. If your study contains a window that provides a lot of light then try to situate your desk as closely to it as possible because natural light is the most enjoyable to work in.

It might be impossible to obtain much natural light depending on which direction the building is facing, or if the room is in the middle of a floor. If this is the case then a couple of very large lamps will be a good idea as well as smaller lamps on your desk.

Step 5: Practical Decorations

Like any room either in a home or at work you will want to decorate it in a way that feels as welcoming as possible. Plants are a good option as they look professional and add colour. If your office is roomy enough then a standing plant is very sophisticated. At home you might want to consider a pin board where you can quickly stick any bits of paper, or a small white board to jot down ideas as they enter your head.

Hopefully you won’t be counting down the hours but everybody needs to be aware of the time when they are working to hit all those deadlines. Choose a large clock and situate it on a wall which is viewable from anywhere in the office. If you are designing a board room then it needs to be in an obvious area so that you can nod at it at the beginning of each meeting.

If you are looking for anymore ideas regarding decorating then please visit http://www.kentblaxill.co.uk/farrow-ball-buy-online to find paints and wallpaper that will inspire you.