Create your inspiring home office.

photo credit: Daniel Spillere Andrade

 Have you been thinking about working from home and creating a great space for yourself? If so, you are not alone. With more employers making allowances for their employees to work from home, self-employed individuals and home based businesses popping up everyday, the trend toward having a home office is here to stay.

But can a home office have a positive impact on the value of your home? You bet. But, there is one caveat, don’t spend your resources and money on creating lavish built-ins and turning your home office into an over the top room. If you keep it simple, stylish and multi-functional you will appeal to many buyers and still be able to enjoy your home, a balanced life style and hopefully increased productivity!

Read on to find out my top tips for creating a chic home office you just love and inspires you to do your best work.

1. Decide on your must need essentials – don’t clutter up the room with things you don’t need or won’t use. Clutter can have a detrimental effect on your mental state as well as your productivity. Throw out and get rid of items you haven’t used in years, donate them or sell them at a garage sale. They are just taking up precious space in your new office.
2. Invest in a few key pieces that you love, whether it is your desk, a beautiful rug or accessories – if it is a pleasurable environment you want to return to day after day you will be more inclined to use it and focus when you are working.
3. Invest in a stylish but comfortable ergonomic chair since you will be spending many hours in it and make sure you have a large enough desk that holds your essentials like a computer and phone, so you have everything you need at your fingertips.
4. Position your desk towards a great view so you can reap the benefits of working from home and enjoy the scenery. This could be a large window or a set of patio/garden doors leading to the backyard.
5. Paint your office with a new colour scheme to freshen it up. I hear yellows promote relaxation while soft blues promote calmness. Pick a colour that you just love and go for it! Even though it’s your office you can still put a little bit of your personality into it.
6. Hide your file folders and papers behind stylish shelving units or bookcases that have closed doors. But keep the furniture pieces to a minimum to create a feeling of space in the room. This will also make you feel more organized with less paperwork to be staring at.
7. Buy inspiring artwork, accessories and a carpet you just love. It’s amazing how accessories and a fluffy carpet can tie a room together.
8. Invest in some great lighting but make sure it is bright enough when working at night, this could be new table lamps or a new modern light fixture mounted on the ceiling.
9. If you are the type that likes a little background music while you work, install a sound system or have a place for your Ipod or stereo in the room. Or use a music streaming website on your computer.

Hopefully this has provided you with a little inspiration to finally tackle that project of redoing your office and doing something good for the value of your home at the same time. For more tips and tricks on improving your home contact me or sign up for my monthly newsletter below.

What did you do to freshen up your office or home office? Let me know in the comments!