Most offices I have seen throughout my life are pretty damn good.
However, there are a small number of individuals that don’t have the knowledge to create a great home office that’s actually going to help them get a good amount of work completed.
I know it’s quite hard to build your first home office, but after a bit of research,, you should realize what you can and can not do when you design an office.
In this article, I will be talking about the top 10 design mistakes that I have seen people doing and only hope you don’t make these simple mistakes.
Especially if you want to be that much more productive.
1.) Placing A TV In Your Home Office
Why people think it’s good: A lot of newbie office owners will think that having a TV in your office is good for keeping you company or good to watch a bit of entertainment while you work.
When it’s not hard to figure out that this is not the case.
Just look around in all office rooms you come across, and you will soon find out who knows how to set up their home office the correct way and who doesn’t.
Why it’s not good: It’s actually a huge distraction for you and your work production, and it will make it harder for you to get valuable work completed.
You should be focusing on having the least amount of distractions possible, that is what the office was designed for in the first place.
If you just so happen to have a TV in there already, keep that thing off until your work is complete.
I know the NBA Finals was on last week and rather than trying to watch the game while I was working, I made sure that I got my work done before any of the games even started.
2.) Ignoring The Walls And Floors
Why people think it’s good: Many people will think that the wallpaper and flooring simply don’t matter and obviously want to keep what they have to save money and time.
Why it’s not good: Ignore the walls and flooring, and you’re essentially taking away a warm, inviting home office.
What is on the walls is the secret that will make all the difference.
You also need to realize that your home office is something that you need to love for many years, because it is what is going to help you get a good amount of work completed for the day.
Personally, I thin a fresh coat of white or any other light paint is great as I’m sure we all want to put some stuff up.
Quick tip: Don’t get carried away putting stuff up on your wall after it’s painted. Keep it simple.
3.) Picking Paint Before Furniture
Why people think it’s good: Because that’s usually what everyone else starts with when decorating a new home, and that is how costly mistakes are made.
These can be avoided in the first place.
Why it’s not good: Home offices are different and should be treated differently.
By choosing a paint or wallpaper first, you will make it harder for you to pick furniture that will match the wall color later on. I would recommend choosing your furniture first, then you can decide on a wallpaper style/color and flooring design.
4.) Choosing Harsh Or Dim Lighting
Why people think it’s good: Many people will think that any lighting will work because they obviously don’t know that a good, brightened room is the key to helping workflow.
Why it’s not good: By avoiding picking out a decent light source, you are essentially going to have a dark and dim room, as most standard overhead lights aren’t designed for home offices.
This will result in eye strain and headaches.
See some awesome lighting ideas here and see how you can be that much more productive just from this alone.
5.) Choosing Furniture Or Features With No Storage
Why people think it’s good: Obviously they want something that looks good and going to make their office more inviting.
Why it’s not good: In actual reality, most of the time home offices are small, and by purchasing a nice, big piece of furniture that doesn’t contain any storage systems, you are actually making it harder for you to store all that paperwork and projects away later on or when your business starts expanding.
I’m more about functionality rather than looks, so I definitely consider what a simple piece of office furniture can do before I get it.
6.) Using An Uncomfortable Chair
Why people think it’s good: The office chair looks really flash and modernized for their home office. It’s going to give everyone that walks into the office a warm welcome.
Why it’s not good: Sure, the chair might look perfect for the office, but if it’s uncomfortable as hell – this is going to stop you from getting work completed on time and efficiently.
Especially because you’ll be trying to get comfy the entire time.
For me, I can’t even keep still in one chair, so right now I’m in the living room doing this post on the couch!
Keep things changing all the time, but do get an office chair that will be of comfort to YOU.
7.) Ignoring The Cord Spaghetti
Why people think it’s good: Many of us, myself included, would always tell myself that I’ll get around to it later on.
This is a common mistake I see people making, setting up their home office and leaving all wires and cords sitting on the desk.
It’s not even that hard to hide them, yet most of us just leave it anyway (lol).
Why it’s not good: Because most of the time we don’t actually get around to hide it away, we say we will do it later on but never actually get around to hiding them.
That’s why it’s best to do it straight away.
And because no one likes to walk into an office that’s not well-presented with all cords lying around in a mess!
Worst thing about it is it’s simply just an eye sore.
Noticing that mess will make you less productive in your place of work.
8.) Not Measuring Dimensions
Why people think it’s good: There’s a lot of people that make this simple mistake.
They think that looking at a space and guessing the dimensions is just going to save them time, and they can’t be bothered measuring every piece of furniture they’ll be getting.
Why it’s not good: If you don’t size out the spot you want to place a piece of new furniture in, this will result in undersized or over sized furniture in your new office, which is never a good thing.
I find that typically true when you’re office is strict on space.
Final Thoughts
I know not everyone is a professional interior designer.
However you don’t need to be to know what you should and shouldn’t do when you design your own home office.
Just remember, if possible, use as much natural lighting as you can, and don’t overlook using ambient lighting for that nice, finished effect that will make you love your home office for years to come.
When you decide to create your office, please don’t make the simple mistakes I have outlined above.
Do it the correct way and you will find your office is much better than it would have ever been.
Until next time, keep it simple, and stay productive.
The Altra Parsons Deluxe Desk Is A Little On The Cheap Side
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