5 Simple Ways to Update the Look of Your Home Office

If you have your own place, perhaps one of the most important zones there is your home office. In addition to serving its primary purpose and being a workspace when you’re working from home, your home office can also be that quiet space where you engage in your favourite hobbies or interests or accomplish day-to-day tasks, like settling your bills, without any distractions. 

 

That said, you certainly don’t want your home office to just be some drab room in the house—how else would you be inspired to work there? It would be great for you to strike a balance between form and function when designing how your home office will look, and to personalise the space so that it truly reflects who you are and the kind of life you want to live.

 

To that end, here are some ideas from art platform DROOL Art for you to try out:

 

1) Dress Up Your Walls

 

 

One of the simplest, yet most effective ways to update your home office is to make additions to its walls. Don’t limit yourself to just neutral tones in an attempt to make your home office look “professional”; if you’re not accountable to anyone else, you can choose which colours, textures, and designs to feature here. Take advantage of this space being yours and decorate your walls so that they embody your interests and preferences.

 

For instance, if you’re into particular sports, hang some skateboard wall art or other sports memorabilia on your wall. That way, it will be easy to recall what you love about sports—like the adrenaline rush, the happiness upon meeting an important goal, or the joy of working with others—and use those insights to fuel your productivity. 

 

On the other hand, if you’re more of a bookworm, set up new shelves stocked with your current book collection and leave space for other items you want to access during your work shift. In this sense, shelves will be both a functional and aesthetically pleasing addition to your walls. 

 

Lastly, you can keep it simple with wallpapers, contemporary art posters, or art prints that come in appealing designs. Take advantage of the fact that your home office is just another part of your house and not a commercial space whose rules you have to follow to the letter. 

 

2) Add Some Indoor Plants

As you’re hard at work in your home office, chances are, there may be times when your eyes will grow weary from staring too long at your computer screen or from going through dozens of documents. What better way to ease your exhaustion than to train your eye on nature instead? A few indoor plants in your home office can improve the space’s overall aesthetics and uplift your mood.

 

Even if you don’t consider yourself as someone with a green thumb, there are many low-maintenance indoor plants you can choose from that will look great in your home office. Some examples are snake plants, succulents, lucky bamboo plants, pothos, monstera plants, and philodendrons. The plants’ placement is also important, so try to keep them somewhere within eye level from where you usually sit. 

 

3) Maximise Your Home Office Space with the Right Accessories

 

 

Is your home office on the smaller side? If so, don’t worry, because you can still up the style factor even with limited space. 

 

Start with a goal of making your home office less cramped to look at. For example, don’t keep all your things cluttered up on your desk. Instead, utilise vertical organisation by hanging floating shelves where you can set ornaments or smaller pieces of office equipment when the latter aren’t in use. 

 

You can also place vertical file organisers on flat surfaces and use these to sort your paper documents. These will help you free up space and thus keep your home office looking both updated and organised.

 

Another way to mix form and function in your home office is to put up a cork board to pin important notes and reminders, instead of letting these stack up in untidy piles on your desk. Your cork board can also serve as a scrapbook of sorts, where photos of your loved ones and other mementos are displayed. Simply looking at your board can make you feel both more productive and more motivated at the same time. 

 

4) Choose a Great Desk and Chair Combo

 

 

A great work desk and work chair will serve as both pragmatic and stylish updates to your home office. They’ll be worthwhile investments for how comfortable they’ll help you feel as you do your work, reducing backaches and other forms of physical strain from long hours spent working. 

 

In addition, your desk-and-chair combo can also be a good centrepiece for the room. A solid wood desk partnered with a leather office chair, for example, can add an elegant and professional touch. Meanwhile, if you prefer a more laid-back look, opt for lighter shades or pastels that can look soft on the eyes, paired with metal accents for a more artsy and contemporary feel.

 

5) Keep Cables, Cords, and Peripherals Organised

 

 

Your home office most likely contains various gadgets, such as your desktop computer, laptop, or printer, among other things. Make sure to organise all the cables, cords, and peripherals that come with these, since they can otherwise easily make your workspace look cluttered and messy. 

 

You can hide certain accessories behind your computer or under your desk so that they won’t be in full view. It’s also an option to invest in cable organisers, cord covers, and hooks to make your home office space a neat and appealing one to work in.

There are few limits to how you can spruce up your home office, and what works depends on your personal preferences, the nature of your work, and what’s effective at motivating you to bring your best self to your job. Don’t be afraid to experiment and think outside the box when decorating your home office space—remember, it’s yours and yours alone.