If you have a compact home, you might think it’s tough to set up a dedicated home office with everything you need without it feeling too tiny and cluttered.
However, even in a smaller space, you can be smart about decorating and design ideas and set the area up to suit your work style. Minimalist ideas can go a long way to helping you achieve the best possible at-home workspace for 2023 and beyond.
Start by Defining the Space You Want to Use
Before creating your optimized home office, stop and think about where you’ll set up your space and how to demarcate it. You want your work area to be clearly separated from the rest of your home so that you not only don’t get interrupted so often but also have the mental space needed to set specific working hours and avoid getting trapped in the “always working” routine that many people do.
To create a simple, minimalist look and feel, you want to set up your work base in a spot that allows you to be free of the drama or noise of other people, projects, and activities in your household. Wherever possible, choose a room you can have all to yourself, such as a spare bedroom, attic, basement, garage, separate studio, or the like.
If this isn’t possible, at least use partitions of some type to divide your workspace from other areas that may get used for sleep, exercise, dining, etc.
Put Function First
You need to put function ahead of form for a minimalist home office. Every item you put in the space needs to have a reason for being there. Where possible, use multifunctional items, too, that will enable you to keep goods to a minimum. For example, you can choose a multifunction printer/scanner/photocopier, pick a desk that can be raised or lowered as needed, and add some ottomans with lids that can provide seating and give you extra internal storage space for your various office items.
It’s also worthwhile installing a quality chandelier ceiling fan or other heating and cooling options that not only keep the room at a nice temperature but look elegant at the same time. Plus, you might buy a sofa bed to put in one corner of the room that you can relax on when you need to do some reading or thinking for work, but then set up for guests when you’re having people come to stay and need the extra room.
Be purposeful about all the pieces you choose to add to your minimalist home office. Don’t keep accumulating items that might be handy “one day” but that you won’t use anytime soon.
Pare Back Your Color Palette
Another way to ensure your home office has a minimalist look and feel is to keep the color palette you use pared back. You don’t want to put in too many brightly colored and contrasting and conflicting hues in furniture, window hangings, carpet, rugs, lighting, desk accessories, art pieces, tech tools, and the like. Instead, try to limit shades to one hue or at least similar tones within the one color palette.
It’s best to avoid having feature walls or putting too much on the walls at all, decoration-wise, as this can add too much visual stimulus and make the room seem cluttered and far from minimalist. Where possible, store goods out of sight, too, such as behind closet doors, drawers, in storage boxes, etc. This will streamline the look of the room further.
Create Systems to Stop Clutter
It’s easy for home offices to get cluttered very quickly with all the paraphernalia that comes with work, such as stationery items, files and documents, magazines, books, product samples, tech gear, etc. To avoid getting to the stage where you feel stressed and uneasy just walking into your home office due to all this “stuff,” you might consider creating some systems for yourself to help you retain a minimalist feel in the room.
For example, designate a set place for as many things as possible in your home office and always return things to these spots when you’re done using them. To maintain a clean desktop, spend some time reviewing papers at the start or end of each day so that your pile of files doesn’t get out of hand. You might scan and digitally store many documents wherever possible, too, so you can then throw out the physical items and save space.
A minimalist home office doesn’t have to be out of reach, even for the messiest person. Work on the tips mentioned above, and you should soon notice that you’re more focused and productive and less overwhelmed and distracted during your work time.