I don’t need to tell you about the monumental changes that most of us are going through.
I was in a job which was the definition of 9-5, with the standard restrictions. Working from home was a luxury – and one that tended to take weeks of negotiations with my manager!
Suffice to say, things have turned on their head. I’m now working at home full-time and while my company haven’t given any definite assurances about the future, there are suggestions that a more flexible routine will be adopted.
During the early days, I was perched on the end of my kitchen worktop. The result? After several days my back had caved in; I couldn’t wait to get back my plush office chair and work at a real desk.
That’s when I decided to take matters into my own hands – and this is going to form the process of today’s post.
Firstly, equipment is key. While solid wood office furniture will cost you a small fortune, there are also plenty of used items out there. I scoured eBay and picked up a chair and desk for less than $150. Not only do they slot into my spare room with ease, but they have ‘cured’ my back after those first few days of pain! Even if I return to the office on a full-time basis (something that appears doubtful), the setup has improved my home and created a purpose for a once unnecessary room!
While the physical side of working from home was quite obvious to me in the first few weeks, something that I took time to discover was the overall environment. Staring at undecorated walls, with an unused bed in the backdrop, was hardly inspiring. It was great at first – but the novelty soon wore off.
This is where I have turned to accessories. First on my list was flowers, to add a sense of excitement to the room. I bought my first bunch from Avas Flowers and haven’t looked back. There’s some amazing home office inspiration on the Avas Flowers Twitter pages, and there is a bit more information about Avas Flowers on this link.
It wasn’t just flowers that I turned to, though. I also invested in new frames to the wall to create that elusive Zoom backdrop! The final decorative point was a lick of paint; which was long-overdue anyway.
Finally, I’m going to talk about natural light. Our spare bedroom had thick, bulky curtains, to create the ultimate blackout for guests who stayed in there.
Unfortunately, when it came to working from the room, they were no longer fit for purpose. Light would blind me on a morning, and the glare on my screen was impossible to deal with. The solution? I kept the curtains but complemented with venetian blinds in a natural wooden finish. The room retains its rustic qualities but is more practical than ever before.
As you can see, all of the above suggestions hardly made an impact on my pocket. In fact, with the lack of commuting, in some ways you could suggest they have been a superb investment.
