Top tips to help you create environments to thrive whilst they are working from home

What design tips can you give to people to help them create environments to thrive, whilst they are working from home? By Yaara Gooner

A range of factors should be considered when designing a home office. Your ‘office’ may be its own dedicated room, or it might be the corner of a communal area or a dining table that’s had to be repurposed. Whichever way, considered design can help transform space and mindset into an ecosystem of productivity. It’s important to create a zone that looks and feels distinct from the rest of your home. Here are my tips to work from home – in style.

Creating an ‘office’

In the LABS spaces, there are areas to relax, places to collaborate and dedicated spaces for individuals working at pace, we achieve this with different types of furniture and layouts, mixed with contrasting textures and materials.

It is important to create distinguished spaces at home so the boundaries between life and work don’t become too blurred. If you have the luxury of an at home office using different design details is a great way to establish this as a ring-fenced area to be used only for work. Likewise, if you’ve had to set up a desk in the corner of a room or commandeer a dining table, you must make sure you clear the space of any ‘office’ items at the end of the day and reset your home. This creates zones (and boundaries) by virtue of the things being used at any given time.  Use the time you might normally have spent on your commute as time to set up or put away your office.

Many of us live in smaller accommodation and the interchangeable spaces are becoming a way of life. If the view in your flat feels a little bleak, an easy way to switch up your decor to create a home-working vibe is to simply display some pictures or quotes that inspire you. Try and transform the areas of your flat that are doubling as your office space, to motivate creativity and productivity whilst working from home.

This is exactly the same design ethos I applied with STAY. The neutral aesthetic and soft materials in the apartments create both areas to relax and also to quietly work, as well as offering a cosy and homely habitat where you’d want to stay for weeks or even months.

Use of plants

Research consistently finds adding plants to the workplace decreases stress while increasing productivity, memory retention and compaaion. Nature is imperative to the LABS design process and we’ve pledged to have at least one plant per every 10sqm. There are concrete health applications to this initiative; one medium sized-plant per 5sqm office space is said to absorb 75% of airborne pollutants, an important benefit in LABS’ bustling London locations. Working in an environment with lower toxicity not only improves worker productivity but also improves health. To create a home office that feels clean and homely, mix natural tones and add colour with plants.

Clever lighting

Always try to maximise natural light in your workspace. If possible, set up your desk near a window which will aid your body in following its circadian rhythms’ a daily cycle of physical, mental and behavioural changes. Our bodies respond to the changing light, allowing us to follow sleeping and productivity patterns, preparing for work or preparing for rest, disrupting this can lead to insomnia and disrupt digestion. Maximising natural daylight is at the forefront of the development phase of LABS and STAY spaces and I really encourage you to make the best use of it in your home. It also enhances the regulation of Vitamin D, serotonin and melatonin which make us feel happier and healthier, aiding our overall well-being.

The importance of air

Keeping the air circulating in your home will also help keep you focused and productive. LABS spaces feature air filtration systems that ensure the quality of air is clean and refreshed. It sounds obvious but opening a window from time to time will create a revitalise the atmosphere and clear your environment.

Ergonomics

Your home office or temporary workspace may not be ergonomically designed in the same way an office might be, but there are ways you can promote the same comfort and efficiency. A quality desk chair, as you’ll find in all LABS spaces, designed especially for long hours of working is the most important investment to make, it helps with posture and supports you physically. In the absence of a desk chair make sure you create a soft seat, that movement isn’t restricted by arm rests and that you pull it right into the desk, try also to take regular breaks to stretch. Your screen should ideally be at your eye line, if you’re confined to a laptop try to place it on top of a pile of your favourite coffee table books to elevate the screen then use a separate keyboard and mouse.

Artwork and personalisation

Your home office is where you will be spending a lot of your waking hours now that we’re working from home. Well-placed artwork or personal items in your work area will make the space feel more comfortable and ground you with thoughts and feelings that have meaning to you. LABS encourage members with dedicated office space to make their mark on their offices in a similar way.

Getting Dressed

In addition to creating different zones with our physical spaces, differentiators in the way we dress can also help with achieving the headspace we need for productivity at work. Resist the temptation to stay in lounge wear and dress as if you were going into the office. This will really support the idea of compartmentalising our time to avoid that work/life blur.

Move

Working from home can be challenging so it’s vital to focus on looking after yourself and to keep moving. Weekly exercise classes are part of our LABS events programme and something we’re encouraging our members to continue at home. If you have the space, create an area which will allow you to take part in at home workouts such as relaxing yoga or an energising HIIT class. Try to schedule these into your diary at least three times a week to provide a break and a chance to reset. Don’t be put off by a lack of equipment as household items can provide surprisingly good alternatives, try a sticky bathmat in place of a yoga mat or tins of food as weights. If you have a limited amount of space, there are still ways to stay active with many specially designed exercise tutorials online making innovate use of smaller spaces. A change of scenery can also provide a welcome respite from your new ‘office’ so make sure you take your one daily walk if you can, even if it’s just a stroll round the block the fresh air will do wonders for your mind and body.

Stay connected

And finally, stay connected and be inspired – until a sense of normality resumes, be sure to stay connected to family, friends, and colleagues. Social distancing is actually only physical distancing, we can still say social with all the technology available to us. It’s also a good time to try and have a slightly quieter, calmer life; take time to find inspiration; listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, read magazines and books. The LABS ‘Stay-Insider’, available to all LABS members, keeps the essence of LABS alive beyond our physical buildings, This weekly edit honours our mission to motivate productivity, inspire collaboration and create environments for our members to thrive digitally.