Trendy home offices

Get the best out of this space – by Dave Nemeth

As the economy continues to put strain on businesses, the resulting domino effect ultimately impacts consumers, and we find a severe decline in permanent employment throughout many industries.

It is definitely the age of the entrepreneur, and we will see more and more individuals working from their homes instead of offices due to unnecessary costs including expensive rentals, petrol and toll fees.

The home office no longer simply takes on the outdated look of the traditional study, often found in older and larger homes, but is now created to be functional for the kind of business one is doing – and this could be anything from accountants and IT specialists to designers and photographers

 

In the past, these spaces were more often than not an afterthought, with them taking on a functional form instead of a purposed design aesthetic. However today this is not the case, as we have come to understand that our space in which we work plays a major part in our business outputs and successes.

With more people moving into smaller homes, we find that a majority of home offices are part of the main residence, and although they may have separate entrances, they almost always have access to the main house as well.

Just as business is constantly changing and evolving, so too are these spaces, and one of the most noticeable movements we see is that of a relaxed and open environment.
We see the home office space often taking on its own identity, not always following on from the design aesthetics of the rest of the house, which really does make sense considering that fact that it serves a completely different purpose to the other rooms in the home.

One of the big trends throughout design at the moment is the element of humour. You know those quirky items, which are made to be silly and out of place, but lift our spirits and put smiles on our faces? Well these are perfect for the home office space, as they balance the stresses and pressure of day-to-day work and create a balance between work and play. The way in which we work has changed drastically over the years and although we work many more hours it is vital that we work in an environment that uplifts us and creates a real “feel good” mood,