What Home Office Décor Do You Need?

No matter if you’ve been working from home for years in a designated office space or a makeshift area in a corner of your home, your home office needs to be a place of comfort and productivity. Sitting on a sofa slouching over a laptop or using the kitchen table is far from the best home office setup.

A home office reflects the rest of your home’s design and should be a place where you can work comfortably. In addition, with so many video conferences and meetings, the spotlight is on home office décor. From how to set up the best lighting to how to decorate your office walls, the tips below will make your home office bright and cheery without stressing your budget.

How to Decorate Your Home Office on a Budget

If you are working from home temporarily or part-time, you may not want to spend a lot on your home office. Even if working from home is your full-time gig, you probably want to spend as little as possible. Whether your home office has been carved out of a corner of your living room, the kitchen table, or the guest room, there are many creative ways to decorate your home office on a budget.

The most budget-friendly home office furniture might just already be in your home. Take a look around and see what you can repurpose as a desk. The desk should be big enough for your computer or laptop, an extra monitor if needed, and other work materials. A comfortable office chair that supports your back is essential since you will be sitting in it for 8 hours a day.

Lighting for Your Home Office

When setting up lighting for your workspace, ideally, there will be enough ambient lighting for the room and task lighting for your workstation. A desk lamp with a pretty shade will add personality and give you enough light to work without straining your eyes. If possible, set up a space near a window so you can take advantage of natural light for at least part of the day.

A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place

Invest in storage to keep yourself organized and everything you need within easy reach. Not having to hunt around looking for things can boost your productivity. It doesn’t have to be a super fancy or color-coded filing system, it just needs to keep you organized. Some budget-friendly storage solutions include:

• Cardboard file organizers
• Storage container carts that move easily
• Small file cabinet to place alongside or under your desk
• Shelving unit for storage

There’s nothing that makes a room look pulled together like a perfectly styled shelf, so make your shelving a part of your décor. Keep the things you need close, and decorative items to give the space some style.

Dress It Up with Decor

To make your space look less like it was thrown together in a hurry and more like a well-thought-out space, some simple pieces of décor will add the finishing touches. Make a quick gallery wall with a few pieces of affordable wall décor. Choose artwork with matching themes, colors, or frames to create a cohesive look.

We’re all naturally drawn to greenery, and we don’t always get enough nature in our days. Fill a few fun planters with succulents to bring nature into your workspace or some artificial plants if you don’t have a green thumb. They’ll add texture and color to your home office.

Wall Décor for Video Conference Backgrounds

With video conferencing taking the place of meetings, your wall décor can take on even more importance. When you are trying to communicate with your coworkers and others in a virtual meeting, your goal is to be professional. However, the definition of professionalism can be different, depending on your audience.

In a meeting with coworkers, a few family photographs (including pets, of course) are just fine. It may even be okay if your cat decides to join the meeting. However, if you often have virtual meetings with clients or work in customer service or sales, you may want something less distracting in your background.

During seemingly endless video conferences, it’s only natural to check out the backgrounds of the people on the call, as anyone on room rater can tell you. If you are doing it, you know everyone else is, too. Keep your area neat and uncluttered. Not only will this keep you in the top ten on Room Raters, but it also shows that you are prioritizing the meeting. People naturally let their eyes wander, so keep that in mind when decorating your home office.

Blank walls are almost as bad as a cluttered space. Blank walls look sterile and cold. Minimalist home office décor offers a clean look, while a piece of artwork or a plant adds some warmth and a bit of personality. Remember that every item in your home office background says something about you.

While you don’t want your background to be distracting, personal items can be a conversation starter and can help you build rapport with the others on the call. But be mindful of what items you leave in view and what art you have on your walls. They may be walls in your house, but when you are in a meeting, they are also a part of the office.

Keeping the Space Decorated to Keep Productivity/Mood Up

Whether you are working from home full time or part-time, an organized, decorated space will make you more creative and productive. And it levels up your video conference game. Clutter around your workspace can make you feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Color has a significant effect on productivity, so don’t be afraid to add a little color to your home office. In fact, there’s a whole science behind how different colors make us feel. Blues wake up the mind, yellows inspire creativity, and green brings on feelings of relaxation. Research has also shown that it is not the color so much as how intense a color is that governs how you respond to it. Choose color combinations that make you feel creative and productive.

Some days, inspiration seems far, far away. When you feel uninspired, it’s hard to produce your best work. Hang an inspirational message on the wall to keep you motivated. Or create an inspiring vision board highlighting your daily to-dos and future goals. Before you know it, your creativity and productivity will be through the roof.

Don’t forget to stir all your senses to stay stimulated and productive. Scents can affect our emotions just like colors can. Peppermint is often used to refresh and energize, while citrus scents uplift and destress, and lavender is known for its calming properties. Light some candles or use an essential oil diffuser to scent your home office. The scent can help you feel relaxed, energized, and focused on your work tasks, depending on the oil you choose to use.

Whether you are refreshing your current home office or designing a new one, stop into Old Time Pottery to find wall decor, home décor, candles, and more to find what you need to create the perfect, productive office that won’t break your budget.