If You’re Working From Your Bed, Why Not Create A Chic Home Office Instead?

If you’re currently working from your bed, your sofa or your garden shed, it might be time to consider creating a proper home office. Think about it. It’ll give you a project, it’ll help you declutter and, most importantly, it'll give you a sense of routine and normalcy as we struggle through this ongoing situation.

First off, you don’t need a designated room. Natalie Kingham, fashion and buying director at Matchesfashion.com, is using the end of her kitchen table that faces the garden. ‘It’s made from repurposed school desks and still has all the graffiti. I varnished it, but the graffiti still makes me smile.’ Not only is she in prime position to watch her garden turn from spring to summer, but her kitchen’s wallpaper has been quite the conversation-starter on Zoom calls. ‘It looks like I’m in a rainforest, which has been an unexpected delight, and makes me want to wallpaper the whole house!’

The sleepwear designer, Olivia Von Halle, is on her grandmother’s farm with 11 family members. Aside from the crowd control issue - ‘It’s the corner room of a barn conversion and has a constant stream of people coming through. The one advantage of being the boss is that no one minds when your granny interrupts calls to ask if you want cake,’ - her grandmother’s dining room and table are serving quite nicely as both her label’s HQ and her son’s home school. ‘It has wonderful big windows, which look out to the farm, and I’ve loved watching spring blossom,’ she says.

Natural light is the most uplifting, but table lamps create a warm glow when it’s miserable outside - and will up the chic-factor of your work space. ‘My husband has taken over our home office,’ says Serena Hood, co-founder of Collagerie, ‘So I’ve set up my own in the rear of our living room, overlooking the garden. I’ve added my own personal touches, including a pair of Pooky lamps with Pierre Frey shades, framed family pictures and a big bouquet of flowers.’

When choosing accessories, it’s important to remember that a tidy desk equals a tidy mind. ‘I’m quite streamlined and don’t like clutter,’ says Heather Gramston, head of womenswear at Browns, whose home office is inspired by Donald Judd’s minimalist desk at his residence in Marfa. She has, however, invested in some wall art. ‘I just bought two gorgeous prints from Mark Borthwick and Chris Rhodes from the Photographs For The Trussell Trust initiative, which is donating 100% of the proceeds to help those who have been affected by Covid-19,’ she says.

As well as a notebook, hand cream and a water jug to remind her to stay hydrated, Natalie swears by curated smells. ‘It may seem extreme, but these small things make my space inviting. I put Santa Maria Novella in the diffuser and intermittently burn Astier de Villatte’s Namche Bazaar Incense.’

Try it and who knows? Maybe your productivity levels will go through the roof.

SHOP: Everything You Need To Create Your Perfect Home Office Space