Do you have a home office/ small office that you run your business from? And are you happy with how well it works for you? Do you invite clients there?

As a designer, I work with people to bring their branding alive in their shops, salons and restaurants. I also help people develop their ideal space in their office. Even if a client never sees it, the space still needs to meet the business owners’ physical and psychological needs.

In this short article, I show how I worked with one small business owner to help them to understand what they needed on an aesthetic and functional level to suits their personality and work habits.

“Emma loves the peace of working alone”

Very bold colours! I doubt many people could concentrate working here…

The business:

Emma Spillane runs Spillane Consulting; where she (with the help of several Associates) supports local sole traders and small business owners with all aspects of back office ‘stuff’. It’s a lot more than just admin. Most of Emma’s clients are mental health experts or education professionals – confidentiality is particularly important, as well as a very professional approach generally.

Last year Emma and her husband were designing and building a home office attached to the house (the back half of their garage), for her rapidly expanding business. She had been working from a small box room and had clearly outgrown that space. Although the new office build was almost complete, there was plenty still to be decided about light, layout, flooring, furniture, colour and style.

“No research yet has found a tidy workspace to be optimum in terms of performance. ”

Q. What frustrates you about your old office?

A. It’s too small. I’ve had to make do. Nothing goes together. It’s a mish mash and very cluttered.

Q. Tell me about offices you have worked in and what you have liked/ disliked about them?

A. The best thing I can think of in terms of liking other spaces is lots of storage. Mostly I can think of things I didn’t like; noisy, old fashioned styles, pokey, dark, cold, open plan, no control, nothing planned properly, make do. Not thought through.

Q. How will you use this space and what furniture have you thought about?

A. I want a large desk, noticeboard, bookcase and filing cabinets. Quality furniture with comfortable chairs. This may also be a client meeting space, so it needs to be pleasant and comfortable for them as well as good for me. I work with associates, so although they won’t need a permanent desk (as they work remotely) they may join me for meetings or to work from time to time. I also want space to be able to spread work out on and brainstorm ideas.

Q. What do you like style wise?

A. I like light and bright, modern and clean lines. Clutter free. Things that match. Put together properly. Purposeful. My brand colours are orange and blue so I want elements of that in here. Smart for clients.

Q. What else is important?

A. Having a space that is separate from the house (so I can disconnect from the general household chores and space to focus on work), and having confidential filing for clients.

My design advice:

1. Add a glass panel in door that faces South East to allow lots of light in. It’s important to maximise the natural light in any space, and especially in a work space.

2. Place your desk facing the wall to minimise distractions and over stimulation. Invest in a decent task chair (this is good advice I give everyone).

3. Build lots of good storage where items are tidied away and mostly not on view – hidden by doors or in neatly labelled box files.

4. Invest in decent quality, matching furniture. I sourced some furniture options. I mixed some cheaper and more expensive purchases to achieve an overall look of quality and stay in budget.

5. Colour scheme. Emma has lovely bright branding colours of blue and orange. It would be a mistake for her to use these colours wholesale as it would be too stimulating for her personally. She decided on white with small pops of her branding colours As an introverted personality type, Emma needs a neutrally decorated, calm, quiet well organised space with plenty of room to spread out and good storage to tidy away at the end of the task.

6. Add plants to help keep the air fresh. Add a picture of the seaside which she loves. Views of nature have been proven to boost both mood and productivity.

Emma works best and most productively when she can do so in a neat and tidy way. She likes to work on one thing at a time and be clutter free. Emma doesn’t only aspire to be like this, she does this naturally in a space designed to suit her.

Caution!

Now some of you may aspire to create a space like Emma’s. If so, I caution you! No research yet has found a tidy workspace to be optimum in terms of performance. It’s more complex than that. For example, some people like background noise, some people prefer absolute quiet. The key to a workspace design is to design it specifically with your personality and your needs in mind and the right design elements in terms of colour, layout, location, noise, lighting, workspace, storage, style.

Emma loves the peace of working alone. However, some people struggle with this. If you are sociable and find it lonely then I suggest you either create more stimulus in your space with colour, objects and noise (I often work with the radio to keep me company) or join a co-working space. Or maybe a bit of both. Extroverts recharge their batteries in the company of others. If you know that you are like this then build it into your day. You will work better as a result.

The key to getting the right workspace design is understanding your personality and preferred work style(s).

Final word. When the work was finished in 2019 and Emma finally moved into her space, she noticed that the improved physical space gave her more mental space to think and plan, and as a result she has been able to take on more clients. And on a fun note, an avid music lover and singer, Emma has also been able to move her piano into her office and enjoys taking music breaks in her work day.

Creating YOUR perfect office space