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1 September 2023

Teleworking: 5 tips for a well-designed office space

Teleworking has become a new habit for many workers. As a result, setting up a telecommuting office at home has taken on a whole new meaning. If during the confinement period, most people improvised a temporary office here and there, nowadays setting up a real teleworking space is becoming more important.

Indeed, even if you only telework one or two days a week, having an office in a suitable, well-appointed location will enable you to concentrate better. So why not take the time to investigate the best options for furnishing your office? Take a look at our solutions for furnishing your office space and get inspired.

Choosing the right teleworking space

Of course, before you start thinking about the layout of your office, you need to choose the right place to put it. As many of you have experienced during the COVID 19 confinements, teleworking has many advantages, including a more comfortable lifestyle. However, separating professional and personal life is more complex.

Unsurprisingly, the ideal room for teleworking is a dedicated office. You’ll benefit from more work and storage space. You’ll also be able to close the door behind you at the end of the day to mark the end of your working day. The great thing about this dedicated office room is that it gives you a more pleasant and comfortable working environment. You’ll be able to talk on the phone in complete privacy, without being interrupted by noise or visual disturbances. The result is more productive work without external distractions.

Depending on the type of job, the space required for teleworking can vary. Some people still work with filing folders and paper files, while others will mainly have a laptop. It goes without saying that the location of your telecommuting office will also have to be defined according to the space you need. Try to choose a location that will allow you to have everything close at hand and, above all, be adapted to your essentials.

If you can’t afford to have an entire room dedicated to your teleworking space, select a location that meets the most important criteria. Here are a few basics to help you determine the ideal location.

Setting up your office for teleworking: the basic rules

The most important rule is to choose a place where you feel comfortable and where teleworking seems pleasant. Sometimes it’s necessary to try out several locations. A simple way to do this is to position a chair where you’d like your office to be, sit down and gather your first impressions.

Do you have enough space? Is it bright enough? Do you have plugs nearby? Are you in a high-traffic area?

In fact, all these points are important to get your office in the right place.

Lighting

First of all, make sure you have a source of light nearby. Bear in mind that light levels may change over the course of the day and the seasons. Choose the optimum location accordingly.

Wherever possible, it’s always best to favor natural light. But if this is not possible, opt for high-quality artificial lighting that limits shadows and reflections on your workspace.

Positioning

As you probably know, we’re big fans of Feng Shui, which is a real ally when it comes to designing harmonious spaces.

First of all, to promote good energies, it’s advisable not to have a void behind you, as this unconsciously generates insecurity. Wherever possible, it’s best to keep your back to the wall. Doors and windows, meanwhile, should remain visible to open up the horizon and provide a view of people entering and leaving the room.

The style

Secondly, it’s advisable to choose furniture that isn’t too bulky, to keep the office clean and uncluttered. Keep it clean and tidy to keep your thoughts clear.

Curved shapes are also favored, as they allow energies to flow more easily. They bring softness and comfort to your interior.

The materials

As a general rule, synthetic materials should be avoided, as they don’t allow energy to circulate. Instead, we prefer natural materials, which will be your allies in creating an office space that’s a pleasure to work in. Wood, for example, brings a warm, friendly atmosphere to the room.

Connections

Moreover, another point not to be overlooked is ergonomics, particularly the connectivity of your equipment. The vast majority of teleworkers are behind a computer for most of the day. Don’t forget that access to electrical outlets is essential, so you don’t have to take out all the extension cords in the house.

Even if new technologies favor wireless elements, it’s essential to have easy access for chargers and to hide cables on the desk.

Now that you know all the essential criteria for your office design, let’s look at some concrete examples.

A dedicated office space

As we mentioned earlier, creating your teleworking space should reflect your profession. And while your office is currently specifically dedicated to your work, it can also be a space for dealing with administrative paperwork from home, or a place for hobbies.

In these two examples, we’ll show you how to design your office in dedicated rooms. Office design is therefore considered in its entirety and adapted to the individual’s needs.

Teacher’s desk

As we all know, schoolteachers need space to store all their binders and materials. Papers are the mainstay of their profession. We know that sufficient shelving and other enclosed spaces will be needed to store less aesthetic and more cumbersome items.

When designing, we’ll also think about integrating a desk surface large enough to accommodate several open binders, annotations and pens nearby. A computer will be present, but not necessarily the main feature. There’s often a printer nearby, and therefore a cable route to hide. Finally, drawers can be a useful place to store the many office accessories.

Geek office

While some professions are still closely tied to paperwork, others are completely at odds with it and are dedicated exclusively to technology. We thought it would be interesting to compare the two extremes, to show you the range of possibilities and styles.

For this project, the initial idea was to create a space reserved for Monsieur for his teleworking, but also for his gaming hobby. We quickly listed all the elements that would be part of it, but also the main atmosphere that would prevail. A sofa bed and a TV corner were integrated into the same room. Hence the importance of also being able to visually divide the spaces to create two sufficiently cocooning corners.

The cable routing has been carefully designed to avoid cluttering up the desk, hence the creation of a wooden cover at the rear of the screen. This allows everything to be plugged directly into a concealed power strip. The switch and wiring for the LED light can also be routed through it, providing a subdued light conducive to gaming. A few shelves and storage units are provided, but the emphasis is on this prominent curve, which provides maximum space and comfort for the user.

Want to explore more options? See more desks here.

Working from home in a living room

So far, we’ve dealt with the simpler subjects, since they involve fewer constraints. If, on the other hand, you need to set up an office in a living space, the challenge is more complex. But don’t worry, we’re not short of ideas!

Most of the time, customers come with the idea of creating a library combined with a telecommuting office space for the living or dining room. The advantage is that, when combined with another piece of furniture, the desk area is less visually present. It blends into the overall scheme and is less prominent in the room.

Even if the office space is well integrated into the whole, we often hear the wish to be able to hide this corner once the teleworking day is over. It’s understandable that keeping your computer, your big screen and your file in progress on your desk all evening, doesn’t really help you mentally unwind. To counter this problem, we offer a screen cover. This mobile element, made of wood or steel, attaches magnetically to the underside of the shelf. As soon as the telecommuting day is over, the screen is hidden.

This solution is also available with sliding doors to hide a screen, or simply office items such as keyboard, mouse, pens and current files.

If, on the other hand, you don’t telecommute on a regular basis, and only need a desk for occasional use, a furniture extension may be all you need. Whether it’s a buffet area or a kitchen, for example, you can add a shelf that can be transformed into a small workspace.

Let us show you how.

Telecommuting on a retractable desk

When you don’t have an office room and a teleworking corner in a living area isn’t feasible on a fixed basis, don’t despair – we’ve got retractable desk solutions for you.

There’s no one-size-fits-all model, as retractable desks are often an extension of another piece of furniture. As a result, the whole unit will take on a form and function depending on the architecture and use of the space.

It can be a pivot for a closed pedestal, inspired by a secretary desk.

But also a swivel-mounted desk tray, which becomes almost invisible when stored.

Or take the example of this project for an office in a living room, featuring a system of sliding doors which, when folded, enclose a screen on a pivot.

We can also offer you a teleworking office that can be folded down, freeing up space once folded. You retain the flexibility of being able to use the space differently according to current needs, without feeling constrained. A great alternative for those who don’t often have the opportunity to telework, but want to do it properly when the occasion arises.

As you can see, whatever your telecommuting needs, we can come up with innovative and unique solutions. That’s the advantage of a made-to-measure service, and one that’s not short of good ideas.