That being said, natural light is variable and shouldn’t be the sole illumination for a workspace.

In terms of natural lighting, we believe that daylight should be maximized whenever possible. In Tiffany’s apartment, a milk glass pendant lights up the space as a whole, while black desk lamps illuminate the worksurface for a comfortable lighting level at the desks. We find that the best home offices have a combination of ambient lighting (overall illumination) and task lighting (illumination provided to aid a certain task). By “layers of lighting”, we mean multiple mediums for artificial lighting to cater to different times of day as well as tasks performed within a space. While we always aim to create layers of lighting within rooms, this is especially important in home offices. Above, we mounted some inexpensive laminate shelves to hold baskets of fabric samples these woven baskets (also IKEA) were a worthwhile addition to the space as they tuck away clutter while adding a textural element to the room - they house all of our fabric samples! We then positioned another ALEX drawer unit in between the two cabinets for a tucked-away printer station (with printing supplies easily accessible in the drawers below).

To elevate the basic IKEA units, we added affordable long brass handles to the cabinet doors for a more custom look. Again, we opted for ready-made furniture as built-ins would have been too costly for the rental.

Keep in mind that we collect things over time so the number of items you have now will likely grow in the coming years!įor Project Mutual (Tiffany’s condo), we installed two massive IKEA PAX units opposite the desk wall for tons of storage. Many homeowners and renters underestimate how much storage space they’ll need, so our advice is to always maximize storage within your designated office zone. Another major consideration for your home office is storage.

Designing a home office on a budget