Small Office Decorating Ideas
Small Office Decorating Ideas - Make it Count
The first small office decorating idea you should keep in mind is if you only have a small space to work with, it is necessary to make every corner count. There may be many disadvantages to having just a small workspace for an office, but as long as the space you do have available is both practical and functional and reflects your personality then you should be able to fit your office requirements into this limited area. The most important aspects of any office, regardless of size, is storage, your work station, lighting and shelving - probably also in that order.
Where space is limited you need to scale down any furniture you have to ensure it doesn't overwhelm the size of your office space: use your work station as the focal point and then design a theme where everything else fits around your focal point. For offices with very limited space you could use a wall-mounted desk as your workstation although, despite its space-saving qualities, this is not a suitable idea for everybody. There are, however, other compact desks on the market although you might find that what space you save with the desk you could lose with the additional storage you would have to provide.
Small Office Decorating Ideas - Choice of Color
Color is essential when you are planning your small office decorating ideas: it sets the ambience of the room and, depending on the use you intend your office being put to, your color scheme should be chosen accordingly. For a warm and inviting office, warm ochre would make a charming choice.
The choice of color scheme is personal: if the rest of your home is discreetly decorated in elegant neutrals, you might decide to continue with the same theme when you come to decorating your small office space. Conversely, you may decide to decorate your office in bold, bright colors to express your individuality and lay claim to the office being your own individual working space.
Some colors are known for making small spaces appear to be even smaller while other colors will open a small space and give an impression of being much larger than is actually available. There are colors that stimulate and others that encourage creativity.
Many people swear by neutrals as the ideal color for small rooms. They are not so powerfully stark as plain white and they blend in with whatever accessories you have surrounded yourself with. Neutral colors such as ochre, sienna, umber and charcoal are all considered to be less distracting and colors much more associated with business attributes. Neutral shades are definitely not for everybody and perhaps you will find that a cool wall color will encourage you to relax. If this is what you are hoping to achieve, look for various shades of green, blues and purples.
However, if you want to step into a small office space and feel invigorated, try the warm reds, yellows and oranges to awaken your creativity. These warm colors can be too rich and too bold so aim for more muted tones if you prefer not to become too distracted when you should be working. You could, of course, opt for the feeling of wide open spaces and choose white although, as an overall color, white is quite stark and not particularly restful. You might be better advised to choose a muted shade and use white as a trim or an accent shade: this combination achieves a crisp, clean look.
Small Office Decorating Ideas - The Essence of Lighting
Decent lighting is absolutely essential when decorating a small office, regardless of how large or small it is. For the best effect you can incorporate ambient lighting, task lights or accent lighting and, used appropriately, achieving the correct balance will accomplish the ambience you are aiming for.
Generally, when you light up the whole room you are employing ambient lighting, usually in the form of ceiling lights, table lamps and floor-standing lamps. When it comes to small office spaces, getting the ambient lighting just right is essential as this will be the prime source of illuminating the room. If you have sufficient floor space in your small office, a floor-standing lamp would provide perfect additional lighting.
There are plenty of styles and you can usually obtain them quite cheaply. Regardless of the amount of ambient lighting you have organised for your small office, you will still need to take advantage of directional lighting, especially that which comes on adjustable bases and enables you to aim the light wherever it is most needed. There are many designs for task lighting on the market nowadays which, apart from being functional, can also serve as accent lights, making your small office space much more of an attractive proposition and adding your own individual, personal touch to your office.
Small Office Decorating Ideas - Importance of Storage
Another small office decorating ideas to take note of is working in clutter is not ideal and, in situations where clutter does begin to overwhelm you, productivity does tend to be one of the first things to be affected. Obviously, with a wall desk, storage is often included although you will probably find you still need more storage options.
There are plenty of modular bookcases on the market and, come to that, there are also plenty of bookshelves on the market which are also modular and can be added to as more storage becomes a priority.
You could, of course, include a room divider which has the added advantage of having integral cupboards and bookshelves and fulfils a dual purpose of storage and separating off an office area which may have to be shared with a bedroom. If you are lucky enough to have sufficient space for an individual room, albeit a small one, you can consider one of the very funky filing cabinets that are now being sold.
Small Office Decorating Ideas - Office Zoning: Keep Items Handy
In an effort to boost productivity, experts advise arranging your working space into an 'L shape' or a 'U shape' and keeping all your office supplies within handy reach. Whether or not your actual productivity is likely to be boosted by following this advice is debatable but organisation of your office is absolutely essential.
One important small office decorating idea you should make a point of knowing is keeping supplies in close reach really is essential to increasing your output and creating an active work zone and an inactive work zone would certainly make sense. While office zoning, you need to include items of personal and sentimental value in order to create a balance between work and home life. A few family photos or a few fluffy toys - whatever helps you relax and makes you feel better.
These items are ideal stress-reducers. Some designers recommend an indoor water feature - an idea that really is highly evocative and is a very personal decision: you either love them or you hate them!
Overall, however, it is about creating a balance: balancing your work life and your home life and keeping your levels of stress to within manageable proportions. If this is the only thing you have managed to achieve by implementing these small office decorating ideas then you have probably achieved the perfect office environment.
Related Content