Category: industrial

Struggling to fit everything onto the oak bookcase in your home office? Or maybe the top of your reclaimed wood furniture hasn’t seen the light of day for some time with all the papers and paraphernalia strewn across it. If this sounds familiar, you need these 10 decluttering tips.

1. The drastic but quick solution

Remove everything from the drawers and cupboards of your reclaimed wood desk, put it in a box and carry on working. As you need something, go an get it. Eventually, over time, you’ll have the things you need and a pile of things you don’t need in a box ready to be recycled.

2. Need vs. want

The home office is or should be, a place of productivity and creativity. There are certain things you need around you but there are other things you may want on your home office desk and shelving. However, some of these things could be cramping your work output. So start with things you need, and then consider carefully what other things you want in the space.

3. Storage, storage, storage

The right storage that is accessible is key to keep any room tidy and uncluttered. The same is true in the home office. Opt for home office furniture that gives you the storage you need, such as an oak bookcase for books and files and a desk with storage for smaller items.

4. Sort the cables

It’s not uncommon to find the home office desk strewn with cables across it or hanging down behind it. There are various cable tidy solutions you can buy. Once they are grouped together and tidy, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.

5. Take photos

There’s a saying – not being able to see the wood for the trees – and this can apply to when it comes to decluttering your home office desk and space. So take photos – you’ll be amazed at how much more you can see from a photo than when you’re standing in it.

6. Think vertically

The home office can have all kinds of items in it and finding the right kind of storage can be tough. Think vertically by adding tall industrial shelving for extra space either across one wall or arranging it around your desk so you get instant access to items.

7. Get storage savvy

Thinks don’t have to be on display. You can hide a myriad of stuff in boxes neatly lined up on the industrial shelving we’ve talked about in the previous point.

8. EVERYTHING in your office should have a defined space

When you add something to your home office, it needs to be allotted storage space right from the start. Clutter builds when things are ‘just left’ or put down on a bookcase or filing cabinet.

9. Tidy up every day after work

Clearing your home office desk when you’ve finished for the day is a great way for you to start your next working day. Cups and glasses need to be returned to the kitchen, papers need to be filed or recycled, and so on.

10. Don’t get obsessive!

And finally, we end on a light-hearted note. It’s easy to get obsessive about clutter and become too streamlined, throwing everything away that we feel doesn’t fit only to find we need and have to buy another one. Just relax with it and enjoy your stylish home office!

The environment in which we work is important – get it right, and your productivity and employee happiness levels rise significantly. If the office décor hasn’t enjoyed an update in some time, now is the time to up the style stakes – but it doesn’t just mean putting in some industrial shelving and a few new desks – there are plenty of other things to consider.

Let there be lots of the right light

Sunshine flooding in through the windows is uplifting BUT, working in harsh light means lots of glare and discomfort. Make the most of natural light with the right window dressings that allow for shade. And when natural light is lacking, opt for LED lighting that doesn’t give off heat and is cheaper to run too.

Add texture with rugs

We can hear ‘what about health and safety?’ but with rugs and rug stoppers (use special carpet tape), rugs in the office can be a thing. And they are wonderful for adding colour, pattern and texture. You can also use rugs to zone an area, such as a rug in the easy seating area, along with sumptuous sofas, and oak bookcase and side tables.

Talking of informal seating…

More small businesses are realising that ‘play areas’ or informal areas are not just for large companies but are a welcome addition to their office spaces too. Seating areas with sofas and armchairs are ideal for short breaks and meetings. They are also great for adding pops of colour too. Colourful armchairs such as a canary yellow armchair nestled alongside a brown leather sofa certainly add plenty of zing. There is a raft of other colours to choose from too.

Update the working area

Who wouldn’t enjoy an updated working space? If you want to keep a certain style, opt for a reclaimed wood desk from the same range. The Oldman industrial style desk is a functional and utilitarian piece of reclaimed wood furniture, perfect for small businesses as they can be made to bespoke sizes. Likewise, updating the seating with the ergonomic and stylish leather office chair is also a way of adding style to an office space.

Give the meeting room a new lease of life

From rugs to wall art – why not seek out local art talent? – the meeting room shouldn’t be a dreary space. Investing in a large conference table will never be wasted. It will be used time and again for meetings as well as sit down lunches with your crew.

Encourage personal touches

When people make the decision to come to work for you, you want their personalities and characters to shine through. All too often we hear of companies ‘banning’ personal items from desks, afraid of the clutter and perceived health and safety risks that they bring. In a small business, you can let these stuffy attitudes go and encourage people (within reason) to add personal touches to their desks.

Appeal to all the senses

Visually, you want an office that is appealing. You also want it to welcome employees and support them in their daily work in other ways too. And that means appealing to their sense of smell. Either the best scented candles or diffusers, the delicate scent of which hang gently in the air, are perfect for creating a pleasant perfumed aroma around the office.

At the last estimate, over four million people choose to regularly work from home. For some, the home office is the place from which they run their own freelance empire, from the comfort of a leather office chair. Like other rooms in the home, when it has a function, it means there is a main player just crying out for reclaimed wood furniture.

For the home office, it is the desk. It is the table at which you will spend many, many hours. It needs to be comfortable and large enough for everything you use as part of your working day, as well as offering storage, but you also want it to be stylish. So, where do you start when it comes to choosing a home office desk?

What size should an office desk be?

The dimensions of the desk are important. Not only does it need to offer ample working space for you, but it also needs to fit in the room itself.

Measure the space where you are considering sitting your desk – remember to consider the lighting and never work in shade or bright sun glare – and then consider how large you need the desk to be.

If you need minimal equipment, you could opt for a slimline desk and even with IT equipment, you’ll find that their streamlined nature means you won’t need a gargantuan desk. How about a reclaimed wood desk with two small drawers on either side for your pens and notepads?

How deep should my desk be?

A deep home office desk allows you to complete various tasks without necessarily putting equipment away each time. For example, when you want to handwrite or draw something, by pushing your keyboard or laptop aside you have plenty of desktop space.

If you don’t need a huge amount of space, why not opt for a slimmer desk? If you are really struggling for space, a foldaway desk is another great option. Situated next to your reading chair and an oak bookcase, you’ll have created the perfect home office come snug.

How much space do you need for a desk?

Try to be practical. You need plenty of space to push back your office chair and to move around the room. The issue with most home offices is that they are jam-packed and have no real storage solutions. That means keeping it tidy and a place that is productive is even harder.

A slimline desk with accessible storage is perfect, especially if it gives you the tabletop space you need. Home office furniture needs to ‘fit’ just as much as it needs to be stylish and offer storage.

Where should a desk be placed in an office?

We touched on this in an earlier point but when it comes to position, it is the light that is your most important consideration. Working with some natural light on your desk is good and natural light should be maximised but watch for glare. Of course, if you can position your industrial desk in a position where you have a view that’s perfect for those daydreamy moments we all have in our working day…

The home office can be a difficult thing to style. Often built into whatever space you might have to hand, there is often very little room to create a really productive working area. However, with the right home office furniture, any office, large or small can be organised to make it a more rewarding environment. Here, we take a look at a few examples of reclaimed wood furniture, and a few extras too, which will inspire you to design a home office that is a beautiful, yet highly functional space.

Choose your desk – and chair – wisely

Opting for a reclaimed wood desk is something we’d obviously recommend, as we have so many beautiful options to choose from. However, getting the right home office desk is all about how you want the space to feel. For example, if you’re trying to make your home office seem larger, you might want to opt for a lighter colour when it comes to your furniture, and this white industrial desk clearly fits the bill – allowing for plenty of workspace without taking up the whole of the room.

Alternatively, you might prefer a desk with drawers, such as the Worcester reclaimed wood desk for all those spare pens and post-its that form part of most people’s office clutter. This will again help the space to seem more ordered, and you’ll be able to find all those small items such as paperclips and the like easily, allowing you to be more productive. For a more serious feel to the office, the Quinton desk would be a fantastic choice, paired with a sumptuous brown leather office chair, it offers comfort, style and space to stack away any paperwork you might not need to hand right away.

Storage options can be stylish

When it comes to creating a space that helps with productivity, storage plays a key role. While the filing cabinet may have its uses, many people now prefer something a little more stylish – think a beautiful wood bookcase such as the Mitcham or the Rocco, with neat box files interspersed with quirky ornaments – the ultimate in style and organisation. Alternatively, you could consider bringing in a sideboard to your home office. The Rustic Mitcham sideboard would easily fit a home printer, a set of wire ‘in trays’ and some greenery on top, allowing you to have everything you need within easy reach in the cupboards below. Or, you could go quirky with the squared sideboard, also by Mitcham. This is an ideal alternative to a filing cabinet, as you can separate all your important filing but without the unattractive design of the standard filing cabinet.

It’s the little things that count

Of course, it’s not just the layout of the office that could have an effect on your productivity. Choosing your accessories will not just set your space off nicely, it could add real value to your working environment. Our tips on accessories to boost your productivity include:

Keeping an eye on the time – Opting for a large industrial wall clock that you can’t miss, or considering a table clock in your eyeline means you won’t lose track of time.

Creating the right atmosphere – There is a range of options when it comes to boosting your productivity with scent. Whether it’s stress-busting lavender misting gently from a diffuser, or a scented candle with a citrus fragrance to make you more alert, getting the atmosphere right really can have an effect on how much you can get done.

Get the lighting right – Whether a table lamp for darker evenings, or a floor lamp you can position to best effect, having the right light could really help you work better.

These are our picks for the ultimate in home office productivity, but which one will you choose to help you work more efficiently?

Room to work at home can be problematic. If you have a spare room, however, you could turn it into your dream home office. Fortunately, with just a few tweaks and additions, the addition of a wood bookcase and some other furniture, it can become the home office that you need.

How much space do you have to work with?

The good news is that for a dream home office, you really don’t need that much space. There are many tips on creating a home office, one is accurately measuring the room so that as you create your mood board of the must-have desk and leather office chair, you know you can fit it all in (leather armchair for lunchtime naps included).

Start with the most important item: the desk

Aside from it needing to be the right height and offering the worktop space that you need, style is important too. A streamlined home office desk will work well in the smaller office as would other standalone desks.

You could also opt for the ‘fitted’ bespoke desk solution for your home office. The Oldman reclaimed desk, for example, can be made to measure, perfect if you have constraints of space or you want to create a myriad of worktop space around corners in the home office.

Choose your office chair carefully

With your choice of reclaimed wood desk made, there is another serious consideration: getting the right office chair for you. And that’s the important bit ‘for you’. It needs to be the right height – opt for an adjustable desk chair – and it must offer you the lumber supported needed as you sit at your desk.

There are, as you would expect, several options when it comes to office chairs. But here’s the best bit: it doesn’t have to look like a chair from a busy office. It can be the epitome of style too, perfect for complementing your chosen desk. A leather office chair on wheels, for example, is perfect for easy movement. Or you could throw the rule book out of the window and enjoy the stylish aplomb of the Aviator office chair (and if you have the room, the Aviator half-wing desk is a must-have too!).

Make it a versatile space

Occasionally, you may work with a partner in your home office or even welcome clients to your working space and so you’ll need some accessories and essential additions to turn it into a versatile space.

Consider additional seating such as a leather armchair or two, flanked by a reclaimed wood coffee table that complements your bespoke desk. As well as choosing a neutral canvas of colour for our office to make it a productive space, add dashes of colour and texture with soft furnishings, such as small rugs, scatter cushions for the armchairs and maybe a throw or two for extra style notes in the room.

You’ll need to check the lighting levels too, making sure you are not working in shade or that the sunlight streaming in through the window is not too dazzling.

Is the spare room in your home the perfect location for your dream home office? It could be…