When we think of a traditional home, the image of a three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and a kitchen comes to mind. However living in the countryside or a larger suburban home, there’s frequently an extra room that is neither here nor there. Working away from home is becoming more and more of a lifestyle rather than just a comfortable option. If you have a room that you are not using for anything important and do find yourself digging through papers and up late on your computer doing all sorts of work, a study room could be your saviour. One of the most overlooked rooms in and household and yet, it’s where you can go through all your professional concerns and work as if you were at your job. It’s also where you can find solace and make a nice haven for yourself to get away from other parts of the home and focus on a little ‘me time’. To design your room you need to think of the priorities.
Comfortable endurance chair
The first thing that should go through your mind is to acknowledge just how much time we spend sitting down. In the modern age, most work is done sitting down because now we have desktop computers that are upright and can only be used in such a fashion. Above all else, you need a comfortable chair that is going to be able to endure long hours of sitting. Essentially, you’re not going for the softest chair, but for the best designed. Think about how racing drivers have their chairs made in such a way that the most important parts of your body are supported in an upright position. Your pelvic region, hips, back, and shoulders need have their own cushions, shaped and padded for the variations in weight. Leather is by far the best option as it is going to last the longest in terms of wear and tear. The padding should be made from a space foam and or cotton mix. The foam itself will be resistant to your weight, and yet not capitulate underneath you so much that your weight is forced onto your bones. Armrests are also a good option if you’re going to be typing quite a lot.
Long and wide open desk
Completely dependent on your room size, but the desk itself should be long and wide. The wood it’s made from should also be tough but not rigid. Cheaper woods tend to be extremely brittle and thus less able to take on pressure. But something like walnut desks is the opposite as they are made from a higher-quality material. You must also have drawers either side to you, so it’s best to have a desk where you sit in the middle. In the drawers, you can put your valuable papers and stuff relevant to your work environment such as pens. The desk would look better in a deep brown hue, varnished to make it look thick and robust. This kind of style also protects from scratches and coffee stains being easily shown up. Think about space on the surface as well, which is why it’s important to have a wide desk. You can put your computer on the desk, but still have enough room to write with your hands, after moving the keyboard out of the way, and also leaving room for your papers etc.
Bookshelf and cabinet
As we start to work for longer periods of time in the room, the simple fact is that work will begin to accumulate. Books and folders with your papers should be organized so that they can be accessed at any point in time. The only way to do this is to buy a bookshelf for your study room. It’s not only important to keep them out of the way, so the room doesn’t get overcrowded and cluttered, but so your notes, evidence, bank statements, reference books don’t get lost or damaged. It’s surprising, but you’ll start to realise that the room itself needs to be treated as if it were your office at your real place of work or mimicking such an area. Although you’re at home, the study room should be treated purely as a professional space. The bookshelf will make it look as such, making cleaning up in the room a lot easier too. A cabinet alongside the bookshelf would be great too as you can put plants, pictures, artwork and other things that you would in any other office space. It gives you a little space to be creative and make the room more personal to you.
Visibility and scent
The study room is also convenient because you can work late into the night, without having to uncomfortably half sit half lay in bed on the laptop. This means you also need a lamp for your desk. A yellow shade bulb is better as the white light will, in fact, strain your eyes as the night goes, making you more tired and thus, less time to stay up and work. A large lamp would be feasible if the desk itself is large, but a smaller lamp is much more versatile as it can also be moved in a few seconds without too much trouble. A scent for the room would be great for hygiene purposes as the room will get stuffy and soon will get a bit muggy with a tired smell. Something like an automatic electrically powered scenter in the corner of the room hooked up to a plug, that is also set to a timer would make for an easy solution. Equally, you can have flowers in the room that will soak up some of the stenches of humid air.
A study room is a great little haven for you to get your work finished. It’s also a place of professionalism where you go to take care of matters that are very serious such as finances. Therefore the room should be about long term comfort and plenty of room for your books and the ability for long nights of work to take place.
XOXO
Debbie
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