Estate Living Magazine Issue 30 Smart Environments June 2018 | Page 35

Many freelancers pop in a load of laundry, work until they feel
their minds wandering, whereupon they hang it up, and return
to their desks mentally refreshed. You can substitute any
domestic chore for laundry – dead-heading a few roses, doing
some weeding, washing the breakfast dishes, unpacking the
dishwasher, prepping vegetables for supper, and so on. An on-
site worker would have to deal with all this after spending the
whole day in the office and upward of an hour in the car. Really,
a home workspace is a no-brainer.
But how to incorporate that workspace into your home is a
tad more complicated. The simplest – and least efficient – is
to simply work on the dining-room table, but that’s not really
sustainable. You need a dedicated space for two reasons.
Firstly, so that you can work while others use that space and
you can leave files or reference material out if you need to.
And, secondly, so that you are mentally ‘at work’. Novelist
Patricia Schonstein dresses in a smart skirt and blouse and
puts on makeup every morning before walking into her home
office, so that she knows she is ‘at work’. I confess I am the
opposite. Sometimes I leap out of bed with a brilliant idea and
off-limits to the rest of the
family during work hours.
The second is a more open
space where other family
members may have a desk
or table so, for example, you
can work while your kids do
their homework, and maybe help
out with the odd question – or even
brainstorm a tricky work issue with your
12-year-old. Even if you’re going for the more
open option, a dedicated room is always best, but you would
be amazed at how many people choose the darkest, coldest,
pokiest room in the house for a study. Rather choose the
sunniest room, and the one with the best view so that it’s a
room you will want to spend time in, and you can work without
eye strain during the day and don’t need to turn on the lights.
The third option – if you are really pressed for space – is an
‘office in a cupboard’, which can be neatly built against one
wall of the lounge or dining room, and which is surprisingly
effective. This works really well if you only do occasional work
at home, or you need only a laptop and not much in the way
of paper. Having decided on which room you are going to use,
you need to plan it all very carefully. Make sure you have a
place for everything and everything in its place.
Sitting pretty
Design In A Box Partner - Crema
dash off to my desk to implement it
before the inspiration fades. And then,
later – much later – I’ll shower and dress.
But, even though I am in my pyjamas, I know that
I am ‘at work’ because I have a dedicated home office. So how
do you create that h