Our Designers Share 8 Tips for Furnishing the Home Office

In the last few years, the concept of ‘work from home’ has truly evolved as it became more of a necessity than a choice. But alongside this, we also realised the importance of having a designated office space in the home – whether it’s for your remote work, for running your business, planning your dream project, organising your schedule or just for paying bills and reading books – you deserve more than a metal desk and extra chair shoved into a free corner.
Since covid-19, our team has also worked on more home office projects than ever before and here are some tips they have to share:

1 – Finalise the location and space

“The first step towards furnishing a home office is having a clear vision regarding its location and the amount of space you have,” says our senior designer, Cristina Chirila, “I’ve seen many clients come in with just the idea that they want a home office in their bedroom without having any measurements or any idea of where and what they want.”
In case you’re planning on fitting the office in the bedroom, Cristina recommends placing the desk near the window, as seen in this guest bedroom that we recently completed:

2 – Make it functional

In the age of Instagram and aesthetics, we see that our clients are often focused on form over function – they will go for furniture that looks good without considering their office or personal needs.

The type of desk, shelving units and storage units that you opt for should all be decided based on your workflow and the items that you need. According to Cristina, “Once the client has a clear understanding of what they need from their office furniture – I can guide them towards office furniture which will not just be functional but also complement their office space. But if you’re not clear about your requirements, it will be harder to choose office furniture that will actually be useful”

Suppose you’re designing a multi-purpose area, for example, a dining room that will also be functioning as a home office – in that case, it’s best to look for a comfortable and enveloping dining chair or even an armchair.

Here’s an example from the Bushey project, where we created a beautiful dining space that can also function as a workspace:

3 – Consider your storage needs

If you want a lot of storage or shelving in your home office, it’s best to go for a bespoke storage unit with desk space, as you can’t always find the right type of desk with the right amount of storage.

So instead of compromising on your storage needs, it would be best to go for customised, built-in options like the examples that I’ve shared below:

4 – Add some extra seating

According to our design team, if you have enough space, you must add a sofa or at least armchair(s) in your home office. These can be used by any guests or even by you when you need a coffee break, to catch up on a call, or just to create a cosy reading nook for yourself.

Here we would like to share the example of the home office from our Bushey project that was all about grandeur and luxury.

The home office featured a brick wall with fireplace and to keep its natural charm, the rest of the room was kept all grey with some wooden accents in the furniture. The client loved how the desk and chairs stood out against the grey walls.

Our personal favourite was the built-in storage unit behind the desk as it offered lots of open and closed storage – just as the client wanted.

5 – Finding the right office chair

According to our designer, Benjamin Ibanez, “a good chair is far more important than a good table. If you’re restricted in terms of budget, I would recommend that you save on the table but spend as much as you can on an ergonomic chair because that’s one item in the room that you will be physically using.”

A bad office chair will negatively affect not just your productivity but also your health – so look for a chair that offers good lumbar support, allows you to keep your feet flat on the floor, has an adjustable backrest and breathable upholstery and allows you to change positions easily.

Some of our team’s favourite home-office chairs are:

• Amanda Swivel Chair by Eichholtz – perfect for small home offices in a modern bedroom
• Lotus chair by Cappellini – best high-back chair for home offices
• Timeout chair by Naustro Unwind Collection – best reclining office chair

6 – Finding the right office table

The type of office desk you choose once again depends on the size of your office space. If you’re designating a whole room as your home office, then it makes sense to invest in a grand, luxurious and statement-making desk.

If you’re short on space, you can go for a wall-mounted desk or a multipurpose one, such as a sideboard that can also be used as a work desk or a desk that can also work as a vanity table in the bedroom.

Below you can see examples of two very different home offices that we worked on; on one hand we have a small and minimalistic office space and on the other hand is a spacious room that was transformed into a luxurious office space.

Both types of spaces can look equally amazing when rightly designed and furnished.

7 – Choosing the right accessories for your home office

Here are some tips from Cristina on how to accessorise your home office:

• If you want to keep things simple, all you need are some planters. They will uplift your mood, add a calming vibe to the home office and do so much more than you can imagine. If you’re not a plant person, you can always go for high-quality artificial plants.
• Create a view for yourself – if your desk is near a window, make sure you have a nice view outside or create one for yourself. If your desk faces the wall, then turn it into an accent wall with a nice wallpaper or a painting.
• Keep it minimalistic – don’t go overboard with accessorising your home office. My personal favorites are all-white home offices if the space is small and if it’s big enough, then I would just focus on wooden accents and accessorise them with fresh flowers and a beautiful but calming painting on the wall.

8 – Consider an outdoor home office

According to Cristina, many of her clients have lately been opting for outdoor workspaces and she has been having a great time designing these spaces because of how fresh they feel.

Even if you have an indoor home office, it’s a good idea to consider an outdoor one for good-weather days or just for the days when you need a little change.

Of course, these outdoor home offices are not just restricted to work purposes, but we design them as incredibly versatile spots that can be used for relaxing or partying with friends and family or for the simple yet meaningful alfresco meals.

To learn more on this, here’s a list of the best WFH garden furniture sets and here’s one of our personal favourite outdoor spaces that we just finished for a lovely client:

Home Offices Furnished by FCI London

If you still need help with choosing the furniture for your home office or deciding how you should set it up, you can book a free consultation with our expert interior design team or take some inspiration from these home offices that our team has been working on lately: