How To Design A Luxury Home Office

Struggling to feel productive in a basic home office? It might be time for a complete re-design: dedicated, coordinated furnishings and decor that will add some luxury to your workdays.

Whether you’ve got a dedicated room for your home office or a specialised corner in your bedroom or living room, designing a productive space starts with your furniture and decor. Setting up your laptop at the kitchen table might work as a temporary solution, but it’s not the best idea if you’re going to be working at home regularly.

If your home office is your base of operations - or even if you only use it every so often - it’s worth investing some time in designing the layout and picking high quality furniture that is both functional and stylish. You won’t be working at your best in a cramped, bare-bones office, but there are so many options to make the most of your space while creating a beautiful, productivity-boosting aesthetic.

Home Office Design Ideas

Start With The Desk

Large, elaborate desks might look fancy, but often a more minimalistic, contemporary approach is preferable for modern homes. Something sleek and neutral like the Stoke Desk can fit with a variety of decor styles, and although it’s slim enough to be unobtrusive, it does also have drawers for extra storage.

While you might be tempted to cover your desk with all your favourite decor, try to keep it to one or two items, like a potted plant and a framed picture. You’ll need to leave room for your laptop and anything else you’ll need for your day-to-day working setup, and an organised surface is a much better environment for encouraging productivity.

Keep Natural Light In Mind

Although you can add lighting to your home office, it’s best to make the most of the natural light that you have by positioning your desk near a window. Placing it where you’ll be facing the window is a great option if your surroundings are pretty to look at (like a garden, for example) without being too distracting.

But if you’ve got a busy street outside, or something that just isn’t too inspiring to look at, then you might want to place your desk perpendicular to the window. That way, you’ll still get the natural light from the window while being able to customise your view - just add some decor to the wall in front of you!

Add In Some Wall Lights

As well as natural light, you’ll need some additional lamps for those dark winter afternoons. Wall lamps are a good way to reduce eye strain, since you won’t be looking at your monitor or laptop screen in the dark. A wall lamp is also a smart choice to replace a desk lamp, since it doesn’t take up any space on your desk, freeing up the surface for other decor.

Consider A Desk Lamp

If you still want the classic desk lamp look, then go for something elegant and distinguished like the Forge Table Lamp in a beautiful antique brass finish. As well as looking stunning, this desk lamp is adjustable, so you can move the light when you’re working on different tasks. Something adaptable but not too large like this lamp is best for your desk, so it doesn’t take up too much space but is still useful while you’re working.

Choose The Right Bookcase

For furniture that doubles as decor, there might not be a more classic option than a bookcase. But make sure you consider both how the bookcase looks and its storage options. The Taunton Bookcase has both shelf space and cupboards with doors for closed storage, so you can choose what to have on display and what to keep stored out of sight.

As well as just thinking about how the bookcase will look in your office’s aesthetic as a whole, you may want to consider if you’ll be using it as a background for video calls and meetings. If this is the case, you should organise your shelves, add in some tasteful decor and make use of cupboards (like in the Taunton Bookcase) for any excess ornaments or books that create a crowded feel.

Don’t Forget Your Curtains

With so much to consider and plan for your home office, you might be tempted to leave the curtains situation as is, but it’s a good idea to check if the existing curtains (or blinds) work for you. You might need to draw the curtains during the day to reduce glare on your screen, or to improve lighting for video calls, so see how your current set-up works.

Some Heavy Chenille Curtains can work well if your window catches a lot of sunlight, because they’ll be able to guard you and your workstation from the glare. Choosing them in a rich red colour and co-ordinating some other elements of the room, like a cushion on an accent chair or an ornament, will create an elegant, sophisticated home office aesthetic.

Hang Up A Mirror

A mirror might not be your first thought when furnishing a home office, and we wouldn’t recommend hanging it where you can see yourself while working, but it can naturally brighten the room. Mirrors are great for giving your space more of a spacious feel, and a metallic option like the Sicily Mirror can elevate your office’s style instantly.

Put Down A Rug

To add some charm and warmth to your home office, you could place a rug like the Vintage Style Rug on the floor. A great home office layout tip is to place your rug underneath your desk and desk chair, so that your workspace is texturally and visually distinct from the rest of the room. This is even more important if your office is a section of another room, like your living room or bedroom.

More Seating With An Accent Chair

Including an accent chair in your home office design means that you have seating space for visitors, but it can also be a comfy spot for taking ‘brain breaks’ while you’re working. Moving your body throughout the working day, as well as having a mental pause, will be much better for your long-term productivity. Plus, settling down in a plush, comfy accent chair like the Tribeca Accent Chair feels like a reward after all your hard work!

Tuck In A Sofa

You might not want a massive sofa in your office - or have the space for one! - but a small sofa, like this Huey Sofa Bed, is both useful to have and likely to fit. As well as being an option for both visitors and your own breaks from the desk chair, just like an accent chair, it turns your office into a spare bedroom when needed.

Make It Comfy With Cushions

Your home office might be a space for work, but that doesn’t mean it can’t have some comfy decor as well. Add some cosy vibes with a cushion, like this Luxury Bow Cushion in a sophisticated brown shade, on your accent chair or sofa. It’s best not to overload your space with cushions, as too many can make your seating feel a little bit cluttered, but using a few in moderation can make your office feel a lot more homely.

Extra Storage With Cupboards

If having plenty of storage is important to you when designing your home office, then make sure you choose some dedicated furniture options, like the Durum Sideboard. It makes a style statement in your home office and provides you with three drawers and two cupboards to fill with office supplies, as well as a wide surface on top that you can add decor to.

Add Flair With A Display Cabinet

Sometimes, storage can become decor, like when you use a glassfronted sideboard. This Holcombe Sideboard, for example, has plenty of protected storage that can be seen through its glass panels. That means your spare notebooks, any books that don’t fit on your bookcase, and some carefully picked decor items can become a beautiful, organised display. It’s the perfect way to showcase some creative or personal flair in your home office, while also keeping everything protected from dust.

Consider Multifunctional Storage

What if you want to combine stylish decor, extra storage and additional seating in your home office? Try out something like the Lilly Ottoman, which is perfect for all three. It’s an elegant piece of low-profile furniture that doesn’t feel too over-the-top for a home office, and manages to look nice as well as being quite functional.

Use Some Decorative Storage

If you don’t have quite enough room for an ottoman, sideboard or display cabinet in your home office, then there is another option for some extra storage. Try out some decorative storage like woven baskets, which can be positioned on shelves, tucked under desks or even set on the floor in a neat corner.

Brighten Your Space With House Plants

While ornaments and art can definitely have their places in home offices, you could try out some house plants - real or faux! - to add a feeling of life to the space. Real house plants can be a lot to take on, especially if you’re already going to be busy with work all day, so you may want to opt for the slightly easier option of faux plants. They have that same natural feel, without all the work!

Finish The Look With Ornaments

Even though your home office will be a space that’s focused on work, it still needs a little bit of personality and something to make it feel more ‘you’. Ornaments can be great for this - don’t overload all the surfaces in the room, but add a few here and there. Try to add some that will make you smile even in the middle of a busy workday, like these adorable Ceramic Highland Cows.

Turn Your Dream Home Office Into A Reality!

It’s time to act on your home office plans and create a luxury space that you’ll look forward to working in, instead of a temporary or basic workspace that limits your productivity. You can also check out our tips for choosing the perfect home office rug, and we’ve got a guide for decorating your display cabinet too!