Designing Your Modern Home Office
Today let’s talk about one of the most important spaces in your home. This is a space where you’ll take meetings, brainstorm new ideas, get some work done, or pause for a quiet moment to sit and think by yourself. We’re talking, of course, about your home office.
When beginning your modern home office design you have to start with one overarching question: who is this home office for? Is it an executive office just for one person? Or is it a multi-purpose office that is going to be used by different people like family members or work collaborators with a variety of needs? Next, you’ll want to ask yourself about the type of work being done in your home office. Will you be taking Zoom calls and therefore need a space with good lighting and an aesthetically pleasing background for when you’re on camera? Perhaps you’ll also need the space for reading, artistic endeavors, or doing research. In this case, you’ll want to set up a dedicated space in the room to accomplish each of these different tasks. For example, those who intend to use the room as a maker space will likely need a dedicated area for their craft. Those who need the space for research will want to include an extensive library and computer station, as well as a lounge chair for reading. All of these questions should be answered straight away, as they’ll affect the overall design, look, and feel of your home office.
Once you’ve answered these vital questions, the design process for your luxury home office can begin. In general, a Modern Italian home office design follows the same principles of all modern Italian interiors. This means:
- One finish (max 2).
- Focus on neutral colors found in nature.
- Integrated cabinetry and built-ins with a floating look.
- Hidden or disappearing fixtures.
Ultimately, you want to create a space that is conducive to the work you’re going to have to do – where concentration and creativity can flow freely. That’s why we love a modern Italian aesthetic for a home office. In modern Italian design, less is always more, and minimal visual noise is the name of the game. In the end, this leaves you with a calming space built with both form and function in mind.
Built(in) for Success
Now it’s time to talk about our favorite part of home office design: built-ins. At NOLI, we focus much of our home office design on built-ins to help achieve the floating, integrated look we described above. Built-ins can encompass so many parts of the office – from the desk to the wall system, to the cabinetry, storage, and bookshelves.
You can opt for low cabinets – called sideboards – for necessary storage, or you can opt to have your storage integrated to look like a finished wall. (This option is pricey, but the end result is beautiful.) Built-ins for your home office also come with many customizable options, like inset TVs, bars, and fireplaces.
We like to say that once NOLI is finished with your home office, the only thing you’ll actually need to buy is the chair.
Finishing with Furniture & Lighting
Once you’ve created the structure of your built-in home office, it’s time to start thinking of the furniture. If you haven’t already created your modern home office desk with the floating look detailed above, you’ll want to start there. Desks for your home office should be visually integrated with the rest of the design, mirroring the already established finish, color palette, and materials. Keep in mind the principles of modern design by choosing monochromatic pieces and natural materials to keep visual noise to a minimum.
Once you’ve got the desk sorted, it’s time to focus on the next best item in your home office: your office chair. Once again, as you’re compiling your home office ideas and making note of home office furniture you’d like to incorporate into the room, you’ll want to keep in mind the principles of modern design as well as what your home office will be used for. For example, a leather office chair with great support is a perfect piece for long hours seated at your desk, but you may also want to incorporate an armchair for reading or relaxing once your work is done. Ultimately, you want to choose pieces that center and ground you to keep your mind clear of distractions.
But what about the lighting? Lighting in your home office will – you guessed it! – be determined by the mission of the office and how you work best. In an office space, you will likely need to include all of the three forms of lighting – task, mood and general – in order to get the best out of your space. For example, you’ll need task lighting for reading and working at your desk, general lighting to illuminate the room for video calls, and mood lighting (at NOLI we like to incorporate these into your built-ins 😉) to help create the vibe of your space.
Once all that’s done, it can never hurt to add a rug to tie it all together.
Your home office design really just comes back to those first two questions that we posed at the beginning of this article: Who is your home office for and how will it be used?
Contact NOLI for your home office needs
If you’re looking for help creating beautiful built-ins and creative cabinetry for your modern home office, NOLI is here to help you get started with your design. Contact us or stop by our Findlay Market showroom to get started.
