A workplace in the living room

This is how the station wagon succeeds

The trend towards the home office is unstoppable. Working from home offers more freedom, more flexibility and also eliminates the often annoying journey during rush hour traffic. But not every apartment has space for its own study. In this article, we present practical ideas and possibilities for designing your workplace in the living room, while maintaining the important boundary between everyday office life and leisure time.

The pitfalls of the workplace in the living room

Working at the wooden dining table or even with the laptop on the knees on the sofa was a reality for many people at the start of the so-called remote work. However, in the long run, these options are not a solution. The lack of ergonomics of inappropriate furniture can lead to physical discomfort, and the mind also suffers from the lack of a suitable workplace. Lack of concentration, dwindling creativity and less productivity are the result.

A well-placed desk does not need its own study room. Even a small corner in the living room is enough to realize the perfect office in your own four walls. The biggest challenge is to separate the professional and private use of the space. After work, the living area should become a pure place of relaxation and conviviality again. By the way, the tips about the workplace in the living room concern not only employees who regularly work from home. Pupils also benefit from a desk that is properly integrated into the living area for homework, students on home leave and all people who do their private accounting at the cozy workplace or who are finally writing their first novel as hobby authors. The open study room thus becomes an enrichment for all family members.

Bright & undisturbed: the right place for the desk in the living room

Productive work requires a place of rest. The small office in the living room should fit harmoniously into the room and invite you to feel good. Niches and corners are particularly suitable – especially if the apartment is shared with the family, partner or roommate. It is also possible to work in an undisturbed corner if other people are using the living room at the same time.

Light and the ideal lighting play a central role in optimally designing the workplace in the living room. Sufficient daylight promotes productivity, reduces fatigue and is scientifically considered to be beneficial for the health of body and mind. The ideal place for the desk is located to the side of a window. So enough natural light comes in without creating a glare on the PC screen. In the evening and on gray days, skillfully placed lamps will help brighten up the workplace in the living room. A flexibly adjustable desk lamp is the first choice. If the table of the office corner is very small, wall spotlights or pendant lamps can also be attached in addition. They also provide direct light, but do not need any space on the work surface itself.

Home office after work: this is how the living room can be enjoyed undisturbed

So that work and leisure are not mixed together, the workplace is visually separated from the rest of the living space. This can be confessed in a variety of ways. In large living rooms, room dividers such as an open closet or a beautifully decorated screen are actually suitable for setting up.

In rather smaller living rooms, optical tricks are used that have no influence on the room size and yet clearly delimit the workplace. These include a colored carpet under the desk and under the stylish wooden chair, indoor plants as a light privacy screen or another wall color in the area of the workplace. Shades of green and blue have proven to be particularly concentration-promoting and calming. Order is another point that helps to ensure that the constant view of the work area does not interfere with later relaxing, partying and living. Working materials, from the block to the printer, are best to disappear every evening in the closet, in drawers and storage boxes. This leaves the head free for the beautiful things of everyday life. For example, sitting comfortably together at the dining table without having the to-do list for tomorrow in front of your eyes.

Cabinet, Sideboard & Co: This furniture allows the perfect office in the living area

A high-quality desk is the focus of an open study. Regardless of whether it is an antique secretary or a modern model, an ergonomic interior should be taken into account when designing. A height-adjustable table and height-adjustable chair ensure that the correct sitting position is achieved. Tasteful pieces of furniture conjure up enough storage space for all documents around the desk. The folders are in the closet and the scanner can disappear in the chic dresser or in the nostalgic sideboard.

In small rooms, a desk-cabinet combination proves to be particularly practical. It brings the workplace and storage space together in a compact format and enables many productivity possibilities in a small space. When choosing furniture, you can pay close attention to your own taste. Romantic country house style, classic elegance or minimalism inspired by typical Scandinavian design – every furnishing trend can also be realized in the home office corner.

Decorating ideas for the home office in the living room

Less is more – this principle definitely applies to decoration at the home workplace. Two or three selected decorative elements are just right, so as not to distract from work and at the same time harmoniously connect the area with the rest of the living room. A shapely pen holder in the same color as the sofa cushions, an inspiring poster and one in the style of the rest of the furnishings on the dresser next to the desk are wonderful examples of a successful furnishing. In this ambience, everyone can start the working day successfully, without an extra study.