Home office furniture tips to nail your working from home style

During 2020 so many Australians suddenly switched to working from home. This forced us to assess our home office setup and magic a space to comfortably do our day-jobs. Very few of us are equipped with adequate working from home office furniture and instead find any available flat surface to hunch over our computers.

Not only are these haphazard home office setups terrible for productivity, they are also something of an eyesore. Prior to COVID-19, businesses would invest considerable sums on office fit-outs and for a good reason: an inviting working environment boosts employee wellbeing. Studies have shown the more content the staff, the better a business will perform.

Bringing the office into the home is challenging enough, but if the setup is ill-conceived, it will impair both your home and working life. So, to make your working from home experience a positive one, it’s worthwhile investing in quality home office furniture.

At Koskela we understand that not everyone has the luxury of a separate home office and have created a working from home office furniture collection, which includes furniture for working in various different spaces of the home. Contemporary in style, Koskela furniture is designed and manufactured in Australia. Pieces such as the Kaaria task chair, PBS desk, fold-up desk and laptop table are customisable so you can tailor them to suit your style. The collection also includes a range of Australian-made homewares to complete the look.

Take a look at our guide below, which provides home office furniture tips for various different spaces of the home.

Setting up your home office in the bedroom

As the room where we sleep, it can be quite incongruous to set up a home office in the bedroom. However, it is separate from the communal areas of the home, so it may be easier to focus here. A small desk will work best in this space. Koskela’s PBS desk is 1200mmL x 600mmW x 720mmH and can comfortably fit in most bedrooms. It’s also a great homework desk for kids’ and teens’ bedrooms.

A task chair is too utilitarian for a bedroom, so opt for an upholstered chair. The Kaaria chair is upholstered in a wool fabric that has a softness suitable for the bedroom.

If you do not look out on a window, an original artwork can provide some visual stimuli. Koskela specialises in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artwork which includes beautiful paintings and affordable prints.

In terms of styling, it’s very important to keep it simple. You do not want to introduce clutter into a bedroom!

Setting up your home office in the spare bedroom

If you are lucky enough to have a spare bedroom, it’s one of the easiest spots to get setup for working from home. That being said, the spare bedroom is often utilised for multiple purposes – gym, guest room, rumpus, storage – and space is often tight.

Again, the compact PBS Desk is an excellent solution for this space. Its clean contemporary lines will fit seamlessly with most styles. You can choose the colour of the connectors that join the table to the top, which adds a fun pop of colour.

As this is the multipurpose spare bedroom, you can really up the styling stakes to set the scene for hard yakka. A handmade ceramic cup is a fantastic pen holder, a notebook holder adds a professional touch, and a potted indoor plant will help lower your cortisol levels.

Setting up your home office in the living room

The living room is probably the trickiest spot to work from home, and yet, the sofa often beckons us in the afternoon. Ergonomically speaking, being wedged into a sofa hunkered over a laptop is far from ideal.

At Koskela, we developed a laptop table for working from a sofa or armchair. It’s the perfect height for working while seated. Prop yourself up with cushions and slide the base underneath so it’s a comfortable distance. Then you can plug away without any stiffness!

The powder coated steel table is available in six colours and will add exciting contrast to your space. Better still, outside of working hours it doubles as a side table.

Setting up your home office in the dining area

When the stay-at-home order was issued for COVID-19, most of us turned to our dining tables as the only available flat surface for our WFH setup.

The dining area is a communal space in close proximity to the kitchen, so it’s easy to get distracted. Apart from using headphones to block out background noise and resisting the temptation of the fridge, we recommend developing a routine of setting up and packing down every day. Invest in stylish storage, such as a handwoven basket, to stash your WFH kit. Laying it all out in the mornings will help you get in the zone and clearing it away at the end of the day will help you switch off.

A key furniture piece for WFH in the dining area is a comfy chair. Your regular dining chairs were likely not chosen for an 8-hour working day and their stiffness can become unbearable. A stylish upholstered chair will not look out of place in a dining area and can comfortably be sat on all day. Koskela’s upholstered Jake chair is highly customisable. You can choose to have just an upholstered seat, or an upholstered seat and back. There is a wide range of options for the fabric and the powder coat colour for the steel frame. This playful piece is easy to coordinate with your current style. And if you are feeling overwhelmed by the options, book a consultation with one of Koskela’s interior stylists to nail your selection.

Setting up your home office in the study nook

The study nook is a relative newcomer to family homes and has quickly established itself as indispensable to a functioning household.

As a dedicated workspace within an open-plan room, it can be challenging to get the styling right. A stylish task chair like Koskela’s Kaaria task chair sets the right tone. This chair offers all the benefits of a task chair with a pared-back contemporary design that fits seamlessly in a communal area. The padded seat is unbelievably comfortable and upholstered in a beautifully soft wool fabric.

To style the nook itself, be vigilant about filing away paperwork for a clutter-free zone. The addition of a potted indoor plant and an eye-catching Indigenous art print will create an inspiring spot to work every day.

Working from home office furniture

COVID-19 has thrown life as we know it into chaos and its likely to keep us working from home for some time. Prior to the pandemic it was already a well-established trend, and in the longer term many of us will split our time between WFH and the office. So, investing in quality home office furniture is certainly worthwhile. We might be bias, but Koskela has a wide selection of stylish and quality pieces that you can customise to suit your style. Buying Koskela means you are supporting Australian small business and a whole network of Australian manufactures, makers and artists.

Do you have any questions? Get in touch today, and we will connect you with the right person in our team.

Koskela is proud to be the first furniture and homewares company in Australia to be a Certified B Corporation®.