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Zen Home Office Design Ideas

If you work from home, you know the struggles you often face when balancing your professional and personal life under the same roof. Those household obligations and distractions, such as children, pets, and chores, don’t just disappear when you walk into your Rancho Cordova, CA home office.

However, there are some easy steps you can take to add a sense of calm and focus to the room you work out of:

Ensure everything in your office has a home
Opt for fewer items
Give yourself something pleasant to look at
Add life to your space with a plant
Pick soothing colors
Decrease distracting noises
Invest in an ergonomically friendly setup

For many homeowners, this project could easily burn several weekends. But you know what? This may also be one of the most rewarding things that you can do for your overall well-being. Keep reading to see how to inject more zen into your home office.

Give Everything a Home

When each item in your home office has its own dedicated spot, you not only cut down on clutter — you avoid the stress and hassle of looking for a place to put items once you’re done using them. Ensuring everything has a home also helps cut down on the number of items that are left out. If you know exactly where your stapler belongs, for instance, you’re much more likely to just put it right back when you’re done.

Remember That Less is More

HGTV explains that a clean office is essential to give your workspace balance and positive energy. Your home office is, at heart, a utilitarian area where you get things done. Although you certainly want to make it a comfortable space that’s pleasing to the eye, a surplus of decorative items can quickly become distracting, which can undermine your focus. Your first priority should always be to take steps to optimize it so you can work efficiently:

Keep as many surfaces clear as possible (particularly your desk).
Ensure your most-used items are easily accessible.
Keep rarely used items tucked away and out of sight.
Tame that tangle of cords and wires by using wire organizers, tubing, or cord winders.
Regularly purge any items that made their way into your office but don’t belong.

Give Yourself a Refreshing View

No matter how much you love your job, you will occasionally pick your head up and glance away from the computer. Give yourself something pleasant and soothing to look at. HGTV recommends positioning your desk near a window so you can glance outside. The scenery and natural lighting provided by a window are ideal to help you feel less shut-in. Don’t have a room with a window? Give yourself a beautiful painting, picture, or other work of art that inspires a sense of calm and wellbeing in you.

Add a Plant to Ground Your Space in Nature

Better Homes & Gardens recommends incorporating a plant into your office decor to improve the space’s energy. Plants add a sense of growth and connection to nature that can have a tremendous impact on your mood and wellbeing. Some studies also showed that plants boosted productivity levels. Plus, some varieties can actually improve your indoor air quality, adding very real physical benefits to the emotional and spiritual ones.

Choose Your Colors Wisely

Martha Stewart notes that color can dramatically impact your room’s feel, which in turn influences your mood and productivity. If you’re aiming for ultimate relaxation, choose neutral tones, muted colors and blues, greens, beiges, and grays. Earthy hues, in particular, work well when considering a color palette for your walls, furniture, and artwork. Although small pops of intense color may be a welcome visual focal point, avoid bathing your space in aggressive reds, oranges, and yellows that may invoke feelings of stress or heightened emotion.

Cut Out The Racket

Few things are more distracting when you’re trying to concentrate than outside noise making its way into your office. Whether the source of the sounds is nearby traffic, a neighborhood dog, or your own family stomping around, Bob Vila notes there are some effective steps you can take to block out noise:

Swap your hollow-core door for a solid one that blocks out sounds.
Seal the bottom of your door to block outside noise from slipping in through that gap.
“Install acoustic panels” on the wall(s) where sounds are coming in.
Seal any gaps around ducts, windows, and outlets that could be letting in sound.
Add rugs and wall hangings to deaden the sound waves that are bouncing off your hard tile or wood floors.
Reinforce your windows by upgrading to double or triple-pane units, installing special inserts, and/or adding thick drapes.

Make Physical Comfort a Priority

In addition to the visual and auditory experience of your surroundings, reaching a relaxed state also requires a sense of physical comfort. And nothing plays a greater role in your physical comfort than your desk, chair, and computer setup. According to the Mayo Clinic, you can create a comfortable workspace that supports your joint health for hours at a time by following a few key tips on office ergonomics:

Choose a chair that supports your spine’s natural curves and adjust it so that your thighs are “parallel” with the floor.
Place your monitor about an arm’s length in front of you, with the top of the screen at or just below eye level.
Ensure your keyboard and mouse are at the same level and that your hands are at or slightly below the level of your wrists.
Pick a desk that gives you enough space to sit comfortably.

Conclusion

An ill-conceived space that has been haphazardly put together inhibits your ability to focus, block out distractions and find inner peace, which are all essential to entering a zen-like state. If you feel immediate stress every time you walk into your home office, chances are it’s the space itself inspiring those emotions, not your work. And it’s not just your mood that can be tainted by a cluttered office.

The Huffington Post recently reported that a disorganized workspace can influence your physical state as well. All that clutter may actually be signaling to your brain that you’re in a dangerous environment and need to stay alert, which in turn causes chemical changes that impact your health by releasing the stress hormone cortisol. High amounts of this hormone can cause unchecked anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping, essentially making it the antithesis of zen. Take control of your cortisol levels and commit to transforming your home office into a space that makes you smile. Although it may take a little time, effort, and money, the daily rewards are something you can’t possibly put a price tag on.