Here’s the situation: it’s getting colder out, we’re all spending more and more time at home, and many of us who work out of a home office are faced with a predicament. How do we find the best balance between an environment that’s conducive to work while also feeling a little warmer and homier?
There’s no doubt that a sleek office setup is a great way to keep your workspace distraction-free, but there’s also no doubt that this is not cozy. Every room in your home deserves a personal touch, and investing in small changes like a soft rug, warmer lighting, and small desktop accessories can help you feel a little less confined while you churn out spreadsheets under your own roof.
If making your office a warmer, more inviting place to spend your winter days is a priority, these are a few options for quick, easy, and cheap fixes that will transform the feel of the entire room.
1. Throw down a rug
Unless you have carpeted floors, chances are the hardwood under your desk and chair are going to feel frigid, especially in the mornings. A rug provides a bonus layer of insulation between your cold feet and the colder ground, which should make your harrowing morning commute down the hall from the kitchen a little more bearable.
If you’re worried about a thick rug interfering with your chair’s ability to roll around, you can also invest in options like woven desk chair mats, which are a bit firmer but still provide a soft surface. Quality ones, such as the Anji Mountain model I’ve been testing, can cost a pretty penny. But I can assure you that it’s worth it when the alternative is making constant contact with the icy floor.
2. Warm up the lighting
I’ve already gone off about my frustrations with cold lighting in my home in the past, but those issues are compounded by the early sunsets and chilling atmosphere of winter. When your lighting is cold, everything else feels a little colder, too. Not to worry if you’re suffering from this affliction: depending on your lighting situation, there are a few different solutions.
If your lights have simple daylight bulbs in them, you can swap them out for warmer tones pretty easily with a run to the store. You can also invest in lamps like my BenQ lamp, which has the option to change the temperature of your lighting with the turn of a knob.
If you have a ceiling light with a bulb you can’t swap out, you could potentially fix that issue by investing in yellow filters that line the cover. You’ll have to look around for options that fit your lights or take a pair of scissors to a set, but it’s worth investigating. Ceiling lighting is some of the least cozy lighting already, if you ask me, so I wager you’ll see the biggest change when you fix that.
3. Accessorize your desk
When I photograph my desk for reviews, it’s pretty bare aside from my monitor, but that’s not its natural state — I only set it up that way for cleaner photos. Just out of frame is a pile of tchotchkes, picture frames, stuffed animals, goofy mugs, and more miscellaneous artifacts that help my office feel a little more lived in. After all, I still consider my home office a part of my home, and I’ve found that my desk is the most inviting when it’s cluttered with items that make it feel like my space.
If you’ve been struggling to make your office feel like a part of your home, you may benefit from a similar approach to decorating. If you have some cherished photos, a favorite mug, or any other little tokens of personality you’ve been meaning to give a more prominent spot in your home, now and here are the time and place.
4. Cover your mesh chair
Mesh chairs are great for warm climates because their thin weave of fibers makes them excellently breathable. In the best case, this means you won’t have a sweaty back after a few hours in the zone. But in the worst case, you’re losing valuable body heat through your mostly exposed back.
If you have a mesh office chair that you absolutely love, but you wish it were a little warmer during the winter, you can always cover it with a blanket or invest in a heating pad. You don’t even need to go crazy with the latter: just pick up a cheap Sunbeam pad and save yourself a mess of straps.
The perfect balance of work and home
As someone who gets easily distracted, I thought that having a barren home office would keep me engaged with my work thanks to a lack of external stimuli. But the truth is that, as a writer, my mind tends to wander regardless, and taking all the color and clutter away from my desk only felt like a punishment for doing so. As such, I’m on a mission to reclaim the “home” in “home office.”
Others may have different preferences regarding how they make their home cozier, but these are the changes I made that did the trick for me. They’re all affordable, and you can do all of them without much more than a trip to the store. All that’s left is to figure out which framed picture of your cat is getting the coveted center spot on your desk — I’m still figuring that out for myself.
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