Creating a home office or study space
When planning and designing a home, the one space we often forget about when it comes to furniture is the home office or study corner. It might seem superfluous, but it is actually really important to have a place in which you can study, read or work from home. A study corner can be created in many different rooms. It doesn’t require a lot of furniture or accessories, but these must be carefully chosen. Let’s see how we can create one.
But first, why choose a home office or study space?
If we haven’t convinced you yet as to why you need a quiet corner, here are some examples.
First and foremost, an office space is essential for those who work or study from home, whether every day or only occasionally. Having a place to go to that is away from all the noise and action is really important. This space might be a whole room or just a corner of your living room or another shared space like a hallway or passageway.
If you have children, a study corner is essential for homework. Having somewhere specific for them to do their work really helps concentration and can lead to better results. But a quiet corner is useful even just as a place to take some time out, read, write, do some computer work, file away papers or relax in.
Desks for every space
If you have the space, you can dedicate an entire room in your house to this purpose, converting it into a real home office. In this case, in addition to a desk and an ergonomic chair, you will also require cabinets and shelving for all of your paperwork and folders.
However, if you aren’t able to furnish a whole room, one piece of furniture is enough to transform any space into a study corner: a desk.
In the Dandy collection by brand Ikona of Santalucia Mobili, you can find numerous desk models, each designed to fit into different spaces in the home and coordinate with different furnishing styles. With a desk and somewhere to sit, even the smallest of spaces can be transformed into a practical study corner.
In the living room, consider a fitted desk built into a wall unit composition. With storage space in the top and units, the living room furnishings extend and transform into a functional desk, with a handy matching shelf for storing your books and pen pots. In the living room, the perfect seat to accompany this desk would be a comfy armchair, to match the sofa.
Alternatively, why not opt for a free-standing unit, which you can position up against a wall? This compact desk complete with shelves and drawers is the perfect space-saving solution for a study corner anywhere in your home: from the living room or bedroom to the entrance or hallway. As for the seating, choose from a pouffe or stool, which are easy to store away under the desk when not in use.
You might decide to set up a study corner in your master bedroom or children’s bedroom. In which case, a desk is the ideal choice. The best place to put it is in front of a source of natural light like a window or glass wall.
A desk needs to have a large work surface, drawers and shelves to organise the space as well as possible, with plenty of room for studying, or relaxing browsing your favourite sites.
What every home office needs
“A tidy desk is the sign of a sick mind,” Oscar Wilde once said. Perhaps this is true, but we can’t deny that papers, books, pens, pencils and all sorts of other things often gather on these units, creating unsightly chaos. This really should be avoided, especially when your study corner is in the living room. So why not accessorise your desk with some furnishings traditionally used in office spaces, reworked by our designers to bring order without dampening creativity?
The first of these is a desk lamp. This is a must-have for spaces that don’t get a lot of light, and for working in the evening. Some examples might include iconic design pieces such as the geometric Atollo, designed by Vico Magistretti; the tongue-and-cheek Snoopy, by Flos; or Tolomeo, by Artemide which works perfectly on a desk because it is really versatile and can be angled.
A matching pen pot and desk tray is are also a must for tidying away all of the bits and pieces that accumulate on our desks and risk ending up being spread all over (pens, rubbers, paper clips, post-its, business cards, and the list goes on). Last but not least, we need a green touch. Various studies have shown that having a small plant or flowers near to where we study or work contributes to creating a relaxing atmosphere that helps concentration and creativity. A plant in a vase next to your computer screen or on a shelf helps you to rest your eyes and spruces up your study space.
