Designing A Creative Office Workspace At Home

The thing I love most about my job is that it is a wonderful creative outlet. Being surrounded by colour, pattern and design impacts positively on my wellbeing. And whether you rent or own, it really pays to factor in a creative space within your own home.

This could be a particular area where you conjure up your colour schemes, or somewhere for sewing, crafting or sketch-booking – having this designated zone is a great way to honour your creativity.

Like many people, I work from home, and I need my workspace to be somewhere I can focus yet also feel inspired. When I first decorated this room, I painted it all in white, thinking I would need a ‘blank canvas’ to help me feel creative. But I just hated being in it! It sparked zero creativity and, in fact, I probably felt a bit depressed in it.

So, I did a full 180, wrapped it in this fabulous pink chintz wallpaper (Artemis by House of Hackney) and painted all the cabinetry in my beloved lapis blue (from Zoffany paints). And now I’m so much happier and more productive, and everyone comments on how fabulous it looks when I’m on a Zoom call.

Rather than tucking your desk into a corner, consider working at a table where you have a view

Alun Callender/House Beautiful

Sophie needs her workspace to be somewhere she can focus yet feel inspired

Rather than tucking your desk into a corner of the room, consider working at a table where you have a view out of the window. A far-reaching perspective is good for resting the eyes and opens the mind to a more expansive way of thinking.

They say creative people tend to have messy desks and I’ll admit that’s true for me. However, I have a lacquered tray next to my work area where I can store my pen pot, Post-it notes, face mist, glasses – all the little things I use regularly, but that would otherwise drift across the table and make it feel messy. And I invest in beautiful notebooks and stationery, so that work feels special.

Blue is great for concentration, while yellow is the colour of creativity

In terms of colour psychology, blue is great for concentration, so think about having it in your eyeline while you work. This could be a wall colour or a fabulous artwork hung just in view. Yellow is the colour of creativity, and while I’d find that overbearing on the walls, I love my bright yellow pen pot.

We know that nature is so good for our wellbeing and natural elements in our decor work to bring down the heart rate, so consider a wooden table to work at and pepper your creative space with plenty of plants.

Investing in your workspace is investing in yourself, so I really recommend stepping away from the predictable pot of white paint and doing something that lights up your world.