Home Office Design

Lighting in a home office needs to do several things at once: provide enough task light for focused work, reduce screen glare, work well on video calls and still feel like part of a home rather than a corporate office.

Fitted cabinetry can incorporate under-shelf task lighting, concealed ambient strips and display lighting within shelving, but these need to be planned into the cabinetry construction from the outset. Power, routing and diffusers can’t easily be added afterwards, so we always talk through lighting as part of the design process.

A home office can look well organised and still be frustrating to use if the desk is too shallow for the screens, the printer has nowhere logical to sit, cables have no concealed route and every charging point is visible.

• A ‘functional’ office has been considered for:

• A desk depth that suits the work

• Equipment has a considered place

• Storage is positioned around how you actually move through the day

• The things you need to access quickly aren’t buried behind closed doors

We start with how you work before we think about what the cabinetry should look like.

Yes. We make sure that practical requirements are understood early because they affect desk depth, power access, shelving, cabinetry and cable routing. We will talk through what equipment you use regularly and plan the furniture around it.

Often, yes. Alcoves, box rooms, landings, spaces under windows and rooms with sloping ceilings can all work well with fitted cabinetry. The design has to be carefully proportioned, but an awkward space can often become a very useful office.

Usually through a better balance of open and concealed storage. Open shelves are useful for books and items you want to display on your Zoom background. Closed cupboards and drawers are better for paperwork, chargers, stationery and equipment that’s best hidden away.

Yes, providing that we’re able to route electrical supply to the building. Garden rooms and outbuildings are increasingly used as dedicated workspaces, and fitted cabinetry can make them feel considerably more resolved than freestanding furniture typically manages.

The design questions are similar to an indoor office: desk space, storage, equipment, lighting and cable access. Material and finish choices also need to account for the conditions of the space, including temperature variation and the relationship to the wider garden and house.

Of course, since COVID it’s a core part of what we do! Shelving, cabinetry and display behind the desk can be planned to give the room a more composed visual line.

The range varies depending on the size of the space, the amount of cabinetry, the complexity of the desk and storage design, and whether the project includes lighting or more involved technical requirements.

A compact fitted study area sits is a different investment from a fully designed home office with extensive cabinetry and integrated practical detailing. The best way to understand what you might need to budget for your space is a design consultation.

Photos of the room and rough dimensions are useful. It also helps to think about how you work now and what is not working well: whether you need more desk space, better paperwork storage, room for monitors, somewhere to hide technology or just a workspace that feels calmer and easier to return to.

That should give us a useful starting point for the design conversation.

It is a question more people are thinking about. In a dedicated office room, the answer is partly architectural: a door that closes, a space with its own character. In a shared room, it is more about how much of the workspace can be concealed when not in use: a desk that sits within a run of cabinetry, closed doors that can cover the monitor and equipment, a finish that reads as furniture rather than office.

We will talk through how you want the room to feel outside working hours as part of the brief.