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Shared Home Office for Couples – 7 Tips
With so many of us tapping into the opportunity and dream of working remotely – whether it is for your current employee or for your passion project – planning a shared home office space for couples has over the past year become an increased search trend.
We cannot deny the fact that the ongoing pandemic has resulted in many of us shifting to 100% remote work and for some of us, this type of work situation will stay even post-pandemic.
While there are plenty of reports out there showing the benefits of working from home, it can become draining as well especially if you still work out of your dining table or perhaps feel alone in a small room in your house.
Sharing an office with your partner, spouse or roommate might then be a good idea, as not only does it solve a practical challenge of space (not everyone have those extra 2 bedrooms in their homes), but it also make us feel connected and less alone. Like this you will feel less secluded from small office chit chats, and more creative as you might be lucky to collaborate with your partner or ask for advice if needed, which in the end can lead to more meaningful work.
———— Me and my partner are looking for inspiration for in the near future we might want to turn one of the rooms, into a joint creative office solution for us. All in all we would be looking to create a motivational and productive space, that helps us to organize and grow our projects.
But without further adieu, let’s get into some 7 tips on how to create a shared home office for couples, that will look both stylish and be practical.
Let’s dive into them 🙂
Our Inspiring shared home office for couples ideas
#1: Ask yourself: how will the room be used
Plan out how the room will be used. Will you be having online meetings in the room? Are you working together on some creative projects that might mean that you want to have the option to sit next to each other? Do you want and have space for an area to read, and do some more creative relaxed work?
Draw up the room by using the free version of SketchUp or a paper and pen is enough. Think about the placement of your desks, where the light and laptop should go (to make sure you have plugs or plan for extension cords); do you want to have extra seating or lounging area in the room? Will the room have any other function to it?
If you feel challenged by this step there are nowadays so many virtual interior design services that can help you with this step.
#2: Decide on how you want the room to feel
Ask yourself and your shared home office buddy, how do they want to feel in the new office? Are they wanting a room that boosts of energy in order to stay productive? Or are they wanting more support in regards to staying calm and focused when they work?
The ideas you get out of these types of questions will help you to plan your colors, materials, and overall the whole space. After all, a good design is not just about getting the coolest office set up but also, about supporting the emotional experience and feelings of the room. (Don’t miss out my guide on how you can benefit from creating a vision board before tackling your home decor project.)
For example, if you are looking for a room that feels fresh and energizing an example would be – to add plenty of plants in the room with vibrant greens and yellows.
#3: Pick a color scheme that you both like and feel has meaning to your work
If you are lucky, you both like the exact same color scheme for your soon-to-be shared home office. But, chances are that this is not the case and you might have different favorites.
Compromise is key. But a piece of advice; if you prefer different colors make sure that no one of you compromises on adding a color that one of you does not like, on a large piece of wall for example. You both need to feel that the largest covered area of color, gives you something that you can feed into your work.
But on the other hand, the smaller details and accents colors, for example, picking a yellow accent that your partner can benefit from in regards to energy, but you do not wish for necessary, can be something that can be used on your partners’ desk area but not on yours for example. (Of course, overall we want to make sure that colors are matching, even if small accents :))
The aim is to use your color scheme to portray the mood and feeling you are going after, and the emotions you get out of this can be fueled into your work. Resulting in more meaningful work!
#4: Keep the office clean and simple looking
Okay, this one probably does not come as a surprise as you have seen me sharing in my Scandinavian interior design ideas – keep things simple and clean.
Clutter is a distraction to a good workflow and will impact quality work and productivity. But to many of us, clutter is part of life and will happen – accept it – think ahead of time – and find a way to plan to avoid (and at times hide) it.
Find a system that works for you, whether that is using baskets, an evening routine of clearing out your office before you leave the room (have a tray basket where you can easily carry around the stuff in your home to put them back into its place) and so on.
As some say, a clean home is a clear mind.
#5: Incorporate Cool Artificial Lights
In most parts of the home, medium to warm intensity of lights is used. But when it comes to designing a lighting plan for your shared home office, you should go for cool lights or active lights.
Cool lights are sharp and serve in keeping you more focused and active during your work from home.
You may install long pendant lights, table lamps, or ceiling lights with cold intensity. Not only does this help your productivity but will also give your room a bit more of a formal feel (of course no one is stopping you from incorporating some Hygge decor to warm it up).
If you are planning to use the room you are in as an extra bedroom, then a suggestion is to incorporate cool lighting in areas that you only use for work, and leave some warmer lights for the guests to enjoy as well.
#6: Incorporate Inspirational Pieces of Wall Art to Keep Up the Spirits
Something that will provide that extra meaning to your space and also make you connect more to your goal or vision, is to add art that inspires you.
A suggestion for art prints here could be quotes – that keeps you going, even on the days when you are not motivated to work; a picture of your favorite destination that you may want to remote working from in the coming years, or why not create a huge mood board where you can stick things that makes you feel positive about your work, and that supports your goal and dreams.
You can add art either by hanging it or leaning them on the floor or furniture. You might even add “unfinished” art projects to support your creative process growth feeling. (I especially love this creative look).
——— In my office at one point I had a map of Stockholm and a print of one of my favorite chairs. Since this encouraged me to remember all the trips I used to do for furniture fairs to Stockholm and which was something that inspired me to keep on blogging at one point.
This was juxtaposed with a mood board where I added printouts from different projects, to set the mood of my blog and any interior project for myself I was working on. All this helped me to stay focused…
Go wild! Have fun! 🙂
#7: Be honest about which best desk solution fits you both
Speak to your partner and look at the layout of your space – are you opting for a long desk to sit side by side? Or do you prefer to have some privacy and have a desk in opposite direction with the backs against each other?
Either way, think about how much you will be working together or separately. Will you be hazing Zoom calls and where your partner might not want to be in the frame? Or the opposite, maybe they enjoy their hour of fame, and want to be in the frame 😉
I hope you have enjoyed my 7 tips on what I will be thinking of when planning for our future shared home office.
Let me know if you have any tips that I have not listed in the comments below. And you can also find more inspiration over at my Creative Office Pinterest board 🙂
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I am Caroline, an ex interior design consultant, turned into a content creator, 30+ something Swedish born with an insane passion and interest for design, blogging, and living a meaningful and creative life. Design to me is about creating a (your) story – it is about understanding what matters and how to create something unique and meaningful which speaks and motivates you.