How To: WFH
Dallas Haciendas home office from the original model home (now sold) 📷 by @robertwtsai styling & furnishings by @kathrynnelsonid⠀⠀
Updated March 2024: Some of us may still be working from home. Some may be back to the office and old “norm” of their career post-COVID. Always remember to have a healthy Life/Work Balance. Remember that order - it is not work/life balance because your LIFE comes first…then work.
Please enjoy this article - though it may have some dated references to a few years ago, it is still chocked full of helpful tips for a healthy WFH lifestyle.
Now, back to the original post from January 2021
Did you see us on Good Morning Texas for this segment? In case you didn’t, no worries, here it is for you to watch at your leisure.
Enjoy our LIVE virtual segment where we share some great work from home tips from KND™
Most of us have been working from home (WFH) since last Spring, so we’ve had almost a full year to get this down. Craving a little revamp to your home office space? Need some tips to keep you productive? Want less headaches (literally)…better quality of life, and to feel more comfortable throughout your day-to-day?
We’ve got you covered. <wink>
In the meantime, here’s some WFH tips to help you werk it a little more.
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NATURAL LIGHT
If you already know me or have read my blogs, you know my obsession with light and nature, so its only fitting that I begin here with the perfect marriage of both: natural light. Studies and articles have shown us how “people tend to feel better, more cheerful and energised in daylight.” Architecture has played a huge part in that too; “prior to the 1950s daylight was the primary source [for] lighting the interior of buildings. Buildings were planned and built in shapes designed to maximise available daylight”. Since then though, builders and commercial office spaces have done their best to maximize floors and occupancy, so high ceilings dropped down, which made for smaller or less windows, cubicles and desks pushed into the center of spaces, depriving employees and office staff from daylight. Boo! :(
Pick a room in your home, apartment or condo that has a window in it. I cannot stress this enough! It will help to create a soft overall glow to your home office space also known as natural ambient light. Sun and daylight also help with your circadian rhythm (our body’s internal clock) and to suppress melatonin (our body produces this at night to start to wind us down to prepare for sleep). Ideally you want your window (and the natural light) to be perpendicular (to your right or left side) to how your desk and your face. If your window is directly behind you - you’ll get screen glare and horrible reflections. In front of you and you’ll not have adequate screen to daylight contrast and your eyes will get strained very quickly. Don’t believe me? I’ve linked some articles that go further in depth at the very end of this post, should you like to check those out.
Only have a window directly in front of your desk? Don’t fret - read on for some ways to help control the light throughout times of the day. It’ll also help with your eye exercises…yes, that’s a thing too.
CONtrolling light & glare
So you have your perfect WFH space but your window is right in front of you, eh? Well, now let’s talk light control.
As you can see from our image below, we had this condition for a Client of ours. The orientation of the space itself called for the desk to be facing the window, especially since we wanted to leave ample space in the center of the room for her to workout and stretch (it was a home office/gym/chill zone afterall).
Here’s some ways to help control the light
Plantation shutters (as pictured below), woven shades or blinds
Sheers - thin, gauzy panels to help soften the glare but not cut out the natural light. Panels may be hung from drapery rods to allow for opening and closing
Drapery panels - medium-lined to block even more light, should you need this
Blackout drapery panels - heavy-lined panels that block out the light compeletely (think hotel curtains) great for windows behind you, especially if you host lots of zoom or virtual meetings and you don’t want to be back-lit or fight screen glare
KND Client’s home office/gym/chill space we did last year | single-family residence in Dallas 📷, styling & furnishings by @kathrynnelsonid⠀⠀
Don’t forget we’re currently in the winter months, which means the sun is lower in the sky and much harsher light than the rest of the calendar year. If it seems worse than usual, it's because it is.
task lighting
The name is pretty straight forward: you want this type of light to be right over the area where you’re working or where you do your tasks, for example: writing surfaces, reading areas, work zones and sketching/project layout areas. According to Herman Miller, “In the absence of good light, people will hunch, squint, and frown over their work, without realizing it. By reducing eyestrain and allowing people to maintain healthy posture, proper lighting can improve productivity by more than six percent.” Age and eyesight will help to determine how much task lighting you require and be sure to check what wattage (how high of a bulb you can lamp the fixture with) your task lighting is too. There are a lot of cute ones out there but if they’re 25 watts max…that’s not going to be much help to you, now is it?! Look for 60W or higher, three way and dimmable. LED models will have various color temperature options too (from bright white daylight to natural to softer, warm, yellow light).
Here’s some of our favorite picks for all styles and budgets and remember, you can always use a pair at either side of a super big desk for extra light and nice symmetry to frame your laptop or monitor.
creating ambient light
Scenario 1: you have the 1 window but need balanced lighting
Create balance with soft overhead ambient light, use dimmers, softer wattage (25-40 watt) light bulbs to have a nice warm soft glow around you to balance out natural light at one side and to help keep your home office illuminated on cloudy or grey, rainy days
Scenario 2: you have NO windows
Utilized soft overhead light(s) like a center fan with a light kit, a ceiling mounted fixture or recessed cans in a grid to evenly light and wash the space
Set up multiple tabletop lamps in your space: at least one at your desk, another at a side credenza or console table, floor lamps at corner(s) of the space and even wall sconces or library lamps at shelves
What I mean by “library lamps” - those linear art lights that mount above shelves or to built-in’s and wash the front of them and their contents. Here’s a peek at my personal home workplace. It's a dramatic dark teal painted room full of built-ins that used to be our movie room. I (clearly) love books and a good shelfie. I have them all styled by color in ombre graduations. Titles are personal reads, old English Lit books from undergraduate Ole Miss days and of course LOTS of design and art books. I’m tempted to pull all of it down and start fresh again. It's been tw0 years since I redid them. What do you think? 📷 & styling by @kathrynnelsonid⠀⠀
eye exercises
I have posted an article below in Bonus Links from the Mayo Clinic which offers more tips, but my simplest advice is to take eye breaks. If your job or position calls for lots of screen time, hang a piece of art or a photograph above your screen or monitor and in front of your work area on the wall a few feet away from you. Get into the habit of looking past your screen at that piece to focus your distance further and then return to your screen. This allows your eyes to take a break from the digital screen and artificially backlit light source. I like to swivel my desk chair around and look out my window when I take a phone call, so to focus my eyes even further.
BODY exercises
Even better than just exercising your eyes is to get up off your feet throughout the day. Twist and strech in your chair to keep your posture upright and reduce back strain. I’m really good about drinking lots of water, so everytime I need to refill, I do a few lunges as I walk to the kitchen. There are medicine ball chairs for building core strength and standing desks are becoming very popular in architecture and design offices now. If you are even able to work off of a tablet or phone, try going for a walk on a treadmill or stationary bike. I’ve linked some quick desk exercises below too.
“Sitting for hours at a time is hard on our bodies.
If you can take just 10 minutes out of your day to move, get your blood flowing, and elevate your heart rate, not only will you have less aches and pains, but you may have more mental clarity for the rest of the day!”
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blue light lens glasses
“According to The Vision Council, 200 million Americans report symptoms of digital eye strain (DES), eye discomfort which can be caused from looking at a screen for more than two hours at a time.” Don’t get me wrong, blue light is not bad for you - it’s even in natural light - it’s everywhere. While there may be no studies (yet) to prove that blue light blocking glasses help to reduce eye strain, I and many others have found these little glasses help tremendously. Nervous to invest in expensive custom frames, I opted for some cheaper chickens online and now am sold. My mid-day middle of my brows pressure headache is gone and no more red eyes by evening after a long day at my desk staring at my computer screens. They exist in everything from no magnification (glass only), to readers in various magnification, to even super pricey custom prescription levels.
Here’s some good finds…
TIP: turn the brightness down and the warmth (more yellow) up on your computer screen display or monitor settings and see how that helps after a couple of weeks. Yes, it’ll be weird at first and will take some getting used to, but it may make a big difference in your work day.
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pick a separate space or room
Just like my parents taught me to make my bed everyday because it sets the tone for the day. I cannot stress enough to have a dedicated work space that you “go to” just like you would if you were going into the office. Ideally, you have a child off at college, a guest bedroom that’s not been used since COVID or a space like a formal dining room that you can take over for a home office. If you take lots of phone calls, it’d be great to have a door to close off your work space for privacy and to help with noise control as well. For our current renovations and new builds, we’re opting to put double french doors so to not close in the space too much but also private when in use.
KND Cients’ transitional masculine home office we helped with a couple years ago. We included comfy lounge seating and a floor lamp (not pictured here) so at the end of the day, his wife may sit and they visit about their day together | single-family residence in Dallas 📷 & renovation by Alair Custom Homes, styling & furnishings by @kathrynnelsonid⠀⠀
or use a partition
Don’t have a whole room to take over? Section off a space in a room by using a partition or hanging a drapery rod from the ceiling to pull it open and shut. If in your bedroom, this will help to block out the television or bed from your view and keep you from getting distracted or wanting to play hooky.
Here’s some that we just love!
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invest in a good desk chair
“The best office chairs will encourage better posture and reduce health costs.”
Trust me, your back will thank you for it…
de-clutter
While we love accessories and wall art, you also don’t want TOO much on your desk, shelves and walls of your home office. When you look up between thoughts or while on a conference call, you don’t want to glance at that busy family gallery wall installation and start reminiscing about past vacations and memorable life moments.
Only keep the things you need on your desk
Avoid busy or distracting artwork and photographs
Keep your color palette calm and patterns at a minimum
Utilize storage, shelving, nearby closets and woven baskets or totes for office supplies
“The best way to find out what we need
is to get rid of what we don’t.”
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My Momma getting cozy in a reading chair. She’s a one-eyed, blue merle pomeranian rescue dog from Recycled Poms here in Dallas 📷 by @kathrynnelsonid
pet love
We all love our pets. They’re part of the family. Bring pet beds, toys and chews into your home office space too. This will help to keep your furry friends near you but also to occupy their time so not to distract you. Here’s my little floof Momma (pictured above). She loves to snuggle up in a reading chair, snooze in my lap or crash out with her feet up in the air in her pink furry blob bed.
plant love
“Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some pollutants are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations.” We’re spending even more time indoors (now) since COVID and especially if you’re working from home. Bring the vibe of the outdoors in by adding houseplants, an orchid or two or even a little vase of fresh flowers to your work space.
Monstera deliciosa available from North Haven Gardens in Dallas or other fine, privately-owned nurseries 📷 by @kathrynnelsonid
“I love daisies. They’re so friendly. Don’t you think they are the friendliest flower?”
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chargers, cords and bricks - oh my!
If you haven’t done this already, get your cords under control. I cannot stress enough the importance of a surge protector either. These help to keep your computer and devices safe from power faults/shorts. Invest in an extra laptop brick/charger so you can safely stow your cords away and have a plug in “landing zone” for your main desk area. There’s so many gizmos and gadgets out there to keep you and others from tripping over cords and wires. DO NOT use extension cords either as they may short out your technology - measure off the length of CAT6 cable or laptop charger that you need and purchase accordingly.
go vertical
If you’ve got the desk and the setup covered already. Could you use more storage? Think vertical and use wall-mounted shelves or flank your desk and window with a pair of etageres. These will also add nice visual height to your space while allowing for display space for more plants, flowers or personal effects.
Disclaimer: please be sure to use safety cleats and secure all vertical furniture pieces taller than 24” to the wall with appropriate anchors. This is for your safety, that of children and guests. We always do this for our Client installs - just to be extra careful.
Thanks so much for the read. We hope we’ve inspired you to make your WFH space your very own. Want to know more, need some designer help, or just have ideas for our next blog post? Reach out to us.
Prefer a quickie checklist and some more curated collections to shop yourself? We get it, it’s not always easy to envision all the pieces together. Check out our next post for various styles of office furniture collections in all sizes and budgets.
Be well everyone!
Cheers,
K
*** BONUS LINKS***
Love a little more info? Check out these links below for further reading and some of our favorite design books
ONLINE READS
The Sun in the sky during the Winter in the Northern hemisphere
The Case for Task Lighting: How Individual Control Saves Money and Your Eyes
Mayo Clinic: Eyestrain & Home Remedies
4 Office Workout Moves to Kick That Mid-Afternoon Slump
WHY IS A GOOD OFFICE CHAIR IMPORTANT?
Good Housekeeping: I Wore Blue Light Blocking Glasses Every Day for a Week — Here’s What I Learned
Indoor Air Quality: What are the trends and their effects on human health?
NACHI: Plants and Indoor Air Quality
ColorSnap Visualizer from Sherwin Williams
BOOKS WE LOVE
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