The Top 45 Home Office Ideas – Interior Home and Design
“I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.” – Charles Lamb
If you’re new to working from home (or just don’t want to rearrange your living or dining room to accommodate an office desk), investing in a stylish workspace can be a hard pill to swallow. But once you see how great a design-forward home office looks, you’ll be so glad you took the plunge.
Keep reading for great home office ideas that will inspire you to invest in a personal workstation you truly love.
1. Bedroom Home Office Ideas
Balancing work and relaxation is hard enough already, so adding a home office space to your master bedroom can be a tricky challenge for even the most experienced designer.
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The most important thing is that your office workspace coordinates with the rest of your room decor. Ideally, you won’t even notice your desk unless you’re actively using it.
Rather than let your desk take center stage, hang a large print or canvas on the wall above. Invest in compact, nesting office furniture or look for ways your desk can work double-duty (like as a vanity). Use soft, warm, and overall neutral colors throughout your office furniture to maintain a welcoming bedroom environment.
2. Built-In Home Office Ideas
Floating desks are a fan favorite, especially in modern-inspired homes. Fold-down desktops are fun and space-conscious but are also just one example of built-in office design.
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Built-in desks and shelving conserve floor space while also looking quite stylish. Sleek, minimalist designs are most common. You can easily install your built-in workspace in a single corner or transform an entire room of your house.
The last thing you want to do is cover up your stylish built-in office furniture with knick-knacks. Keep desktop decor simple and use lighting elements to add dimension to your workspace.
3. Cool Home Office Ideas
Even if clients will never set foot in your home office, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a space that impresses. Avoid ornate, carved desks. Instead, take advantage of unique wall-mounted and modular designs (especially those featuring clean-cut angles and geometric shapes).
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Use the wall behind your desk to display large artwork or a mirror. Install hidden LED strips underneath your desktop or office shelving for fun accent lighting.
Houseplants look great and promote relaxation, yet give off a professional air in the background of video calls. Incorporate a few wicker and macrame decorative accents for some organic texture that still counts as “neutral.”
4. Minimalist Home Office Ideas
Many people claim that maintaining a minimalist office space improves their productivity. With fewer visual distractions, it can be easier to sit down and focus on the work and job at hand.
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The quickest route to a stylish and minimalist home office is to strip down your color palette to black and white. If this color scheme feels lifeless to you, add one or two accent colors for a little vibrancy.
Functional storage space can be hard to come by in minimalist design. Many of the office supplies you use during your day-to-day workflow probably don’t look great stashed on a desk or shelf. Along with floating shelves, add a few sleek cabinets to your office space to hold your less aesthetically pleasing work essentials.
5. Simple Home Office Ideas
There’s nothing wrong with keeping your workspace simple, especially if you find maximalist decor distracting. Simple home office ideas are also less imposing when you’re adding a small workstation to your living room or a guest room.
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Display framed photos, potted plants, and other items on your desk or a nearby shelf. Keep your hanging wall decor simple and stick with a common theme.
Designing a miniature gallery wall is a great way to display your favorite photos or artwork without succumbing to clutter. You can also break up the room by painting an accent wall or faux wainscoting along your office walls.
6. Small Home Office Ideas
Tucking a home office into a small space isn’t easy. Many of the best small home office ideas utilize built-in or folding desks (à la a murphy bed). But these compact furniture designs aren’t an option for every home.
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If you don’t need the extra storage space, you can easily use a repurposed table as a computer desk. A filing cabinet tucked underneath or to the side can supplement your storage capacity when you do need it.
With a small desk space, any unnecessary decor will quickly become the bane of your existence. You can even swap out your desk lamp for a floor model or one that clips to the edge of your desk to save even more space.
7. Traditional Home Office Ideas
If you’d describe your favorite home office decor style as just “office,” go with a traditional aesthetic.
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Opt for a solid wood desk and shelving. If the natural wood grain doesn’t suit your existing decor, a coat of paint is an easy fix.
Focus your office decor around classic workplace staples like a framed corkboard and books. While decorative elements are fine, try to ensure everything on and around your desk serves a purpose.
8. Wood Home Office Ideas
Wood office furniture is undeniably classic. Whether your home office desk is solid wood or veneer, the color and texture will stand out best against a plain white wall.
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Wood office furniture goes well with other earthy textiles and decor. Woodgrain and foliage go hand-in-hand, so green houseplants make excellent decor. You can also invest in macrame wall hangings or wicker accent furniture.
If you prefer the rustic look, select wood furniture with a prominent natural grain pattern. Pair your office desk with leather-upholstered (faux leather is fine) seating for a masculine aesthetic.
9. Chic Home Office Ideas
Minimalist home offices are incredibly trendy right now. But you don’t need to keep your office decor to a bare minimum to have a stylish, functional workspace.
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Select a pared-down color palette and stick to it. White is always an excellent base color, and you can treat natural wood and metallic finishes as neutrals. Liven up your home office design with a single accent color used sparingly throughout the space.
If chic home office decor is your goal, don’t neglect the walls. Wallpaper can completely transform a space without taking up any square footage. You can also accomplish a lot design-wise with a floating shelf or a wall-mounted mirror.
10. Narrow Home Office Ideas
For those living in small homes or apartments, square footage is far from an infinite resource. But building out a home office in a hallway or other unused space is totally doable.
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Choose a narrow desk—going with a wall-mounted model can save a few inches where it really counts. Install shelving or cabinets above your work surface for compact, easy-to-reach storage that’s just as narrow as your new desk.
For maximum space-saving design, invest in an office chair that either folds up or nests perfectly underneath your desk. This is especially important if your home office sits in a well-used hallway.
11. Tech Home Office Ideas
If you’re like most modern workers, your home workstation won’t get much use as a writing desk. So stay tech-focused when coming up with a home office idea of your own.
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Fitting multiple devices on a single desk can be tricky. Invest in a desk design with a multi-layered top and built-in storage for a keyboard and other peripherals. You can also add an elevated computer stand to your existing desk.
Remember to utilize your computer as decor, too. Match your desktop background or screensaver to your home office’s color scheme or wall art.
Home Office FAQs
Motivation and discipline both come from within. But there are plenty of small design choices you can make for a more productive workspace at home.
Of course, maintaining a neat and organized home office helps a lot of people stay on-task. So start by prioritizing storage solutions and giving every item a designated place.
In recent years, many workers have switched to a standing desk. While these desks are largely for managing back and neck strain caused by sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time, they can also help fight off workday fatigue.
Brighter isn’t always better. Finding the perfect balance of natural and artificial light can do wonders for preventing eye strain.
Rather than placing your work surface immediately in front of a window, move it off to the side. This will keep the sun from shining in your eyes and eliminate glare on your computer screen. You can also invest in some light-diffusing curtains for days when the sun is just too bright.
Chances are, you won’t just be using your home office during daylight hours. Swap out regular halogen light bulbs for dimmable ones. You can even get smart bulbs that you can control with your phone.
