Flex Room Fun: Office Edition

No matter what your lifestyle is, every Shea Homes® home is carefully crafted so that no matter how you spend your days, you’re sure to find a floorplan that feels uniquely you. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the flex rooms you’ll find in many of our home layouts.

Flex rooms are exactly what they sound like – extra space with the flexibility to do whatever you want with. Need an extra bedroom? Done. How about that dream library and reading room? Or a yoga and meditation studio? The only limit here is your creativity, so let your imagination run wild – your flex room is what will make your new house feel like the home you’ve always wanted.

And for the growing number of people today that are choosing to forgo the traditional commute to work and instead set-up shop at home, there’s no better use for your flex room than turning it into an executive-worthy office.

So, here’s three steps to get your new office up-and-running, and most importantly, into the kind of environment you can enjoy for 40 hours a week:

Layout and Function

Before you head to the furniture warehouse and start comparing ergonomic chair offerings, take a pause to assess how you do your best work. Does the thrum of activity and conversation blend to white noise, helping you focus? Or are you someone that needs complete undisturbed quiet to be your best?  Are you a hard-core multitasker who needs three screens with two dozen tabs open, or a creative that prefers the austerity of a simple pen and notebook? Does looking out the window while you work rejuvenate or distract you? The better you understand your own work habits, the better you can design your environment to support you.

Spend plenty of time in this planning phase thinking about how you do your best work and what you need at your fingertips every day to be your most productive. Think carefully about exactly where you’ll set your desk, where your home’s foot traffic is heaviest, how much noise you can tolerate, etc. Once you know how you’ll lay out your office and what you’ll need to fill it with, it’s time to lock in the essentials.

Office Essentials

$1,000 for a mattress seems steep. But figure that you’ll sleep on it nearly every night for 10 years, and the cost-per-use shakes out at about 25 cents a night. A quarter a night for 3,650 nights of great sleep doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

Treat your office gear the same way you treat buying a new mattress. Sure, that desk chair you’ve lugged around since college will hold you upright, but if you’re going to be sitting in it every single day, invest in an ergonomic chair that’s comfortable and good for your back – you may save on chiropractor bills in the long run. The same goes for your desk; you’re going to spend a lot of time looking at it, so pick something comfortable and beautiful that you’ll be excited to sit down at all day. Lighting? A soft desk lamp that mimics daylight is your best bet, as anything too harsh or too dim can cause eyestrain.

Choose wisely, and don’t skimp – like a good mattress, your cost per use is going to be low for the lifespan of quality products, and you’ll thank yourself in the long run.

Quality of Life Pieces

Once you’ve got your basics and you know where they’re going, now comes the time to spruce up your workspace. One of the joys of working from home is the flexibility to design your workspace exactly how you’d like it, so take advantage of that freedom! Don’t let your home office feel like the sterile cubicle you left behind. Decorate so that it meshes with the overall aesthetic of your home, whether that’s warm and rustic or cool and modern, but don’t be afraid to add some accouterments of your own.

That includes the pieces that make the workday sail by a little easier. A set of quality Bluetooth speakers bumping your favorite tunes makes even the most mundane of tasks more enjoyable (or if you need some freedom from household distractions, a pair of quality noise-canceling headphones).  Succulents and other pieces of greenery have been shown to not only improve the air quality around them but are also mood boosters and stress mitigators. Put a yoga mat and foam roller in the corner to keep you limber and healthy after a few hours of sitting, and your body will thank you for it.

Follow these three steps to build your home office, and you’ll be on track for a whole new level of productivity! What are some of your office essentials? Let us know in the comments below!

For more on flex rooms and the versatility of Shea Home’s designs, visit sheahomes.com.