Creating your home study or home working haven

Last updated on 25 January 2021

Whilst many of us are currently working and studying off-campus, it is important to have a workspace or study area set up to create a happy and comfortable environment.

Penny Tiffney, University Interior Designer, talks more on creating calm, comfortable and inspiring working environments at home.

“I have had the opportunity to design many of our new learning and teaching workspaces on campus. In doing so some of the key factors me and my team aim to achieve are to create warm, inviting spaces, where our students can spend a good few hours comfortably working.

These spaces can come in different shapes and sizes, and whilst we know, for example, bright and colourful environments can inspire and motivate, there are many small ways in which we can create an environment to help us have productive days studying or working at home”.

Here are Penny’s top tips on how to do this:

Penny tiffney

1. Choose a designated working space where you feel happy.

A place of focus, where you can make the most of the natural light and sit comfortably at a table or desk. This space could be in your bedroom perhaps, a small area where you have a surface to work on or a desk, or it could be on a kitchen table which offers more space to spread out. Have a look around your home and experiment with different spaces.

2. Form good habits in your workspace.

Have a routine in your work schedule, where you know you have focus time and have time away from your work. During focus time you may wish to have a clear and tidy work area where you can fully concentrate. When having time away from your work be sure to get some fresh air and move your body to release any tension that has built up.

3. Make your space work for you.

Your space is personal to you, so decorate and ordain it with the things you love and inspire you, whether that be plants and candles to family photos and artwork.