How to Create a Family-Friendly Workspace
How to Create a Family-Friendly Workspace
You’ve probably seen beautiful pictures where guys and girls with laptops are sitting on the ocean shore and, watching the sunset, “work”. The reality is much more prosaic.
Most often, a freelancer’s office is a kitchen with a lunch boiling on the stove, a loggia clogged with rubbish or a small dark corner in the apartment. This is how to create a family-friendly workplace.
Sharing a workspace with kids
It’s even worse if you have kids. You cannot say to a little child: “Sweetie, lie down while I work, do not play around.”
And are not able to say to your colleagues: “I am done for today, I’m going home.” Yes, you may finish everything around five o’clock, but at nine one of the office colleagues sent an email, and for some reason, you read it and immediately answered.
Growing up, children begin to pull over trifles: give them a drink, open a box with toys.
Such things take a couple of minutes, but the mood and concentration are dramatically lost.
The table at which you used to work became a playground in the evening, or a dinosaur cave, or just a place where cartoons are shown.
As you can see the organisation and separation of your workplace is a must-do!
The organisation of the workplace at home – key points
The working space in a residential apartment must meet a number of requirements:
Be comfortable with plenty of natural light and good fresh air;
Contain the accessories necessary for work: a compact computer table, a chair, shelves for books and papers, lighting devices;
Harmoniously fit into the overall interior of the room;
Be apart from the place where kids play.
To organise a comfortable workplace at home, you need to choose good furniture — a computer desk and a chair. For this, 1-1.5 m of space is enough.
Working corner in the bedroom
The room needs to be zoned: the space for sleeping should be fenced off. A light, pretty curtain will work too. If necessary, it can be easily removed, which is very convenient.
All items related to rest must be removed from the working area. The interior of the “mini-cabinet” should be as restrained as possible. “Floating” countertops and a simple wardrobe will look good. Lighting plays an important role. The point light must be on the left side of the desktop!
Workplace on the balcony
The balcony is pre-glazed and insulated so that it is comfortable to work there both in winter and summer. Hung blinds or curtains on the windows so you won’t be distracted while working by watching what is happening on the street.
The furniture is installed perpendicular to the front door, near the wall. If there is very little space, a small corner table and hanging countertops will help out. Lighting fixtures will add comfort.
The working area in the living room
This room is usually noisy and crowded. Attention will be scattered, and work will move slowly.
If there are no other options, then it is imperative to separate the work area from the rest of the room. Floor racks or wide partitions can be useful.
Workspace in the kitchen
In the kitchen, the proximity of the stove and sink is dangerous for the papers. In addition, the area of the room is usually small, and it hardly fits everything that is needed for cooking.
The only option for placing the working area in the kitchen is to use a double purpose table: on the one hand, the kitchen, on the other, the work table.
And what about the kids?
Once you are done with creating a family-friendly workspace it’s time to create something for your kids, so they won’t interrupt your work and spend some quality time. It’s not enough to set them in front of the TV. Why don’t you make them a mini playground? All you need is goodwill and good quality playground equipment. And voilà — you have your own workspace and kids have theirs too!
Those people who believe that working at home, while having a big family, is impossible are greatly mistaken. For a cheerful mood and productive work, it is enough just to correctly arrange a home office. If you think over the design and approach the interior design with creativity, you will be able to create the perfect place to work.
