Combining your work and family life is sometimes unavoidable, especially if you work from home.
As more and more parents benefit from a more flexible work schedule, you will inevitably benefit from the occasional visit from your curious little ones while working from home.
Here are some home office ideas for making your office kid-friendly while still promoting concentration and productivity in your office space.
Separate The Space
If you have the advantage of a large home office, you can dedicate one side of the room for work and the other for play.
Many parents have tried to work from the kitchen table or living room - with mixed results. We are all easily distracted, and having your kids running through with their bikes, rollerblades, walkers, and all the other contraptions that come along with having kids.
Separating the space helps to establish boundaries within the home. If your kid wants to spend time with you while you work, design one side of the room to cater to their needs and furnish it with toys and playmats so your child can play safely while you work.
If you have a meeting, let your child know when the Play-Office is closed. Try to station your desk so that it is not facing the play area so you can maintain a professional background while chatting to colleagues.
Protect Your Equipment
Offices and kids do not mix. The office landscape is full of hazards like staplers, scissors, electronic pencil sharpers, all the things that small children want to play with and will reach for if left out and unattended.
Shelves and locked cabinets come in handy here. Make sure to lock away anything that is dangerous, and create a boundary to your computer equipment. As well as preventing accidents, keeping your kids away from your internet and computer will prevent any unexpected repair bills.
Get Creative with Clutter
Kids and clutter go hand in hand. Get creative with stylish storage boxes to keep the space clear and promote a focused environment for times when your kids aren’t around.
Kids need desks too. Child desks are a great space for your kids to get homework done and engage in other creative activities. A child's desk will complement the look of your office and provide essential storage for crayons, pens, paints, and toys.
Place a multifunctional child's desk within your home office to encourage co-working. You can tend to your emails while your kids finish off school projects in their workspace.
Other smart space-saving ideas include:
- Dressers
- Display units
- Storage chests
- Storage benches
- Mounted wall shelves
- Floor standing shelves
Make sure to have everything your kids need close by, so you don’t have to stop what you are doing to find lost pencils and rubbers.
Use The Walls
Walls are an utterly forgotten space within any room. Bare walls are tempting canvasses for small children and wasted space for older kids.
If you have small children, prevent them from painting on the walls by painting the lower half of the wall in magnetic paint and finding fun magnets for them to play with.
Letter magnets are a classic. They are fun and educational as your child tries to make as many words as they can in colourful letters. Magnetic paints come in all shades, so you can easily find a colour that matches the interior design of your home office.
In terms of storage, hanging baskets and bookshelves are essential space-savers. You can get really creative by painting a spice rack to store smaller items that are easily lost - you can even get your child involved and spend a fun afternoon painting the rack together!
Design with Kids in Mind
When considering the interior design of your home office, make it a bright, comfortable and attractive place where you will enjoy working and playing with your kids.
The home office is the most neglected part of the house. Before home working, the home office was an afterthought, a place to store a desk, chair and computer for irregular use.
Now, as more and more parents are working from home, as much care and attention should be paid to the home office as the living room.
Home office decor is essential for promoting focus, comfort and a little fun with the little ones here and there. Do not be afraid to invest a little in simple storage, comfortable chairs and kid-proof decorations.
Having a dedicated workspace that is child-friendly can save you lots of time and frustration trying to establish a boundary between home life and work life.
Working from home is a new normal for lots of parents, who are trying to find the balance between being a productive worker and home care provider.
Although a kid-friendly office will not solve all your problems, it can eliminate many. Protect your work time and establish boundaries with your kids about when it is okay for them to come in and play and times when the office door must be closed for important work.
Making a child-friendly space within your office will save you a lot of time getting up and down for from your desk to find toys and other gadgets to keep the kids entertained, and the space becomes another room for the whole family to enjoy.
Having fun activities ready and waiting in your home office is a distraction for wandering hands that would otherwise be grasping at your computer mouse or keyboard.
Cleve storage solutions will help keep your office organised and tidy - and the rest of the home will surely benefit. Promote organised working by introducing a child's desk into your workspace where your kids can play, engage in creative projects and really focus when homework needs to be done.
Working with your kids at home need not be hard work. With simple smart solutions, you can create a positive environment that keeps your children entertained and your workday productive.
