Now that working from home in some form is here to stay, whether full-time or flexible, it's time to perfect your set-up, Need home office ideas? To start with, investing in a proper desk and office chair is well worth your time. Our surroundings have a profound effect on our state of mind, which makes planning a home office or workspace especially important. From the desk lamps to the desk accessories, wallpaper to paint, there are so many elements that can influence the space. The decor of a study is of utmost importance - a carefully designed space could even improve creativity and work productivity.
These design ideas may inspire a reworking of your own office space, whether it's merely a table in the corner of your living area or a study of its own. The only problem? Once you have your home office set up, you may never want to go back to into work.
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Home office ideas from the House & Garden archive
Decorate your work area with home office ideas to suit every space and style. Choose paint colors, furniture, lighting, storage pieces, and decor that complement your interior, whether your aesthetic is modern, farmhouse, contemporary, coastal, boho-style, or anything in between.
There are solutions and strategies to make your home office more functional and beautiful, whether it is a dedicated room, a corner of the living room, bedroom, guest room, or basement, or another space in your home. From easy DIY fixes like painting an accent wall to clever layout ideas, you can personalize your space to create an ideal working environment that is tailored to your needs.
Check out this roundup of home office ideas in a range of styles, sizes, and budgets to inspire you.
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Living Room Desk
If your home office is a desk in the corner of the living room, there are ways to make it feel integrated with your decor. Desiree Burns Interiors placed a desk with its back to the seating area, with a pastel pink desk chair upholstered with pleated fabric that echoes the soft color palette and mixed textures of the modern room.
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Guest Room Home Office
Create maximum efficiency in a home office guest room with a built-in Murphy bed cabinet and desk. Louis Duncan-He Designs chose earthy tones of olive and brown in this sleek space to add warmth to the modern space.
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Home Cloffice
Convert a closet into a home office that you can close up at the end of the day. Blogger Ursula Carmona of Home Made By Carmona painted the inside of this living room cloffice dark blue and added a modern pendant light and open shelving for display to give it a decorative feel when the doors are open.
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Small Bedroom Office
Create a sense of visual separation in a small bedroom office by placing a large potted plant between the desk and the bed, like this New York City space from Alvin Wayne. Hang an open shelf and a bulletin on the wall to keep your desk clear and organized and your room tidy.
Small Space Office
When decorating a small home office, choose a small desk that meets your needs but doesn't overwhelm your space. Look for smaller furniture by sourcing vintage pieces or browsing retailers with classic smaller scale pieces marketed for older kids that can work just as well in an adult space.
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Shared Home Office
Create a shared home office with a harmonious feel by lining up side-by-side matching desks, chairs, and lamps along the same wall. Desiree Burns Interiors chose furniture with rounded edges and neutral colors that blend in with the overall decor.
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Colorful Home Office
Create a stimulating environment by adding a mix of color accents to your home office. Interior designer Maite Granda started with a neutral base in this Florida cottage home office attached to a primary bedroom, sprinkling in color and pattern on the walls, ceilings, windows, and upholstery for a lively feel.
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Corner Desk
Place your desk in the corner facing outward into the room to create a layout that won't make you feel cramped and give your workspace a grounded feel.
Marie Flanigan Interiors chose an elegant desk that fits the corner space in this polished home office like a glove, but you can achieve a similar look with a rectangular desk suited to your space.
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Farmhouse Home Office
For a traditional or farmhouse-style home, decorate your office with classic furniture like a farmhouse dining table in the guise of a desk. Choose a large table lamp instead of task light and hang an oil painting on the wall, like this space from Becca Interiors that includes a working fireplace for a cozy feel whether there is a fire going or not.
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Basement Home Office
Energize your basement home office with lots of color and pattern to stimulate your creativity and engage your senses. Casa Watkins Living wallpapered the ceiling and chose an area rug featuring every color of the rainbow in this lively space.
A reading chair, table and lamp create a second seating area for work breaks or inviting visitors.
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Home Office Zoom Background
Create a built-in background for Zoom meetings by placing a large painting on the wall behind you. In this space from Malcolm Simmons for Emily Henderson Design, a large painting anchors the space between built-in shelving to personalize the space. The dark wall color and colorful art will create a flattering backdrop that allows you to show a bit of personality.
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Small Home Office
Make a smaller home office feel twice its size with a strategically placed mirror. Marie Flanigan Interiors leaned a simple floor mirror against the far wall of this home office opposite the door that doubles the view and bounces light around.
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Elegant Home Office
If you live in a home with bay or bow windows, use them to anchor a home office workstation. This elegant space includes an antique chandelier overhead, a vintage desk, and tall salmon pink drapes that provide light and privacy control while making the workspace feel more finished and polished.
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Red Home Office
Having a home office means that you can create the environment that best suits both your style and your mood. Some people like to work in an uncluttered neutral space. Others like soft calming colors like pale blues to put them in the right headspace to focus. If red gets your juices flowing, paint the walls and built-ins in this stimulating color, like this London home office from Studio Peake.
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Landing Workstation
You can carve out a small home office in any corner of the house. Marie Flanigan Interiors utilized a forgotten staircase landing to create a cozy workstation equipped with a French country-style desk and a comfy upholstered chair. Natural light flowing in from the windows keeps the tight space feeling bright and airy.
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Dressing Room Home Office
Turn a large walk-in closet or a dressing room with a window into a hybrid home office. Ashley Montgomery Design decorated this space with soft colors, botanical prints, and vintage accents like an ornate gilded mirror and a brass lamp for a soothing and timeless feel.
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Midcentury Modern Office
Add midcentury touches to a modern home office to add some vintage flair to a contemporary space. Louis Duncan-He Designs chose a colorful area rug, pendant light, and walnut office chair that add character to the space.
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Sage Green Home Office
Paint your home office in a soothing earth tone like sage green to create a warm atmosphere. Brexton Cole Interiors used built-ins that combine closed storage to hide clutter and open display space styled with books and objects.
A kidney-shaped desk in a dark wood stain and a pair of wall sconces and a gilded mirror complete the vintage-inspired look.
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Mood Board Office
Decorate your home office like a giant mood board to create a stimulating atmosphere. Calimia Home combined framed black-and-white color photos on the walls with a larger-than-life bulletin board wall of tacked-up images that can be swapped in and out as desired.
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Home Office Layout
Hide your desk in plain sight by placing it behind the sofa. Marie Flanigan Interiors matched the color of the desk chair to the sofa—and the walls—for a cohesive feel in this moody space. In a smaller space, try a console table that will accommodate a laptop and a portable LED lamp.
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Living Room Workstation
Choose a desk and chair that echoes the style of your living room to make your home work station blend in with your existing decor. Jenn Pablo Studio paired a glass-topped desk with thin chrome legs and an Eames-style office chair in this midcentury modern living room. The desk practically disappears against the large glass doors leading to the patio.
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Luxury Home Office
Decorate a luxury home office with custom finishes, bespoke furniture, and bold colors and textures, like this space designed for a CEO from Forbes + Masters that is decorated with sculptural vases and a large-scale textile wall hanging.
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Antique Home Office Desk
Set up a small work station in the corner of a bedroom to provide a quiet place to get things done, be it remote work or your monthly bill-paying appointment. Becca Interiors chose an antique writing desk and chair to complement this traditional bedroom.
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Home Office Reading Corner
Create a reading corner in your home office with a daybed that can double as a guest bed when friends or family are in town. In this space from Emily Bowser for Emily Henderson Design, a large magazine rack and a bookshelf above the bed provides reading material that can be paged through for a break from your screens.
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Floating Office Desk
Float the desk in the middle of the room to keep your home office layout feeling airy and light. Living With Lolo paired a lacquered white desk with a bouclé chair. Layered window treatments ensure privacy and light control.
Add Organization
If you don't have built-ins, line a wall with matching freestanding shelves. Keep them organized with a mix of clever styling and storage pieces like baskets, boxes, and wire racks.
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Live Edge Home Office Desk
Create a modern organic feel in your home office with a live edge desk. Emily Henderson Design paired a live edge wood desk with bronze legs with a leather chair, navy walls, and brass accents for a rich and relaxed feel.
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Boho-Style Home Office
Boho-style decor touches like a Moroccan rug, natural materials such as wood and fur, and trailing plants will give your budget home office a laid back feel, like this space from Blanco Bungalow.
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Built-in Home Office Desk
Optimize a tiny space with a built-in desk and floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving. House 9 Interiors painted the walls and ceiling in the same dark green shade to create a cozy feel and allow book spines to provide a color accent.
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Plant-Filled Home Office
Surround yourself with low-maintenance plants to create an uplifting home office environment. Emily Henderson Design paired bold neutral check wallpaper with an open plant shelf above this home office desk that makes it feel cozy and alive.
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Coastal Home Office
A coastal color palette of blue and white will give your home office an easy breezy feel that will make work feel more like a day at the beach. Tyler Karu Design + Interiors chose a sit-stand desk to make it easy to change postures throughout the workday.
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Long and Narrow Home Office
Brighten a long and narrow home office with white paint, pink wallpaper, light wood shelving, acrylic cabinet pulls, and brass sconces. Marie Flanigan Interiors hung a large whiteboard on the wall for brainstorming sessions that bounces light around to help make the space feel airier and more spacious.
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Statement Desk
Make a statement in a glamorous home office with a signature desk. Candace Mary Interiors paired an organic stone slab with a velvet armchair in this sophisticated space that will impress visiting guests or clients if your home office doubles as a meeting space.
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Galley-Style Layout
Adapt the layout of your home office to the bones of your space. Marie Flanigan Interiors used a galley-style layout in this long but wide room, with a desk and built-in shelving on one side, and a seating area surrounded by bookshelves on the other to preserve flow.
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Spare Room Home Office
Turn a spare room into a dedicated home office that allows you to shut the door on work at the end of the day. Casa Watkins Living decorated this former kids' room with tropical wallpaper, modern furniture, and colorful accents for an eclectic and personal feel.
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Vintage Filing Cabinet
Add character to a modern home office with a vintage filing cabinet. Emily Henderson Design sourced a tall storage unit that adds some industrial flair to this bright space. Source vintage office equipment at thrift stores, flea markets, or online.
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Primary Bedroom Office
Create a workstation in a primary bedroom by using the same color palette and complementary finishes as the rest of the room for a cohesive feel. Becca Interiors decorated this tranquil space in soothing shades of beige and natural materials such as wood, rattan, and linen that create a calm space for both work and sleep.
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Modern Rustic Home Office
Decorate your home office with modern rustic accessories and finishes if that suits your style. Marie Flanigan Interiors combined exposed wood ceilings, taxidermy wall art, and a cow hide rug in this spacious home office and lounge space for a relaxed but pulled together feel.
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Pass-Through Workstation
Look for unexpected corners of an older home to set up a home office, like this quirky pass-through workspace from Candace Mary Interiors that is sandwiched between a bathroom and bedroom.
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Minimalist Work Space
Decorate your home office with a limited palette of whites and grays and include plenty of built-in storage for a clutter-free look. Kern & Co. elevated this minimalist workspace with wood trim details on the walls.
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Alcove Home Office
Turn a deep alcove into a home workspace. Sara Tramp for Emily Henderson Design defined this bedroom niche with Fornasetti cloud wallpaper and added a space-saving sconce light above the desk.
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Home Office Living Wall
Create an affordable version of a floor-to-ceiling living wall with faux plants. A Beautiful Mess created a dramatic DIY living wall in this home office decorated in neutral shades that bring the space to life, adding a trio of plant hangers filled with real plants to make it all look more believable.
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Secretary Desk
A secretary desk of any style is a space-saving solution in a home office. Marie Flanigan Interiors chose an elegant antique with a weathered finish for this traditional interior, but you can adapt the style and size to suit your space, be it midcentury modern or contemporary or anything in between.
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Sitting Room Office
Turn a small sitting room into a hybrid home office that can be used for work or leisure time. Kate Marker Interiors tucked a small desk into the corner of a narrow sitting room with a fireplace to create a cozy and flexible work and lounge space.
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Home Office Curtains
Hang dark floral curtains to add color and pattern to your home office. Studio Peake finished the space with shades of blue and green and chose an oval midcentury desk with delicate legs and a vintage-style task lamp for a timeless feel.
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All-White Home Office
Make a small space feel larger with an all-white palette. Leclair Decor decorated the walls with a series of neutral prints and accented with gold to reflect natural light. A floor lamp in place of a desk light saves space on the worktop.
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Kitty Corner Shared Office
Save space with a kitty-corner desk layout that will allow you to get two work stations in a limited space. Kate Marker Interiors created a family-friendly workstation that can be used for remote work or homework.
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Wood-Paneled Office
Give your home office the feel of a traditional den with dark wood-paneled walls, like this space from Marie Flanigan Interiors. A cushy leather desk chair, a pair of armchairs, a patterned rug, and framed art give the space a comforting throwback feel.
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Picture Window Workstation
Some people find a view distracting, while others find it indispensable. If you are a fan of a view, place your desk in front of a picture window. Jenn Pablo Studio used natural wood tones to complement the view of lush greenery outside in this midcentury modern home office.
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Office Accent Wall
Add drama to your home office with an accent wall. Louis Duncan-He Designs hung abstract wallpaper around a window on the side wall in this spacious home office. The subtle mountain vista motif adds dimension to the room dominated by floor-to-ceiling landscape views.
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Great Room Office
If your home office has double-height ceilings, be sure to add window treatments to help with light and heat control. Marie Flanigan Interiors layered blinds and curtains in this spacious home office, and a large pendant light in the middle of the ceiling that takes advantage of the great room height in this luxurious space.
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Office Storage
Mix open and closed storage in your home office to keep it looking tidy and clutter-free while making room to display decor items. Leclair Decor paired natural and painted wood in this neutral-toned space. Black accents add definition throughout the space.
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Bright Basement Workstation
If your finished basement has a corner with a window, turn it into a home workstation by placing a desk below that will benefit from a bit of natural light. Michelle Berwick Design added plenty of built-in storage and a decorative backsplash to help define the space.
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Mezzanine Home Office
A mezzanine of any size is a natural choice for a home office that is out of sight but connected to the rest of the house. Emily Henderson Design decorated this spacious mezzanine office in natural tones to match the mountain setting. Modern furniture adds contrast with rustic wood-clad walls.
Mezzanine Noise Concerns
If you are sensitive to noise or live with other people who are home during the day, keep in mind that a mezzanine office can feel like an echo chamber that amplifies the slightest sound from below, and may disturb people downstairs while you're doing Zoom meetings or conference calls.
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Natural Home Office
Decorate your home office with natural wood tones for a soothing neutral feel that will minimize visual distractions and help you get down to work, like this space from Light and Dwell. A large area rug anchors the desk and seating area and will make your workspace more comfortable.
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Dining Room Desk
While many a formal dining room has found itself an off-duty home office at some point in its existence, you can keep things separate by pairing a dining table and a desk in a shared space.
Desiree Burns Interiors placed a long wooden desk along the wall, and floated a round stone table in the middle of the room that is anchored by a pendant light to define zones.
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Home Office Den
Create a high-end home office den with custom wood paneling on the walls and ceiling, modern lighting, and sophisticated furniture and decor, like this luxe New York City space from Marie Flanigan Interiors. A large shared area rug makes the desk area feel integrated with the rest of the space.
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Home Office Gallery Wall
Define the corner workstation of a bedroom office with a gallery wall. Studio Peake painted the walls light blue and chose a mix of black-and-white illustrations in identical frames for a cohesive look, but feel free to mix and match according to your taste and style.
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Office Pocket Doors
Install pocket doors to give your home office a sense of separation without blocking views or light. Marie Flanigan Interiors chose natural wood-paned double glass pocket doors that match the window trim stain in this spacious home office. A coffered ceiling adds a sophisticated touch that makes the space feel grander.
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Apartment Home Office
Decorate an open-concept office to harmonize with existing decor. Interior designer Alvin Wayne chose a black-and-white desk that blends into the marbled wallpaper in this New York City apartment.
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Office Barn Doors
Separate a small home office from an adjacent family room with sliding double doors. Jessica Nelson Design chose black metal and glass doors for a modern feel that doesn't block light or views. But you could use reclaimed or barn wood doors for a more rustic feel if that better suits your style.
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Colorful Office Chair
Choose a desk chair upholstered in a bright shade to complement a modern home office. Michelle Boudreau Design decorated this home workspace with abstract illustrated wallpaper that looks like a sketchbook of faces, framed artwork, a sculptural lamp, and a pale wood desk.
Brighten With Color
Brighten your home office with a warm color accent. Paint an accent wall or the ceiling, choose a colorful desk chair, or hang a large color photograph above your workstation.
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Home Office Wall Decor
Hang a painting or a framed photograph above your home office desk to define the space while making your workspace look more decorative. Emily Henderson Design chose a landscape painting above the painted desk in this bedroom office for a timeless feel, but you can choose any style that suits your taste, from an abstract modern painting to a vintage black-and-white photograph.
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Glam Home Office
Use custom lighting to create a glam feel in a spacious home office. Charbonneau Interiors added backlighting to a floor-to-ceiling built-in that mixes open display space and closed storage while anchoring the room.
A blingy chandelier hangs in the center of the room, and table lamps add another layer of ambient lighting that makes the space feel comfortable to use. Furniture is placed on an angle to break up the linear feel of the space.
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One-Wall Home Office
Build your home office against a single wall for a streamlined and contemporary feel. Michelle Berwick Interiors outfitted this space with floor-to-ceiling storage to store supplies and equipment and a built-in worktop that preserves space and flow in the room. This layout can work in a smaller dedicated home office or in a shared space such as a bedroom or living room.
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Home Office Decor
Add mismatched decor accents to enliven an otherwise white home office. Britt Design Studio paired a graphic orange-and-white wallpaper accent behind the worktop with a navy-and-white patterned window shade and striped seat cushion to energize this shared space. A textured neutral rug adds softness underfoot.
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French Doors
Install a pair of French doors to give your home office a modicum of privacy while allowing light to flow in and preserving an open feel. Kate Marker Interiors chose a dark paint color that complements the walls and drapes of this smoky green office space. Matching curtains hung at ceiling height make the ceilings feel taller.
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Office Wall Decor
Layer artwork and wallpaper to give your home office dimension. Louis Duncan-He Designs hung a retro magazine cover on top of bota
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