With hybrid working now being the most popular option for office jobs, it’s important that you design an indoor space that looks towards the future and allows you to take care of your wellbeing while working from home. A future-proof home is a strategically designed space that maximises productivity, preserves wellbeing and offers long-term flexibility.

There’s many ways to improve your home office with an eye for the future, such as biophilic design, smart technology integration and LED lighting systems. We’ll explore how to implement these to benefit your productivity and boost focus, so you can get the most out of your working environment. Continue reading this guide to give yourself that extra boost while becoming a hybrid worker.

Building a Future-Proof Home Office

Define Your Zones

The concept of a future-proof home office hinges on the ability to transition smoothly between professional focus and personal relaxation. This is especially important in compact spaces. Even within a small room, use furniture, shelving or rugs to decide on a work zone and a decompression zone. This spatial division is essential for psychological wellbeing with the working zone anchoring your high-focus activities with the desk, monitor and task lighting.

Meanwhile the decompression zone could feature a comfortable accent chair, a small side table and a collection of personal books. This offers a visual and physical cue that the workday is officially paused, allowing your brain to switch gears without ever leaving the room.

Technology Integration

The advancement of technology has made the creation of a home office easier. Adding infrastructure that can handle the bandwidth demands of virtual meetings, large file transfers and multiple connected devices is essential, as this will give you a streamlined workspace that allows you to work without restraints. Install multiple, easily accessible power outlets, including USB-C ports integrated into the wall or desk, so you can plug in essential electronic devices.

Having adjustable lighting specifically for video calls is also advised. Mount your camera at eye-level and ensure your background is intentionally designed to give you a backdrop that compliments you.

Ergonomics

The future of work is centered on sustained health, so you should make your office support your long-term physical health. Ergonomics is essential for this, as a high-quality chair with good lumbar support gives you a better feeling back without any long-term disadvantages. Encouraging essential micro-breaks throughout the day will also be great for your health while working, so you could, for example, have a small treadmill under your desk to keep you moving.

You can also benefit your visual health by positioning your desk to maximise natural light and provide a view to the outside. This simple adjustment can significantly reduce eye strain and naturally boosts mood and focus.

Multi-Functional Design

Having furniture that changes its function for different purposes can be a great thing to have in your home office. Purchasing furniture that allows you to put away the job when the workday is over can allow you to fully relax at the end of the day without leaving the room. Murphy desks can hide monitors and wires behind closed doors, keeping everything in line.

Choose shelving and storage units that are easy to reconfigure too. Open shelving works well for books or decorative items when the room is used for personal purposes.

Automation

Use a smart thermostat and smart blinds to automatically adjust temperature and light throughout the day, optimising for comfort and energy savings. When the temperature is at an ideal level, it makes you more inclined to work effectively and then gets you in the right mood to relax after work, which gives you the perfect future-proof office for hybrid working.

Program a Work Mode via a smart hub that turns on your desk light, lowers the room temperature slightly and plays your focus playlist.

Sound Proofing

Having a space with sound proofing can be very effective for work. When you’re designing a home office, you need the room in the home that is best for this. With C.H.R.I.S. technology from CI Group, you can turn your conservatory into the perfect quiet space for working due to it keeping out any sound from the outside world that can cause distractions.

The conservatory is usually designed to be an adaptable space in the home that can be used for a variety of different purposes. As well as a home office, it can be a great place to relax after the work day is done.

Air Quality

Integrating a smart air purifier and diffuser allows you to actively maintain exceptionally high air quality, which is great for cognitive function and sustained health. This can all be achieved while simultaneously introducing controlled bursts of beneficial aromatherapy. Research suggests that specific scents, such as peppermint or citrus, can act as non-invasive tools to improve concentration.

Biophilic design can be great for this with indoor plants being great for purifying the air, as well as boosting productivity and improving focus. This gives you a home office that will make you actively want to work harder.