As the number of home offices continues to grow, the need for a comfortable and suitable work environment becomes a necessity. Some estimates indicate that 20 million home offices will exist in 2013 in the U.S. while global projections vary. One of the most important aspects of a home office is proper lighting.
Understanding the Quality of Light
The best home offices offer a combination of natural and artificial light. It is important to consider the quality of the light in the home before selecting a room to become the office. In addition, natural lighting should be the main focus with artificial lighting as a secondary option. Many designers recommend choosing the room with the greatest amount of natural light during the day to become the home office because of the enormous amount of time people spend working in one.
Saving on Energy Costs
Most entrepreneurs are budget conscious and seek out ways to save money on energy costs. By taking advantage of natural lighting in the home office, the electric bill can be reduced. Apartment Therapy recommends arranging the work area to allow the desk direct access to the windows. Unfortunately, the number of windows cannot always be controlled in a house, so natural lighting from installing skylights is another option that can be considered. The sun is free and can also boost your vitamin D levels.
Improving Moods
The link between sunlight and vitamin D has been established for a long time, but the impact of natural lighting on mood continues to be studied. Sunlight simply makes you happier. As entrepreneurs and other workers spend more time at home on their businesses, the amount of time outdoors decreases drastically. The use of natural lighting can make up for some of the time lost by working in the home office with skylights and windows. Even if you do not experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), adding more sunlight can benefit you.
Avoiding Parabolic Lighting
Although natural lighting is the best choice, artificial lights are still a part of most home offices because businesses continue working after the sun goes down. The number of lamps on the market can make shopping a difficult task, but it is important to select several options that will give the right task lighting. However, it is crucial to avoid the parabolic lighting often seen in corporate offices.
Studies dating back to 1989 from Cornell University have found that parabolic lighting is a dangerous and ineffective method of making offices brighter. Workers experienced more eye strain and were less productive under parabolic lights. Considering that workers were more efficient under lensed lighting, it is surprising that corporate offices continue to use the wrong type of lights with research dating back to the 1980s. As your own boss, the home office you create can avoid parabolic lights.
Making the Home Office Inviting
It is important not to neglect the aesthetic qualities of a home office. It may be easy to focus on finding the right desk or chair for the room during the design process, but many architects are recommending the use of natural lighting as a decorative element. It is always free, available on a daily basis and can dramatically change the appearance of a room.
In a roundup of some of the best home offices, Architectural Digest focused on rooms with a lot of natural light. Many of the windows either had limited or no curtains to allow the room to be flooded with sunlight during the day. In addition, most of the offices had multiple windows and some positioned the desks directly in front of them to capture more light.
Dwell focused on something similar in its feature of Ulrich Fleischmann’s home office. For his advertising agency Fleischmann & Kirsch, Ulrich relies on an office that has floor to ceiling windows without any curtains. They actually provide a frame for the natural environment outside his home that serves as a living painting. Despite the stark interior, the natural light that floods the room can create an inviting atmosphere that improves efficiency.
Perhaps Designer Daily has found the perfect roundup of 30 innovative home offices that take small spaces and still find ways to incorporate natural light. Many of the featured offices use a single window or skylight to create enough lighting. Although the desks are dominated by computers, artificial and natural light sources coexist. One person is even taking advantage of a city skyline by arranging the desk to face the great view every day.
The number of design options can be overwhelming, but a home office tends to be occupied for eight or more hours a day by many entrepreneurs. This is why it is essential to consider the lighting needs, and the best way to take advantage of the sun in your home office.
