• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Interiors Addict

Heart Your Home

@interiorsaddict on Instagram   @interiorsaddict on Facebook   @interiorsaddict on Pinterest  
Subscribe
  • Job Board
  • About
  • Before & Afters
  • RENO ADDICT
  • Kitchens
  • Bathrooms
  • Kids Rooms
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room
  • Shopping
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipes
  • Parenting
  • Travel
Interiors Addict
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Our Story

      Australia’s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
      READ MORE

      We’re big on Instagram!
      @interiorsaddict

      • About
      • Contact Interiors Addict
      • Work with Interiors Addict
      • Advertise / Find a job in Interiors
      • Press
      • Get Your Free Ebook

        This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • By Room
    • Browse by Room

      Where you can search for all our posts about a specific room. Only interested in kitchens and bathrooms? We got you!

      • Kitchens
      • Bathrooms
      • Kids Rooms
      • Bedrooms
      • Living Room
      • Home Office
      • Dining
      • Laundry
      • Outdoor & Exteriors
      • Renting
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • Before & Afters
    • Before & Afters

      Who doesn’t LOVE a good before & after? If you want to be inspired by the whole reno process, and not just the shiny photos at the end, this is the place for you!

      View Articles

      • Before & Afters
      • Jen’s reno
      • Real Renos
      • RENO ADDICT
    • AFTER lounge80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home
    • Tv-Removal-2_a-1Before and after: how to make the most of compact living
  • Reno Addict
    • RENO ADDICT

      Looking for reno inspo? Find it all here, from other people’s projects to the latest trends, tools and products, whether you’re DIY-ing or employing trades.

      View articles

      • Reno Products
      • The Block
      • DIY
      • Reno Trends
      • Before & Afters
      • Real Renos
    • Lounge room90’s era abode now bold and fun holiday home
    • AFTER lounge80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home
  • Shopping
    • Shopping

      Want to know where to buy the latest furniture, homewares, rugs, art and more? We’re always sharing our latest finds and telling you where you can buy them.

      View Articles

      • Furniture
      • Homewares
      • Art
      • Smart Home
      • Appliances
      • Reno Products
    • Greg Natale accessoriesGreg Natale debuts new lifestyle collection at Maison&Objet Paris
    • Joan BlondNew Aussie original art collection inspired by our endless summer
  • Inspiration
    • Inspiration

      While Jen’s a legitimate interiors addict, she’s no design professional, so she calls on an army of the country’s best to share their expertise with you. Be inspired by their stories too!

      View Articles

      • Decorating 101
      • Interviews
      • Expert Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • House Tours
      • Designers
      • Styling
      • Renovating
      • Real Renos
      • Covet my coffee table
    • Lounge room90’s era abode now bold and fun holiday home
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle

      We’re mostly about the home but Jen also likes to share other things she thinks you’ll love, like food and travel.

      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • Parenting
    • 0Q7A5539Foodie Friday: Confit salmon with preserved lemon & pomegranate
    • Burrawang HouseNew Hamptons style luxury retreat in the NSW Southern Highlands
  • Jobs
    • Advertise on our job board
    • Job Board FAQs for advertisers

Simple fixes to improve your home office

October 31, 2013

FacebookPinEmailTweet

By Denise Childs

The trend of working from home is growing, whether it be part-time working for someone else or running your own home-based business. Working from home can almost be a pleasure if your work environment doesn’t cause you stress. A home office which is disorganised and cluttered, or has dated décor, can be demotivating, thereby limiting productivity.

If this is the case, what are some ways to reduce that stress by not only increasing the efficiency of your office, but by making your surroundings more attractive so that you want to work there?

Firstly, try to ensure you have a designated room or area for your home office. If you don’t have the luxury of your own room and you have to share, make it clear that this is your work station. Try to keep personal items from infiltrating your work space.

Be comfortable in your home office. Ensure you have a good quality and supportive chair, a desk at the right height and adequate lighting. Ensure ample storage and shelving space to help keep any clutter off your desk so you can focus on the job at hand.

Try to eliminate those piles of clutter. Not knowing what is in a pile and suspecting you may have overlooked something causes stress. Set up a system so you have a place to put each piece of paper as it enters the office and schedule a time to deal with it at a later date. Establish a good filing system and label well. Remember, filing is about the quick and easy retrieval of information.

Everything should have a place, this saves frustration and time in looking for an item. Label shelves, drawers and cupboards if this helps to return items to their home so you can quickly and easily find them again.

Beautify your work space so working from home is pleasant. If possible, position your desk in front of a window. This will give you a great vantage point to see the view and also to inspire and refresh you. If it also happens to be where you can see deliveries or visitors arriving, even better.

Make the area your own and personalise it. Hang some artwork on the wall. Whether it be framed prints, your vision boards or even your children’s prized artwork, make sure it is something that inspires you and helps maintain focus during a busy work day. Add some colour through smart window dressings or apply a fresh coat of paint. Think about adding an indoor plant. This will not only improve air quality but being around plants improves concentration. Studies show that tasks performed while under the calming influence of nature are performed better and with greater accuracy, yielding greater productivity.

Stress invades our lives constantly, at work and at home, but perhaps taking these small steps to reduce that stress can make working from home more pleasurable.

Denise Childs, a professional organiser, and Tania Bell, an interior decorator, have joined forces to create Home Office Makeover Experts. They are on a mission to make offices all over Melbourne efficient and beautiful, and make working from home a pleasure!

Jen is currently on honeymoon in Tokyo, Venice and the UK, and has opened up the blog to a series of fabulous guest posters to share their interiors-related expertise in her absence. She hopes you’ll enjoy them and look out for the odd honeymoon post from overseas! The new Mrs Francis (who will still be known as Bishop for work purposes) will be back at her desk on 11 November.

FacebookPinEmailTweet

Primary Sidebar

Popular This Week

  • Australian kitchen dimensions: standard sizes for every last detail
  • AFTER lounge 80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home
  • Terrazzo and character are in and grey is out, says designer
  • Palette Cam 15 apps to help you build your dream home
  • The best places to buy Australian bed linen online

Follow us on Instagram

One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavet One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavetimeforthis, turns out former Neighbours actor @gemma_peanut is even more multi-talented than we thought! Will you check out the joyful and colourful reno of her holiday home (and airbnb) @yo_caba_caba?!

Head over to the blog via link in bio to read all about why she went bold and full of pattern in this project, which is a stark contrast to her zen and neutral Northern Beaches abode.

There's also plenty of details about where things are from etc.

"I’m not an interior designer so I just chose what I liked and followed my gut. Ultimately this home has been an opportunity to explore my alter ego – it allowed me to do things that I wouldn’t normally do.”

📷 @tanikablair_photography 

#interiorsblog #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #gemmapeanut #wedonthavetimeforthis #parentingpodcast #parentingpodcasts #holidayhousesofinstagram #cabaritabeach #airbnbstyle #airbnbstyling #colourandpattern #wallpapergoals #patternedtiles #featuretiles #poolgoals #sparkjoy #yocabacaba #boldinteriors #funinteriors #colourfulkitchen
Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial family category and they're a special gift. So ends three weeks with @danisteve81 who left her husband and son in the UK (I'm forever grateful they lent her to me!) to come and cheer me up and help me in the most practical ways after I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital. There were tears and I miss her so much already but how amazing to have had all that time together as adults. Such a rare treat and would never have happened without having been through something so challenging. Silver linings and all that. So many other friends have also been incredibly thoughtful and kind. There aren't many times I'd say this without cringing but I am 100% blessed!

I still cannot believe we have been friends since we were 12! 12! Are you still close with your childhood besties?
The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_ho The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_house is a work of art and while almost every surface was updated, the decision to keep the original slate floor was genius if you ask us. 

Owner @clarehillier__ says: "With its purple, pink, red and brown tones, the slate was the starting point for our interior palette."

Come and check out the before and afters via link in bio now and read the reno story. It's a real beauty.

And you can book it for your next holiday too!

Blair Smith Architecture @kateshanasy

#slatefloor #slatefloors #80shouse #80sbeauty #camillohouse #interiorsblog #interiorsblogger #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #realreno #holidayhousesofinstagram #morningtonpeninsulahomes #morningtonpeninsula #morningtonpeninsulasmallbusiness #blairgowrie #blairgowriebeach #airbnbstyle
Me and my boys 💗 Me and my boys 💗
Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for thr Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for three decades going out for a child-free dinner 💓😁
Excuse me while I die of a cute attack 🥰 @damia Excuse me while I die of a cute attack 🥰 @damianfrancis 

This doesn't happen often these days!
Hello friends! Just thought I'd say hi. Two weeks Hello friends! Just thought I'd say hi. Two weeks since leaving hospital and I'm doing much better than I expected to be at this early stage. A long recovery road ahead but making progress in how much I can move my arm and although I drag myself through some days non-stop yawning, others I can go for a little walk or out for lunch before collapsing on the couch! I can now tie my own hair back and put on a real bra which is very exciting 🤣 Having my bestie here to help us with the boys, drive me places and just be brilliant positive company is the best thing I could have asked for not to mention the many Dinner Ladies vouchers from friends! Thanks for all your kind messages, cards, flowers, gifts and offers of help ❤️
I definitely feel like a statistic now but hoping I definitely feel like a statistic now but hoping to raise some awareness off the back of my misfortune (and also very lucky escape).

@newsouthwaleshealth have just put out this warning about a rise in serious bacterial infections. iGAS (invasive group A streptococcus) is what caused my necrotising fasciitis and sepsis.

Apparently there's similar happening in VIC too.

It's extremely rare but very serious nonetheless so please have a read and be aware of symptoms. I've linked to the article from a button via my link in bio.

#interiorsaddict #jenbishop #necrotisingfasciitis #groupastrep #groupastreptococcus #sepsis
While new technologies continue to shape the inter While new technologies continue to shape the interior design scene, one that has been getting a fair bit of traction of late is marble-look porcelain. A cheaper alternative to natural stone, the latest printed porcelain tile technology makes it difficult to distinguish from the real thing.

Founded by husband and wife duo Anton and Rita Bourtsev, Sydney’s @kaolintiles has a unique offering in this space with over 100 different marble-look tile designs in small and large formats.

More via link in bio now.

#porcelain #porcelaintile #porcelaintiles #largeformattiles #largeformattile #marblelooktiles #bathroomtrends2023 #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #heartyourhome #realrenovations #goldsink #brasssink #jenbishop #kaolin #kaolintiles #interiorsblog #interiorsblogger
Follow on Instagram
Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Get Your Free Ebook

Ebook cover

Never miss the latest renovating and interiors products, news and inspo again! Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you the best bits from the blog, direct to your inbox. Plus you'll get our latest eBook: What Made The Biggest Impact in Jen's Own Reno.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Avatar

About Guest Poster

If you have high quality, original, relevant content to share, we might be interested in publishing your guest post on Interiors Addict. Please email [email protected] with your submissions.

More Recent Posts

Lounge room

90’s era abode now bold and fun holiday home

AFTER lounge

80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home

Terrazzo and character are in and grey is out, says designer

The Old Vicarage project

Designer profile: From expat childhood to high end interiors

AFTER kitchen

Kitchen reno proves space planning just as important as finishes

Greg Natale accessories

Greg Natale debuts new lifestyle collection at Maison&Objet Paris

Foodie Friday: Teriyaki miso chicken fried rice

Average cost to fix a botched DIY job is $1500

Outer team up with Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk on outdoor dining sets

Footer

Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict

  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Jen
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Browse

  • RENO ADDICT
  • Jen’s Reno
  • House Tours
  • Real Renos
  • Interviews
  • Styling
  • Designers
  • Bedrooms
  • Covet My Coffee Table
  • Expert Tips
  • The Block
  • Art
  • Furniture
  • Recipes

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RENO ADDICT

Copyright © 2011–2023 Addicted Media Pty Ltd
Website care by ClickWP · Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!