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Home stagers and real estate professionals are placing more emphasis on the home office as needs for remote work grow. Need ideas for how to present this important feature in your listings? Check out this home office transformation from designers Fernanda Bertrand and Flavia Vigorito, co-owners of Upstaging Seattle.
Before
After
Bertrand and Vigorito offer some of their favorite tips for making over home offices to help show them in their best light.
Declutter: Work can get messy, but clutter makes the space appear smaller and darker. Remember, less is more. Don’t overwhelm the space with too many accessories. Remove framed college degrees, photos, or anything that ties back to your work. Bertrand and Vigorito also often suggest adding a filing cabinet to help keep the desk clear and organized.
Lighting: New light fixtures are a small change that can make a huge difference. Layer in the lights in a home office for an inviting ambiance. Bertrand and Vigorito suggest starting with a statement piece for the ceiling and then adding in floor and table lamps. They also recommend opting for warmer light bulbs, which tend to be easier on the eyes (here are the bulbs they use).
Fresh paint: A fresh coat of paint can bring new life to a space. Neutral colors in the office against pops of colorful accessories are their favorites. Bertrand and Vigorito say some of their go-to paint choices for home offices are Alabaster from Sherwin Williams and Swiss Coffee from Benjamin Moore.
Home Office Design Trends
Living Spaces, a furniture retailer, surveyed 217 consumers to learn more about their work-from-home preferences, including how it relates to the design of their office spaces. The following are some highlights of the design preferences that emerged from the study’s findings.
- Most popular design style in the home office: modern, followed by industrial (midcentury style was one of the least popular)
- Most popular home décor item in the home office: Wall art, followed by plants
- Most preferred paint color for the home office: Neutrals, followed by cooler tones
- Favorite office desk style: Pedestal desk, followed by an executive desk
- Favorite office chair style: Adjustable office chair, followed by office chair with casters
- Favorite bookcase style in home office: Wood, followed by etagere
- Most popular spot for a home office: A dedicated home office space in the home, followed by guest bedroom or living room
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