It’s no secret that bold, primary colours are the delight of the interiors scene, a natural consequence of the recent love affair with the 1960s and 70s furniture and design.  Welcome back orange, yellow, purple and lime green! 

One of the biggest impacts of retro styling is that rooms which were once seen as totally clinical and functional such as the bathroom have now finally cast off their dull, white pallor and are starting to embrace colour again.  Functionality and practicality are not the sworn enemies of colour and design.   However, the home office has less of a history in the home setting as remote working is a relatively recent innovation. 

A dedicated workspace or designed home office does not need to be grey and spartan.  SME work from home toolkits and some industry-specific work from home toolkits such as those produced for insurance contain lots of great ideas and suggestions but colour doesn’t usually feature very highly, if at all.  Here are some colourful ideas to invigorate and brighten up your workspace or small home office.

• Make sure you have proper lighting, many offices squashed as an afterthought into spare bedrooms have the exact opposite.  Poor lighting will always add a dampener to your mood.  Use multiple lights around the walls or add a retro floor lamp and desk lamp, iconic styling combined with the ease and sophistication of modern technology.  Try and maximise the use of natural light if you can.  Site the desk near to a window to gain the maximum benefit from daylight, if you have a nice view then make the most of it
• Use light, pale shades on the walls to create reflection and a sense of dimension and crispness in a small space.  This makes the perfect backdrop for bold pops of vibrant colour which you can use to accessorise your workstation.  Keep your colours de minimus in a small space and just complement your desk furniture.  More room calls for more colour and so why not colour block one entire wall?
• Learn the language of colour, red for activity and intensity, yellow to trigger innovation, green is nature’s calmer
• De-clutter.  A disorganised desk or lots of junk can cast a real shadow over a workspace and make it an offputting and unappealing prospect.  Home organisation is essential and colour can be part of this with the Leitz WOW range.  Tidy up your office space with tailored filing systems, ring binders, lever arch files and dividers.  Matching desk products of stapler and hole punch in pink and yellow are sure to excite, while bookcases and office shelves can tidy away stationery but keep your colours on display
• Desktop colour can echo the tonal palette of your interior design linking a designated workspace within a living room or dining room  with a simple work station creating a seamless flow which is the hallmark of modern 21^st-century living.  There are no walls, a true reflection of living and working in the modern digital age

It’s official, bright spaces improve our mood and facilitate engagement, increase productivity and make for a better working from home experience.  Leading companies have spent years and equivalent amounts of money deciphering the importance of colour in branding and marketing; it’s actually quite a complex science. 

Google, that well-known internet giant of an organisation is famous for being a giant but also for its unusual office spaces all characterised by their strong use of colour. 

For help with your small or even grand home office ideas, Leitz WOW has done all the thinking for you making it easy to select colourful products which not only enhance your workspace but are thoughtfully functional and practical.  Remote working has never looked so stylish.