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18 Jul 19

How to design your ultimate home workspace in the sky

The London Eye pod takeover - by Sophie Robinson and Fiverr to highlight the importance of how to get your home workspace work for you. #homeoffice #workspace #londoneye #sophierobinson

Probably one of my best jobs ever…I recently was invited to design my ultimate home office workspace, inside the London Eye! What a scoop, to get inside this London landmark and create a room set in my signature colourful style. I’m all up for design challenges but this was a first. Designing a room inside a glass curved pod, that rotates 360 degrees, well the challenge was unprecedented.

But first up, on with the brief. This was a great opportunity for me to really analyse what I need from my office design and how the design really affects my productivity, creativity and wellbeing. I have made it my mission to look deeply into how our interior spaces make us feel and arguably since we spend so much of our time at work, our workspaces surely demand the most thought and attention. The project was commissioned by online platform Fiverr. Their mission is to change how the world works together by connecting businesses of all sizes with freelancers offering digital services including graphic design, digital marketing, programming, video and animation. I myself have been freelance for fifteen years and have in that time either worked from a home office or a rented studio space. I’m passionate about being freelance. It’s offered me so many opportunities and linked me with loads of interesting and creative people. I was super chuffed to be working for a brand that cherishes and builds on these creative connections.

Office chair, upholstered in Les Fauves LF2093FR/004 Peacock by Linwood; Metallic purple and orange glass vase by Oliver Bonas; Alko round grey glass vase by Oliver Bonas; Flower plinth covered in, LA Sunset LW071/002 River wallpaper by Linwood . Flowers by Kate Langdale.

Fiverr have invested in some research that shows I’m not alone as data reveals 67% of Brits are thinking about quitting their jobs to go freelance. It’s fascinating to reveal that work habits are changing rapidly – as the data also shows nearly half of full-time workers (43%) have a side-hustle to help make extra income on top of their main job. And 77% of those asked prefer to work away from the office given the chance. The data also reveals that a new generation of millennial workers are shunning the traditional 9-5 with 8 out of 10 millennials (25-34 year olds) saying they prefer not to work in the office.

So with this research in mind, it couldn’t be a better time to discover what you can do to make your workspace the best place to be. My intentions when designing my workspace was that it reflected my personal style and my brand (hence, full on colour!). It was also a space where I could happily work alone or with colleagues and host meetings.

yellow curved misty armchair from habitat in the london eye creative studio designed by Sophie Robinson LED task floor lamp by HouseOf

LED task floor lamp by HouseOf; Misty yellow velvet armchair and footstool by Habitat; DLM side table by HAY; HAY One Limited Edition Speaker by Sonos

1. Natural light

Nobody feels creative when they’re sitting in the dark! Getting as much natural light as you can is crucial to feeling like you’re wide awake and ready to take on the day’s challenges. It boosts vitamin D production in your body – and helps your body’s natural rhythm keep in-sync, which is especially important for those of us who spend a lot of time flexi working around the clock. I went so far as putting large glazed doors onto the garden to get this effect in my own home office. However, the London Eye dishes up the daylight in spades! Just need your shades.

Metallic purple and orange glass vase by Oliver Bonas; Metallic blue and silver glass vase by Oliver Bonas; Lance pedestal table by Habitat; Box shelves, Painted in Ultra Blue by Little Greene;

A room with a view

If you can, try to place your work desk near a window. Of course, not everybody will be able to get the gorgeous London skyline yawning out into the distance from the spot they sit in to answer their emails. But even if it’s just a garden or a window box – a view that stretches out further than three feet in front of your face will give you something to look at and feel inspired by when you’re trying to hit that creative peak. Most of us now spend the vast majority of our working days staring at a screen but this short-range vision isn’t conducive to creative thinking.

Lance pedestal table by Habitat; APC Plastic dining chairs by Vitra; Kitty Joesph Chroma Primary 180cm Rug at Floor Story; Floral ‘cloud’ above table by Kate Langdale; Ceiling wallpapered in L A Sunset LW071/001 Blush by Linwood; Shade bin by HAY.

Visualise

As it’s important to have a break from the constant screen time, a great way to do that is to fill your workspace walls with pictures, visual ideas, mood boards, even artwork. Placing something into your environment that has real physical presence can make a real difference to your day, to your mood and your productivity. I work in a visual industry, so for me, images are an essential jumping off point too not only keep me inspired but also focused. You can do a vision board for any area of your work or life. Take a project and use images to represent your goals as we respond to pictures more powerfully than the written word. I have my colourful Betsy Benn yearly wall planner up where I can see it as it helps me to visualise what I have coming up even though all my appointments are managed on my digital calendar. Anything that stops me being too much in my ‘head’ helps me enormously.

Connect to nature

Biophilia is the scientific name for the love and connection we humans have for the natural world and is being implemented in the way we design our workspaces as it’s scientifically proven to reduce stress and enhance productivity. You can easily add the feel-good vibes by adding living plants and flowers to your desk and choose natural materials like wood and stone to furnish your space. Plants also improve the oxygen levels – because they breathe in the opposite way to us – Carbon Dioxide goes in, and Oxygen comes out. That means more fresh oxygen to power your creative mind when you’re in the zone. I have a window full of plants in my home office but for this project, I created the wow with floral installations created by Kate Langdale, with leaves spray painted in my signature colours. The floral cloud Kate suspended over the desk area is an incredible focal point in the pod and it fulfils my mission that workspaces should be just as inspiring and stylish as any other room in your home.

Flower plinth covered in LA Sunset LW071/002 River wallpaper by Linwood; flowers by Kate Langdale

Invest in your space

It’s important to recognise that if you’re a home worker or freelancer, you’ll be spending a pretty large proportion of your day in your workspace. It’s vitally important that you invest some time, and even money, into making it as interesting and useful as it can possibly be. That means getting yourself a comfy chair, organising your space so you have plenty of storage to keep the clutter out of sight, and having an inspiring view and/or a visualisation wall. I invest in colourful stationery, objects, and accessories to furnish my office. Even my notebooks that I use daily are in a design that makes me feel happy and energised.

Paint Chip Colour Swatch Wall Planner by Betsy Benn; Mint stationery by HAY

Keep moving

When I’m working at home I’ll often go from the desk to the sofa, to the kitchen table, and back again all in search of a creative spark or feeling energised. Try to build as much opportunity for movement into your workspace, so that you’ll have the opportunity to freshen up your perspective when you’re hard at work. Again movement has been proven to enhance our wellbeing, stress levels and improve our productivity. If all else fails my most useful work hack is to take my shoes and socks off and take a short walk on the grass. Then I come back to my desk and nail it!

Address book

Betsy Benn, betsybenn.com

Fiverr, fiverr.com

Floor Story, floorstory.co.uk

HAY, hay.dk

Kate Langdale, instagram.com/katelangdaleflorist

Little Greene, littlegreene.com

Oliver Bonas, oliverbonas.com

Vitra, vitra.com/en-gb

Habitat www.habitat.co.uk

This blog post comes to you as part of a paid partnership with Fiverr.

 

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Why you should invest in a patterned floor Mid century modern, #dolessharm and garden updates – show notes S4 Ep1

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DAY 18 of #easywininteriors and I’m getting the DAY 18 of #easywininteriors and I’m getting the paintbrush out! Giving old and unappreciated brown furniture of coat of colour is not just easy but quick too and you get ooodles of satisfaction giving something a new lease of life. Since the sun is starting to poke it’s head out it’s the perfect opportunity to fling open the windows, roll out the dust sheet, and calm your senses with the therapeutic strokes of a paint brush. I transformed these battered old Ercol chairs that I found at a car boot sale with an undercoat of Zinsser and a top coat of eggshell so they really can withstand the knocks. ( here’s a tip, use a sag brush for spindly furniture) I love how the pink legs pick up on the pink in the wallpaper. I’ve got a couple of pots of chalk paint waiting in the wings. This just might be the weekend to tackle the bedside tables at last! Have a wonderful weekend  and I hope the sun shines on you wherever you are! 

CREDITS Reclaimed terracotta tiles @ca_pietra_  Borastapeter Rubarber wallpaper @wallpaperdirect Clock @newgateclocks Doors painted in Rose Ash Light @sanderson1860 Everything else is vintage 

#easywininteriors #kitchen #countrykitchen #upcycle #upcycledfurniture #countryliving #countrylivingmodernrustic #countrykitchen #greenkitchen #greenandpink #interiorinspo #interiordesign
DAY 17 of #easywininteriors is all about making do DAY 17 of #easywininteriors is all about making do with what you’ve got and making it work. For most of us, decorating our home and choosing all the things we want to go with it is a long if not a life time journey and there are plenty of compromises along the way. One of the ways I make do with things I’m less happy about is with distraction. You can use colour to draw the eye and highlight the bits you do like and similarly blend away the areas that need to fade into the back ground. For me joinery, radiators and my unattractive windows all get painted in the same colour so they fall to the background and then the cushions and artwork can come to the fore and catch your eye. I painted these lovely old solid wood doors bright yellow on a whim with some left over paint. It was a quick and easy way to inject a burst of  colour joy. So don’t discount doors and architraves as a fun way to play with colour, but only if you have nice ones. 
On the PODCAST today @mad_about_the_house and I discuss more ways you can make do. I interview leading interior designer and queen of colour and pattern @nicolahardingandco who has amazing insights on how to go about planning your schemes, conjure mouthwatering colour palettes and work with what you’ve got. And our style surgery is from Callum who finds himself stuck with a shiny blue green sofa which he doesn’t love and doesn’t know what to put with. Obviously cover it with cushions and distract the eye with A bright yellow door Callum! 

If you have a question for our style surgery do please send it in as we are lining them up for the next series and we’d love to hear from you! Drop us an email to thegreatindoorspod@gmail.com.You can here all our ramblings and insights on today’s show The Great Indoors and thankyou to @katetaylorldn for producing the show. 

#thegreatindoors #bluesofa #yellowdoor #banthebeige #interiorspodcast #podcast #interiordesign #interiorinspo
DAY 16 of #easywininteriors and I’m extolling th DAY 16 of #easywininteriors and I’m extolling the benefits of an occasional chair. I’ve always loved occasional chairs primarily for their decorative function. I’m a patterned fabric addict and so an occasional chair I’d another opportunity to add more pattern, more colour and another cushion to boot! But during these extended periods of lock down and staying at home I’ve appreciated the quiet little corners they offer. I’m lucky enough to find a space for one here on my landing but they can also find a home in a bedroom, a home office, under the stairs or indeed #lifegoals in the bathroom. So rather than playing second fiddle to THE SOFA put your occasional chair in pride of place and grab yourself 5 minutes solitude! Most of mine are junk shop funds bought back to live with my hoarded stash of remnant fabrics. So it’s time to raid grannies attic and  create a seat that makes you smile . 🥰  use the hashtags #easywininteriors to share your favourite corners of escape.

#easywininteriors #vintagearmchair #armchair #occassionalchair #colourlover #banthebiege
DAY 15 of #easywininteriors and I’m having a re DAY 15 of #easywininteriors  and I’m having a reshuffle on the bookcase to celebrate the happy Back To School vibes! 🙌 YES! This one is a work in progress because sorting your books as to the spine colour can be really meditative! I’m excited for you guys to share your colour coded bookcases using the hashtag #easywininteriors because I’ve seen some amazing examples on here! This idea can also include colour coding your ornaments or glassware collection too. Somehow grouping them in blocks  just intensifies the colour and I love the 🌈 effect. Happy faffing! 

#interiorinspo #interiorstyling #colourlover #banthebeige #faffthegaff #bookshelf #shelfie #shelfiestyling #rainbow #rainbowstyle #mycolourfulinterior #colourfulhomevibe
DAY 13 of #easywininteriors and Sundays here are o DAY 13 of #easywininteriors and Sundays here are often the day I get the house in order before the week starts again. It’s laundry day, the on-line shop gets done and if I can be bothered I might do some batch cooking. 💪 But the garden is also pulling our attention at this time of year and I spent yesterday picking up twigs that have littered the garden after the high winds and piled it all up for kindling. Satisfying! I’m not a naturally tidy or organised person  but I do feel like I’m winning at life once chores have been done and everything is in it’s place. And here lies the easy win. If you have systems in place it makes it so much easier! This shoe storage was game changing. Before the hall was littered with shoes and bags that I was always tripping over. So planning your storage and then using it is key to creating order and an element of calm. And once the storage is fit to bursting, it’s time to have a declutter. How do you keep the house feeling orderly and calm and do you use Sunday as a Sort It day too? #sortitsunday 

CREDITS walls in Lazuli and woodwork in Perfect white @zoffanyfw . Havana Bauta cement Tiles @claybrookstudio . Fabrics are vintage and @thestripescompany . Stair runner @roger_oates 

#easywininteriors #colourlover #banthebeige #hallwaydecor #hallway #interiorinspo #declutter #storageideas #shoestorage
DAY 12 of #easywininteriors and I’m back in the DAY 12 of #easywininteriors and I’m back in the bedroom and enjoying a well earned lie in this morning! My morning routine has been really important to me during lock down. In  his brilliant book ‘think like a monk’ @jayshetty talks about how a positive morning ritual sets you up for the day. Similarly a good night time ritual sets you up for a good nights sleep. Styling up your bedroom  to support these ideas really helps! I’ve taken to setting my wake up alarm an hour before the rest of the house so I can enjoy some quiet solitude before the day gets going. I make my coffee in my favourite mug and spend a while reading or exercising. But no phone scrolling! My bedside is laid out with everything I need including a big pile of books and a dish for my watch and specs. I charge my phone in the kitchen to keep it away from temptation! Admittedly I’ve never had a problem sleeping but I was hardly what you’d call a morning person. Now it’s my favourite time of the day! Have a gorgeous lazy weekend folks x

CREDITS wallpaper @mollymahonblockprinting bedside table is vintage. Lamp @pookylights Vases and dishes all vintage. Pillows and duvet @cocoandwolf Flat sheet and bedthrow @societyofwanderers 

#easywininteriors #bedroomdecor #countrybedroom #colourfiedhomes #colourstylehome #colourlover #banthebeige #patternclash #interiorstyling #interiordesign #interiorinspo #faffthegaff
DAY 11 of #easywininteriors and we are over half w DAY 11 of #easywininteriors and we are over half way there! Whoop whoop, March is  just nine short days away! And I can feel the Spring vibes! It’s getting lighter, the bluebells are coming and the birds are singing! But back to it, we’ve got work to do! Today I’m sharing how I switch my home from working day to home time, without leaving the house. It’s so important for our mental health that we can make that transition. I’ve worked from home for years so I’ve always done this, but I find it essential to tidy my desk/kitchen table at the end of everyday and get it out of sight. This often means piling up all my paper work, laptop, pen pot and putting it all into a tray. And if you don’t have a deep tray a cardboard box does the job. Then hide it in the cupboard, pop it on a shelf or slide it under the table. The key is that you can’t see it and it doesn’t encroach on your non-work life. Out of sight out of mind kind of thing. 
And you might notice in the back of this shot is my 2021 vision board. I keep this in my view everyday as it helps keep me focused, uplifted and motivated. Im hosting a live webinar next Tuesday on how and why I create vision boards for every aspect of my life, including my interiors. If you’d like to join me it’s 7pm 23/02/21 and I can promise a fun, creative and enlightening evening! Link to book is up in my bio if you fancy getting a boost of inspiration towards creating your dream home. 

Happy Friday and have a lovely weekend 😍

#workingfromhome #myhomeoffice #interiorstyling #visionboard #interiorinspo #interiorinspiration #homeoffice #creativeworkspace #colourlover #colourcolorlovers #banthebeige
DAY 9 of #easywininteriors and I’m going to make DAY 9 of #easywininteriors and I’m going to make it super easy after yesterday’s kitchen cupboard love, which I’ll be honest, felt a bit strenuous! So today is all about creating as simple but effective styling moment; a trio of vases. Three seems to be the magic number when it comes to styling your objects and I have a few tips . I like to make sure there is a mixture of sizes, colour and textures but all held together with a theme. These three work because they’re  all vintage, Picked up from various car boot sales over the years! You can create little trios all over your home from the sideboards, book shelves, worktops, bathrooms and side tables. Push the tall one to the back and bring the small one to the fore but it’s the lack of symmetry that makes it pleasing. And you don’t have to stop with just vases, a trio of objects works with picture frames, ornaments and candle sticks too. 

#easywininteriors #vintagestyle #howivintage #myvintagehome #interiorstyling #interiorstyle #interiorinspo #colourlover #banthebeige
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