Once upon a time, remote work and a well-appointed home office were uncommon luxuries for the average professional, rather than the standard or the norm. That time has clearly passed! Home offices are more common than ever. But, with any new norm comes expected growing pains. Designing your own ideal home workspace doesn’t have to be complicated. It may seem obvious in hindsight, but many of us learned the hard way that dining room chairs are not suited to eight hours of computer work, or that pushing a desk into an empty corner of our bedrooms doesn’t necessarily mean our brains are suddenly going to see this room as a place for work rather than rest.

If you’ve been making do with a slapdash home office for the past few years, you’re probably ready for a change, and a more permanent and productive setup for your life on the clock. With a little bit of forethought and this handy guide full of actionable home office ideas and design tips, your haphazard home workspace will be a thing of the past!

What’s the Best Lighting for a Home Office?

The proper lighting for your home office may seem like a secondary concern next to the perfect desk and a comfortable chair, but well-designed lighting can truly make or break any space in your home. The positioning, brightness, and color temperature of your home office lighting will all play a role in how comfortable the area ultimately is. The right lighting layers will reduce eye strain and fatigue, help you focus, and look great all at the same time. Use the lighting ideas in this design guide to determine the best lighting for your office, and create a space that is comfortable and conducive to workday productivity!

Study Ceiling & Wall Lights

When planning the lighting layout of your workspace, ambient lighting is an easy place to start. To light a room effectively, you should consider the three categories of lighting any well-designed room has. Ambient lighting refers to the general, base layer of light in your room, usually achieved with ceiling lights, sconces, and occasionally floor or table lamps.

How you position your office ambient lighting sources within your room will have a notable effect on the comfort and feel of the room. Aim to reduce glare, harsh shadows, and bright bulbs in your line of sight. Choose home office ceiling lights with diffusers, and home office sconces and wall lights that cast light on the walls or ceiling, allowing it to bounce around the room rather than aiming a spotlight at your desk. Be sure the lights aren’t positioned to shine directly on your computer screen where they will create glares, or behind it, where the light will cause strain on your eyes.

While the positioning of your light fixtures has a huge impact on the functionality of your room, the style and look of your home office ceiling and wall lights is entirely up to you! Warm brass and gold tones will give your space a refined, sophisticated look, or you can keep it sleek and modern with rich black, bronze or even chrome. For a truly unique take, consider accenting the home decor in your office with light fixtures in funky pops of color, like serene blues and vibrant reds and oranges. The important thing is to make this space your own—you’ll likely be spending a lot of time here, and the more comfortable you are with the feel of the room, the more pleasant and productive your workdays will be!

This quirky ceiling light makes a statement with calming warm tones and white globe shades that scatter the light and reduce eye fatigue.

For rooms with lower ceilings, this slim fixture has a modern, unfussy silhouette, with just a pop of gold to keep things interesting. And the 3000K integrated LED is the perfect color temp to keep you alert and productive throughout your workday.

The subtle traditional/transitional design of the Tracie Sconce is right on trend for rooms with classic inspiration. The white glass shade softens the light, so you get the perfect ambiance for your space.

Whenever possible, install hard-wired fixtures on dimmers, giving you complete control over your room, and be sure to utilize any natural light available to you. Choose lightbulbs or LED fixtures with color temps around 3000k-4000k; these bulbs will be cooler, with higher numbers resembling natural sunlight, and should help keep you vibrant and productive throughout the day. Lower color temps are warmer, and may induce sleepiness as the day goes on, so avoid bulbs labeled ‘warm white’ for home office use!

Reading & Desk Lamps

Floor, table, and desk lamps are essential for the perfect home office design. If you’re unable to use ceiling lights or sconces to create your ambient lighting layer, floor lamps and table lamps with shades are the best alternatives. If you already have ambient lighting covered, reading floor lamps and desk lamps (or possibly swing arm sconces) address your next lighting layer needs: task lighting.

Task lighting is exactly what it sounds like—illumination that shines a spotlight on workspaces. If you work with physical (as opposed to digital) papers and pages, like to handwrite your daily ‘to do’ list, or plan to complete any drawing, drafting, or crafting at your workspace, adjustable task lighting is absolutely essential. Look for fixtures that can be aimed directly at your desk so you can see all the minutiae of your work.

Lamps, multi-functional as they are, also make great accent lights! If your task and ambient lighting needs have been met, but your space still feels a little flat, petite accent lights bring a subtle, soothing glow, and can be positioned anywhere you need a hint of extra light. For example, while you don’t want a bright light shining at you from behind your computer screen, a warm, gentle glow positioned behind your monitor can further help reduce eye strain if the area around your screen is cast in shadow.

Simplified shapes and subtle details allow the Otis Table Lamp to stand above the rest. Brass spheres at the ends of the pull-chains match the decorative finial, while perforated holes punctuate the bottom of the shade, making an elaborate fixture that expertly illuminates a room.

The classic design of this pharmacy floor reading lamp is a must have for trendy traditional-inspired spaces, and the light can be easily directed at your work with the adjustable shade angle.

Boasting a trendy mushroom silhouette, Rowena is a modern marvel. Its metallic base contrasts with the glossy glass shade, adding a bold touch to your side table or credenza.

Office Decor & Accent Furniture