Top tips for sprucing up your workspace

Your workspace should be creative, inspiring and most importantly practical. It should inspire you to take on each new project, task or challenge with an open mind and assist in getting the creative juices flowing to keep you motivated and excited. Whether you work in an office or at home, if you’re finding your workspace to be a place for procrastinating and productivity is low, then perhaps it’s time for a change. Sometimes though, it’s hard to know where to begin… so to get you off on the right track here are my top tips for sprucing up your tired and uninspiring workspace.

Moodboard

​The first step of any creative project is determining the look and feel you want to achieve by compiling a moodboard. There is no point diving straight into something without a clear vision; otherwise it will end up a mishmash of ideas that were probably good in theory, but not so great when actually applied. Many creative people find moodboards a very useful tool when developing concepts and ideas. A moodboard consists of images, text and samples of objects that you find inspiring or are simply just drawn to. Once you have the images compiled I guarantee there will be a common theme or look that will shine through to give you some style direction for your new workspace.

Image sourced from Pinterest

Colour

A big driver when it comes to creative thinking is colour, as each colour evokes a different feeling and/or emotion. Some people prefer crisp white walls in their creative spaces as they represent a blank canvas for their ideas. But when deciding on a colour scheme for your new workspace ensure you refer back to your moodboard, and try to think outside the box. Blackboard walls are fantastic for jotting down ideas, motivational quotes or can simply be a spot to doodle on. I also love displaying small-scale artwork in my workspace as it can be rotated when I need a new creative burst or have a new favourite piece.

​Image sourced from Pinterest

Lighting

One of the most important aspects of any space, especially a workspace, is lighting. Natural light is key, but if you don’t have a window close by or your workspace is naturally dark then adequate task lighting is essential. Desk lamps can be a great and fast solution for instant task lighting, however if you’re the type of person who needs as much desk space as possible, then a directional floor lamp is a great option. Sometimes all you need to update your workspace is to de-clutter and add a single new object such as a lamp.

​Image sourced from Pinterest

Storage

I could talk for hours about the importance of storage and I firmly believe you can never have enough. And when it comes to your workspace, it’s vital to have a space for each item to be stored as a messy desktop is bad for productivity. That aside, having somewhere for all those things like files, sketches, letters, stationery and other bits and pieces to be stored also gives you piece of mind that nothing will be misplaced or accidently thrown away. There are many different options nowadays for storage in creative spaces including overhead cupboards, shelves, storage cubes, and drawers, shelving units – the list goes on. Just make sure that whatever storage option you choose is functional and represents your style identified in your moodboard.

Image sourced from Pinterest