Workplaces have a direct impact on productivity, whether you’re a student typing out your Master’s thesis or a 12-year-old hacking away at those homework sums. Minimising clutter won’t achieve your goals, though. Homework space needs to be comfortable, organized, and pleasant. A spartan design feels too oppressive to encourage comfort and creativity, but an attractive one soothes exam nerves and enhances the lateral thinking needed to finish that art project. This part of your custom home could have more impact on your family’s future than any other room in the house.
Building a Holistic Homework Space
Inviting cerebral tasks into the bedroom makes for poor sleep hygiene. The place where your children sleep should feel restful. Associating it with work doesn’t allow them to shut off their tired brains once their homework is done. Today’s families are dedicating an entire room to the family’s deskwork, which allows plenty of space for group activities and shared projects. It also offers more floor room for casual, right-brained activities and art. Provide plenty of storage for books, games, art supplies, and computers. Then, add a cozy daybed or sofa to create the restful atmosphere needed for reading.
Light and Air
The work area in your custom home needs to be showered in natural light and ventilation, but this needn’t get in the way of your privacy. Skylights let sunlight in while keeping curious eyes out, but if you prefer a classic look, glazed or textured decorative glass does the job beautifully. A white translucent component is ideal and can be enhanced with the help of mirrors that reflect natural light.
Floating Furniture
If you prefer a modern aesthetic or need to build extra workstations into your room, floating desks keep your wall clutter-free. In a small room, they can be folded into the wall, accommodating storage space underneath. This needn’t be an exercise in modernism—a little extra warmth can be achieved with a wooden farmhouse design.
Involving the Children
Studies show that workers who help create their own office are 30% more productive, so involve your children in the design of this part of your custom home. Let them help choose the art, wall treatments, and furnishings. Better yet, frame their own art or personalized photographs for the walls, or ask them to create dream boards, inviting their grand hopes and goals into the space.
Modular Layouts that Age
Modular furniture systems allow children to rearrange their homework room as often as they choose, letting the décor age with them. It also lets them enhance their own comfort. Such furniture often comes with the extra bonus of providing hidden storage space to keep the room neat and productive. If you have a large enough garden, a flexible prefab cabin can take homework away from the living area, creating a silent hideaway for quiet concentration.
Vertical Space
Too many families forget to use their vertical space, and this is all the more important for shared workrooms. Adding platforms gives each child a semi-private space to work in, and the room below staircases is useful for shelving or storage. If you don’t have the luxury to build an entirely separate room for homework, lofts are the ideal way to build workspace into the bedroom without muddying sleep hygiene.
Creating the ideal homework requires having a vision and considering organization and functionality. As you’re adding this element into your custom home, Alair Homes is here to help. Contact us to schedule a consultation. today.