Home offices, unlike other domestic spaces, need to be designed to work as efficiently as possible rather than favoring comfort. In a living room or a bedroom, comfort should be given the lion’s share of the designer’s attention. However, the ability to provide a productive working environment is what home office design is all about.

That is not to say that aesthetic considerations don’t need to be taken on board. Even if your home office is part of another room, maybe a corner of one of your home’s reception rooms, it needs to be functional. Otherwise, you simply won’t use it and there will be little point in having a home office at all. A good working area is the key to most home offices.

For most of us that means a desk space that can accommodate a computer terminal, or two, and adequate storage space for paperwork and other office essentials. However, do not overlook the floor of a home office. By selecting the right flooring, you will set the right tone for the room. Most regular offices favor false floors so that cabling and services can be hidden beneath them. In most home offices this is too much, but what floor systems look good in a domestic work area as well as providing a good base for work?

Timber Floors.

Wooden floors have a classic appeal in many parts of a home and they certainly fit the bill in many home offices. If your office is part of an outbuilding, located in the garden, a timber floor is probably the best option. Timber, that shows of its natural grain and variation of color, really adds to the personality of a home office, particularly if there is more wood on show elsewhere. This is ideal if you use the space to meet and entertain clients. Wooden floors that are constructed from laminates are perfectly fine in home offices. You don’t need to lay expensive floorboards to get the right effect.

Carpet.

In a home setting carpet may seem more suitable for your office. Carpet offers warmth and is very forgiving when it comes to dust, compared with other flooring options. Carpet makes an office feel more homely, so is not suited to all business activities, but it may be very apposite depending on the nature of your work. Carpet tiles are relatively easy to lay and you don’t need to fill a room wall-to-wall with them to create some warmth. If you have swivel seats then make sure the carpet you select is hard wearing before purchasing it for a home office.

Perfect Parquet.

Made from stained veneers in contrasting colors, parquet flooring adds a touch of class to any home office. Good choices are oak, walnut cherry and maple. Parquet floors can be cleaned quite easily and are long lasting. Bamboo, though not really a wood, is a good sustainable alternative that looks great in a home office.

Concept Concrete.

Skimmed concrete is a hard wearing no-nonsense approach to a home office floor. Modern concrete floors are not dull gray. They reflect light and will have a varied number of tones that can even sparkle with subtle detailing. And it need not be gray at all, because concrete looks good if it is stained, too.

Floor Protection.

Office seats and desks, that are pushed around to reconfigure a room, will wear down your floor. More durable floors are therefore favorable. However, if you want to protect your flooring a little more, then there are plenty of mats that can look good as well as preserving the life of your floor covering.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.