Biophilic Office Design: How to Create the Perfect Home Office

Outdoor office designed and styled by Yellow Brick Road Design. Photography by JLM productions

Biophilic office design is having a moment! With so many of us working from home now, it’s never been more important to ensure that we have a workspace or home office that is practical and meets our needs, but that also supports our mental health and wellbeing. Previously, if we even had a home office, it was probably used every now and then if we needed to do some extra work or we were lucky enough to have a boss who offered the flexibility of the off day or two working from home. So it didn’t really matter that much if this space wasn’t geared up properly. All that changed though, when the global pandemic forced us all out of the office and into our homes.

Many of us suddenly realised that we weren’t really equipped to work from home. Some didn’t have a dedicated workspace and found themselves relegated to the kitchen island, the dining table, a corner of the bedroom or worse still, the sofa.

Restrictions may be about to be lifted here in the UK, but the world of work has undergone some dramatic changes over the past year and a half with many companies realising that staff don’t need to be physically in their head office to get the work done. This realisation has led to the possibility of a more hybrid work model that allows people to split their week between the office and their home.

However, for those people who have embraced the work from home option and intend to do so in the future, it really is time to take a look at that home office and to think about creating a space that makes working from home more practical and more pleasurable. After all, the last thing anyone wants to do is recreate the corporate office at home. We have a huge opportunity here to create our ideal workspace, one that is comfortable, good for our mental health and wellbeing, and promotes productivity. This is where biophilic office design comes in.

I was inspired to write this post after a conversation I had with Caoimhe, Creative Director of Yellow Brick Road Design. It was just after the first lockdown when we’d all been working from home for a few months and had realised how important it is to create a better home office space. She wanted to create some content for her blog and do something a little bit different at the same time. Her aim was to recreate the optimal ‘Home Office’ environment as a benchmark and inspirational goal for home office design.

We had discussed how existing office space design is so outdated and how pointless it is trying to recreate this model in our own homes. “Instead we should be looking forward to create a space where we can reach the optimal ‘state of flow’ in a more natural and sustainable environment,” says Caoimhe.

Instead we should be looking forward to create a space where we can reach the optimal ‘state of flow’ in a more natural and sustainable environment

Caoimhe McKenna, Creative Director, Yellow Brick Road Design

Caoimhe reached out to a number of brands who kindly lent her items for this photoshoot which took place on Dartmoor. The brands include Crea-Re and their beautiful paper Mache pendant light, LifeStyle Garden for their Dura Ocean chair made from marine plastic waste and Earthcoat for the beautifully crafted Venetian Plaster backdrop.

Obviously setting up your home office outdoors isn’t practical, especially here in the UK where the weather often refuses to co-operate. Instead, Caoimhe is suggesting we use this set-up as visual inspiration for recreating the look and feel of this outdoor office for our own biophilic office design.

Inspiration for your Biophilic Office Design

Below I have put together a mood board featuring products that I think would give us a similar feel to working outdoors. I’ve included products that take inspiration from the many principles of biophilic design including the colours, shapes, materials and textures of nature. Just add into this lots of natural light, views of nature out of the window, perhaps the sounds of nature (birdsong or running water?) and maybe some natural scents (nature-inspired candles or a diffuser?) and you’re all set to create your own biophilic office design.

GET THE LOOK

1. Handmade Aged Metal Butterfly Mirror from Audenza, £198
2. Leven Drum Pendant from Tom Raffield, £165-£345
3. Tropical Cottage Palmera Cubana Fabric from Mindthegap, £109
4. Eichholtz Larabee Wall Light from Sweetpea & Willow, £460
5. Medium Monstera Deliciosa from Leaf Envy, £25
6. ‘Vintage Tiger’ Set of 3 Framed Prints Natural History Museum x MADE.com, £199 (affiliate)
7. Heather Office Chair Luxe Boucle Pink from Cult Furniture, £159
8. Bolsa leather and oak desk from Lagoon, £2928
9. Terra Floor Light by Serax from Negdis, £137
10. Reptilus Rug from Rug Society, £POA
11. Medium Peace Lily from Soho Home x Leaf Envy, £82
12. Wood & Rattan Storage Cabinet from Lime Lace, £304.20

If you’d like more biophilic office design inspiration for your home office, check out these images below.

Cuckooland Vox Worknest Desk with Slatted Screen (affiliate)

Left: Dobbies | Right: Dunelm

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