Tips – Home Office Lighting

The home office is this kind of somewhat small space at home where you can sit for a while to do (usually) some computer work. This space is obviously different from a normal office space. So, there are some rules you should follow for the lighting of this precious place at home.

Firstly, let’s check the space design. There are a few things which are common on such spaces: the desk usually faces a wall, there are some shelves for storage or for decoration objects around, sometimes there’s a pin or white board which you might want to highlight. Most of the times, this space is not close to a window, which is a shame, as this is our first lighting tip:

• Place the home office close to a window, in such way that you are neither facing it nor with your back to it. There are two reasons for that: if you are facing the window and working at daytime, the window might appear too bright and therefore there will be too much contrast in your field of vision. If you have your back to the window you might not get the chance to rest your eyes looking outside, and the window might be reflected onto your screen. Monitor work requires some focus change for the eye and a window is the best way to give this long distance focus change you need.

The second tip is regarding the background contrast:

• If you don’t have the chance to sit next to a window, it is important that you avoid high contrasts between your monitor screen and the wall behind it. If there’s too much contrast, your eyes get rapidly tired. The lighting tip in this case would be to light the wall or wash it with light, so the contrast is minimised and you still get useful light for your desk. Use either the shelves or the ceiling to position (or hide) this light.

The third tip is about task lights. Task lights are a very helpful lighting equipment when you are doing work which requires more light, or even when you just need a bit of extra light. For that light there are thousands of design options you can choose from. The luminaire can be a decorative or a design element, but think about the following:

• Choose a task light that is flexible (arms and head are adjustable). That way, you can target/direct the light where you need it, without having it throwing light everywhere.
• To avoid getting glared by the task light, choose one that gives direct light, i.e. is not a glowing object. Otherwise your eyes will be strained trying to adjust all the time from a brighter (luminous) surface to a darker (working) surface. And avoid looking into the light source! With the luminaire flexibility you will place the light in such way that you don’t get glared!

And you might also want some fun and decorative lighting elements. Here, I’m just showing integrated lighting which is “hidden” inside the shelves to highlight or give some back light to decoration objects. In that sense, this is the fourth tip:

• Decorative lighting can be lighting which is integrated into the furniture (in that case shelves) or even a decorative luminaire or light object that you like to have in the space and give some personality to your home office.
• Decorative lighting can also be lighting which is highlighting decorative objects, as in the image above. Make use of small recessed spotlights if your space is restricted.

That’s it! We hope you have enjoyed the tips and please leave us your comments.

And let us know:

• if you need some help with your space;
• if you would like further tips on the lighting equipment;
• if you have tried our tips!

See you in the next post.

#thelightingtips © all rights reserved

(((This blog is not sponsored. The ideas shown here are our own and based on years of experience working with light and talking to users. If you have any questions or comments, please let us know. We’re happy to help.)))