Neluka Leanage, Urban Researcher and Designer – Episode 5 – Home Office Design For Success Series Video Recap
GUEST:
Neluka Leanage, Urban Researcher and Designer Waterloo, Ontario Canada
Episode Title:
URBAN RESEARCHER & DESIGNERS NEEDS CALM IN THE SEA OF HOME OFFICE CHAOS
Dolores and Najeeb, the Home Office Success Series Team to the rescue
What You’ll Learn From This Episode?
Manage paper chaos to achieve organized calm
Low wraparound bookcases or cupboards offer a clean look and lots of storage
Cubbies, the answer to being organized
Lighting tips and tricks to look powerful for your Zoom meeting
Neluka’s Story
Neluka is an internationally known urban researcher and designer. She is the Founder & CEO of SafeGround, a company devoted to designing safer and smarter places for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. She owns her home in Waterloo, Ontario.
What Bothers Neluka About Her Workspace?
Neluka located her home office on the main floor in a nook at the foot of the stairs. She needs to walk through the kitchen to her home office space. A door that is rarely used leads to the outside.
There is no separation from her workspace and the rest of the living and dining areas. Her work area is full of clutter. Papers just pile up and become a tedious job to sift thru. This causes her stress and anxiety. She finds it very difficult to be productive.
Neluka admits that her furniture does look ugly and that a single tall bookcase located in the living area sticks out like a sore thumb.
While Neluka works, she is accompanied by her elderly dog. Admittedly, he does take up a lot of space in her home office. She does not want to work out her bedroom because it is too difficult for her dog to travel up and down the stairs, so he camps out in the living area next to the office. (Dolores and Najeeb never did find out the name of her four-legged companion.)
Budget?
Right now, Neluka has a budget for paint and decoration.
She is open to suggestions that would make her life easier and is serious about employing the changes suggested during this session.
How Could Home Office Planning & Design Improve Neluka’s Life?
She would love to have her environment match her actual enthusiasm for her work. Able to turn off work and separate work from other aspects of life.
What Does Neluka Want To See In Her Home Office?
Simply, she wants to organize the mess so that she can find something.
Second, she wants to separate her living-dining space from her home office.
What Did Dolores And Najeeb Do?
Before meeting up with Neluka, Dolores and Najeeb reviewed her floor plans and photographs. They also carefully studied her needs and space requirements.
Later the three connected through Zoom to discuss and plan Neluka's home office and living space.
Room / Space Description
Neluka's home office is located on the main floor of the house in a nook at the foot of the stairs.
The area is an open plan containing a living and dining space.
The rear door, located behind the sofa, opens to the yard. It is next to the home office.
A staircase leads to the 2nd-floor bedrooms. Parallel to those, are stairs leading to the basement.
Large window with lots of natural light.
HOME OFFICE INTERIOR DESIGN PROCESS:
Seeing her space, Najeeb asked her to explain her organizational system. He noticed that the books and papers are very messy and chaotic. She explained that her Ph.D. work is located to the side and is not accessed regularly. She thought about putting all of these items in a file cabinet so she could get them up and off the floor.
Layout #1
There is an alcove at the foot of the stairs where her home office is located.
Dolores and Najeeb suggested that her desk be located against the wall. She can place a desk and tables to span the width of the alcove. Another table to the side where she could place her printer for easy access.
Above the desk area, she can have a series of cubbies spanning end to end fixed to the wall. All of the papers and files will be within arm's reach. She will have an uncluttered desk for her laptop, monitor and any other tech required.
Cubby box shelves are a great way to utilize and be efficient with vertical spaces. Moving paperwork and files up off the desk. Whatever you put in them makes everything look organized and tidy.
She agrees that this would be most useful. Her architectural professor at Ryerson also implemented the use of cubbies. He found it the most useful piece of furniture that he owned.
Najeeb and Dolores see lots of room for storage under the tables. They recommend that Neluka buy small filing cabinets that can be tucked under the tables. Cabinets with casters make items easier to access.
Wrapping fabric-coved bulletin boards and placing them between the desk and cubbie area completes the set. Here she can put stickes and pin whatever she wants as visual reminders.
There is a duct to the left interrupting the wall. Here she can place a low shelving unit to complete the wraparound look. The nook can be custom designed to neatly fit into the space. Neluka can invest in a screen to close off her work area from the living and dining spaces.
Fortunately, there is a large window that generates plenty of natural light. But because the light source is behind her, Neluka is cast in shadow making her look dark and ominous. To counter this, locate a light source such as an 18 inch LED ring light or a soft box, to the side. This light will be flattering eliminating harsh shadows. It is best to have lighting on both sides and the front to eliminate the face properly.
Najeeb cautions her to be aware of what she has in the background because this will create a backdrop for her Zoom calls. She needs to improve the wall behind her to provide a pleasant background for her viewers.
At the end of the day, Neluka can hide her workspace with a folding screen to help separate the living and dining areas.
Layout #2
Najeeb and Dolores looked at the dining area as a possible office space. Neluka wanted to keep the living area with the L-shaped sofa as-is, knowing that this is where her elderly dog likes to hang out. Since the dining area is rarely used, it seemed like the next logical place to set up an office area.
First, install low table height cupboards spanning the dining and living area. This offers a nice horizontal line, making the area look uniform.
A rectangular table set perpendicular to the low wall unit allows Neluka to look out the window while working. She needs to be mindful of the view behind her, being careful what she places there so that her background displays a professional look.
This window is a dominant light source lighting her face for her Zoom calls. A secondary light source needs to be placed to the side will balance the lighting giving her face dimensionality.
Dolores drew up two elevations of the longwall giving Neluka an idea of what is possible. She can have bookshelves above, spanning the two areas. This concept can be applied to full-height built-in units. There are several design options to accommodate a television, art or anything else she would like to display.
Using the dining area requires that Neluka adopt a clean desk policy. Clearing up any work-related items at the end of the day. The workspace can be converted back to a dining function when required. Neluka can place all her papers in the low shelving unit. Cupboard doors can hide all the mess, appearing neat and tidy.
This ritual is a very worthwhile habit to develop when you don't have a separate room for your home office.
OTHER ITEMS DISCUSSED
Neluka was happy to have someone objective to present other well-thought-out options for all the spaces.
Other Uses For The Nook
The nook at the foot of the stairs can be a full-height closet or pantry-style cabinet. This can provide much-needed storage.
The Awkward Back Door
The back door leading to the outside can be converted to a glass door allowing more light into the room and illuminating the nook at the foot of the stairs. However, the door should be made of obscure glass keeping safety and security top of mind. Neluka will need to consult with the condo board to make sure that it meets the rules of the building.
How Can Neluka Look More Effective While On A-Zoom Call?
Neluka feels that she did not present well on an international panel via Zoom. She looked a tad ghoulish and didn't know how to address this. When Dolores and Najeeb discussed lighting, she realized that she needed to make more of an effort with proper lighting set-up and be mindful of her background. (see Zoom tips below)
Which Office Layout Did Neluka Choose?
While each option provided benefits, ultimately it made sense to locate the home office at the foot of the stairs. Separating her work from her living area.
Also, she liked the possibility of having two work areas. She can move to the dining area to suit her mood or circumstances.
Dolores and Najeeb recommended that Neluka experiment with the different layouts before having someone come in and build custom cabinetry.
Neluka is happy and says,
“Thank you so much, Najeeb and Dolores! Super to meet you to listen to your ideas and see your sketches. I loved seeing both of your setups for ideas too.
WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THE URBAN RESEARCH & DESIGNER NEEDS CALM IN THE SEA OF HOME OFFICE CHAOS EPISODE?
Proper Planning & Layout
Spaces can be multi-functional and can accommodate your different needs. Review all the functions that the room will perform. This will enable you to create different setups.
Custom Cabinetry
Custom cabinetry helps maximize your storage space and can be designed to suit your workflow and style.
Cabinetry is available at different price points. Coming in a variety of heights and price ranges. Materials and finishes vary to suit your budget.
Closed cabinets vs open cabinets? Too many cupboard doors visually close off a space. It's best to have a combination of open and closed units for visual interest. Open units can house objects that you would like to see daily.
Before planning for a custom solution take an inventory of the items to determine your storage and display needs and what type of storage you'll need.
Folding Screens Can Separate Work / Life Areas
A screen that can be moved to close off and camouflage your work area is a worthwhile investment.
Cubbies Are The Answer To Being Organized
A cubbie is a small box-like storage space. Everything looks clean, tidy and elegant when placed in a cubbie. A place for everything and everything in its place.
People gather material and group things on what makes sense to them. Groupings of papers or objects that have meaning for them. They can quickly access materials when needed.
Cubbies can have cabinet fronts for a cleaner look. But then become a closed cabinet and defeating the main objective of a cubby.
Clean Desk Ritual To Relieve Stress
Start the day with a clear desk and complete the day by clearing up your space from any work-related materials. This means, for example, disposing of Post-It notes, keeping written notes off to one side or placed in a drawer, and ensuring that any removable stuff isn’t just lying around.
This ritual is a very worthwhile habit to develop when you don’t have a separate room for your home office. This starts and ends your day mentally and spiritually.
Practised daily it becomes a Zen ritual that helps relieve stress.
Lighting For Zoom
Use the natural light coming from your window to enhance your features. Place LED ring lights to the side to help outline facial features. Using LED ring lights in front of you flattens your features.
Zoom Background Reflects Your Brand
Be mindful of what is placed in the background. Styled properly, it will create an enhanced positive message for you. Remember that your Zoom image is part of your brand.
Would you like to have your very own home office reviewed by Dolores and Najeeb?
Check Out The Home Office for Success Series (HOSS) Web Page:
https://www.teamland.com/resources/home-office-for-success-series
Watch: Episode #5 Neluka
Dolores Pian, Principal & Registered Interior Designer, Baa Arido – Design Reclaiming Time
Najeeb Khan, Head Of People & Remote Of Teamland / Teamland – Team Culture Platform
Dolores Pian is a Master Interior Designer who crafts luxury residences, penthouses and purse parking. Successful people seek her expertise to Design Reclaiming Time ©
Because time is their truest luxury.
Drop her an e-mail to say hello and let her know what you thought of this blog post.
Dolores Pian’s blog posts are meant to inform and entertain. Please consult Dolores Pian directly if you need any specific information for your specific spaces.
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