Interiors

Remotely comfortable: Four home office pieces that work

Best in class: Make your home office work for you

The Humanscale Freedom chair from Bushell Interiors has won more than 10 design awards and is a really good mid-market buy.

Alanna Gallagher's face
Alanna Gallagher
Sat Mar 28 2020 - 07:00

1. BEST FOR YOUR BUTTOCKS

Working from home is tough and requires willpower and a well-padded seat to make it work. Timber-seat kitchen chairs are just too hard to spend hours in. For sheer buttock bliss, Charles and Ray Eames Aluminium Group chairs are an executive standard and will support every fibre of your being. They come in a dizzying array of options with prices for the EA108 starting from €2,132, including VAT, for entry-level leather, to order from Minima.

At the more affordable end of the spectrum, Ikea sells a really smart office chair that is height adjustable, offers lumbar support and has lockable tilt functions to improve stability. Its mesh back is also breathable. It costs €150 and comes in grey or black options and is available for home delivery.

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The Neptune Chichester helps keep the house tidy from office clutter. Team it with a well-padded Henley dining chair.

Bushell Interiors has a whole section of its business dedicated to office fit-outs. Its Humanscale Freedom chair, €984, by Niels Diffrient has won more than 10 design awards and is a really good mid-market buy. The firm is busy selling Every chairs, by Interstuhl, from €448, to Facebook and Google employees working from home. minimahome.com; ikea.com/ie/en/; bushellinteriors.com

2. BEST FOR THE ATTIC

Large Velux rooflights will help light your way to work in your converted attic.

If you're one of the lucky households to have converted your attic space, now is the time to claim this as an adults only environment. Boot the kids down to the good rooms and escape the sounds and interference of everyday life in this lofty location. Large Velux rooflights will help light your way but you'll also need furniture that is portable enough to make it up the narrow staircase. Habitat sells a selection of swish desks that have glass tops, 160cm by 80cm, and corner trestle bases that you can carry up the stairs and offer good legroom. Kusken, about €347, comes with walnut-stained bases, while Nic, €282, has black steel frames. Both prices are ex delivery. habitat.co.uk

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3. BEST FOR UNDER THE STAIRS

The Bolitzo desk from Argos will fit into most small spaces.

Another space that will work as an impromptu office is under the stairs. It allows you to close the hall doors, shutting out or at least dampening the ambient noise in open-plan areas, and may even feel familiarly like your cubicle at work – if your understairs is open, as pictured. Stock levels are low but try to get your hands on Argos' Bolitzo (cat no 916/3838), pictured. Its slim surface is only 40cm deep and 100cm long, and it will fit into most small spaces. Other desks worth ordering include its trestle-base (cat no 616/9639) which is 140cm by 60cm and for bedrooms its Loft living corner unit (cat no 735/1587), €120, is 80cm across and has a similar depth. Argos.ie

4. BEST WAY TO KEEP TIDY

The Neptune Chichester helps keep the house tidy from office clutter. Team it with a well-padded Henley dining chair.

There's no denying that working from home leads to a more cluttered type of living if you don't have a dedicated room to call your office. For those of you who can't bear clutter, Neptune Chichester deluxe model is packed with clever features, has shelving for paperwork and, best of all, shuts away to hide the work behind closed doors when you want to return to family life. It is priced at €3,640 and is pictured here with a well-padded Henley dining chair, from €510. neptune.com