When you work in a home office, the character and quality of lighting in your workspace can help increase your productivity. If you don't have a lot of natural light, then artificial lights are even more important when considering workspace illumination. Many home offices have ambient lighting that includes overhead or recessed lights, but existing ambient lighting is not designed for functional lighting in the home office. Here are five points to consider when lighting an office for your home workspace.
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Keep Office Lights Indirect
Avoid working under the direct glare of overhead lights. Instead, look for ways to diffuse the ambient light that will illuminate your office space. Lampshades soften and scatter otherwise harsh light, while an upward-shining floor lamp bounces the light off of walls and ceilings. The goal is to illuminate the entire space without creating undue glare and contrast while avoiding casting shadows.
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Create Task Lighting
For computer work, paperwork, and other focus-intensive tasks, choose a well-defined light source dedicated to what you're doing. An adjustable or articulated desk lamp can put light exactly where you need it and support a variety of tasks.
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Eliminate Glare and Shadows
Always consider where your light is coming from: A light source set behind you as you work on your computer will almost certainly create an annoying glare on your monitor. Likewise, look out for unintended shadows cast by lamps set up for task lighting.
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Utilize Natural Light
Sunlight can produce warm lighting that improves the work environment. In general, it's best to have natural light in front of or next to work surfaces and computer screens to avoid glare and maximize your outside views. You can also position your workstation facing north or south so that the sunlight doesn't throw a shadow at any point in the day.
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Consider Decorative Office Lighting
Most home offices will feature ambient lighting that is diffused throughout the space and task lighting that is focused on specific workstations. Beyond these two functional lighting types, you may want to add decorative and accent lighting to help improve the visual character of your home office.
Reference: The Spruce