Interior designer Louise Norton let us take a peak at her stylish home office in Dublin 3. Here she shares her thoughts on working from her casa...
Working from home:
I do some work from home every day and spend some time on site too. Both myself and my partner, Gareth, use the office though I use it more than he does. I’m usually in the office in the morning and then again in the late afternoon. I try and get out and about during the day. I start at 9 o’clock, head out at half ten or eleven and try to be back in by four. It’s all about missing the traffic! I try and finish up at about half past six or seven.
Making the adjustment:
I did initially find it hard to be disciplined when I started working from home; I would keep lights off in the main living area so as not to be tempted to go in there. I try to keep home and work separate. It took time to switch from work to home mode at the end of the day but eventually I got used to it. I’ve been working from home for three years now. Prior to that I was working for a large corporation which was a large open plan office situation. It was a very different experience to how I spend my days now.
Advantages of working from home:
Working from an office tends to be more relaxed as you can work to your own schedule. However, I love working as part of a team so I did miss the interaction of a large office initially. The best part about having a home office is that you can customise it to your needs. We have used the largest bedroom in the house and turned it into an office. My desk is a piece that I really love. It was a carpenters work bench that I rescued when my carpenter was moving workshops. I sanded it back and lacquered it. It’s a really cool piece, large enough for putting together art work on while still accommodating my PC. As my work is visual I have a lot of inspiration boards on the walls which I find invaluable. I have a wall of filing cabinets hidden behind the door, they are standard filing cabinets so it’s difficult to make them look pretty. We live in a Victorian terrace in North Strand and the office over looks the railway tracks. I love looking at the trains while I work!
Sharing your workspace:
Initially it was daunting to be working with Gareth. It was like I was getting to know a new person as working together is such a completely different relationship. It’s been a few years now, so we have a system going thankfully. It’s great to have each other for back up but holidays together require some clever planning! Overall it works really well.
N Space Design & Build, 4 Northbrook Terrace, North Strand, Dublin 3. Tel: 01 887 9722.
