Styling A Home Office with La Redoute

This Wednesday’s Ad Break (paid collaboration) is with La Redoute, a company I have worked with every year for about six years now and am always happy to recommend their products. This year we have made a  video answering some of your questions about creating the red thread and how to plan your lighting and in addition, they asked me to select some of my favourite products this season. And I thought it would make sense to look at home offices as it doesn’t look like we are stopping WFH any time soon so if you have been making do over the last few months thinking it was a temporary situation, now might be the moment to address it on a more permanent basis.

And, with that in mind, I have found the perfect desk for those who don’t have a whole room to dedicate to a home office but need to find space in a corner of another room or have to flip between the working day and a family dinner or a relaxing evening.

So, first up is this Diletta table from their AM.PM range which folds in half so it can be either a console table or a wider version. As you know I’m a big fan of a console table as they think once bought they can travel with you from house to house (perfect for renters) and be a dressing table, a desk or a narrow console table in a hall. And talking of which, if you have a hall and everyone is out all day then you might even find that a good space to work. If you use a laptop then a console can work really well as it’s narrow and you have space at the sides for notebooks and sandwiches. And, as I say, if and when this ends or you move to a different house, you can always find a space for a console table.

Now, the black console is in stock now, the oak dining table will be in stock soon and the smaller console does have a bit of a wait.

Right, so you have a desk/table now you need a chair. Of course if this is an eight hour a day, five days a week situation, you should probably be looking at proper ergonomic seating but if you are regularly standing to go to the fridge or working part time etc, then you can afford to find something that fits aesthetically and these are great.

If your table doubles as a dining table then buy a set of however many you need. Or just a couple that will take up less space or work with the dressing table scenario. Both this chair and the table are designed by Emmanuel Gallina for La Redoute. If you need to save space (and aren’t sitting for hours) then a stool that tucks under might work better. I rather love this black one (if you had the black table) which is very sculptural. If you want a more vintage look this recycled elm stool might be nice although perhaps less good with the more modern table.

Seating sorted and you’re onto the accessories. La Redoute are always good at cushions and rugs (and bedding) so if this was my new home office set up I might add this Kazan velvet cushion which will be pretty with either the black or the oak table.

Now lighting. Of course you probably want a table or task lamp which, if your office is in your sitting room, means it will work in the evening as well. However, if your desk is small, then consider hanging a pendant light over the desk. This can either be to one side or central. If you have a central ceiling rose then extend the cable from the centre and add a cup hook in the ceiling where you want the lamp to hang down.

All of which is just an excuse to show you this glass light which is a great design and which I quite fancy in my library in either the burgundy or the pink.

Another trick you can use to zone an office space within a room is a rug. It will need to be big enough to go fully under the table and, ideally, allow at least 1m for the chair to pull out over it. This isn’t essential if space is tight as you as the chair will slide under the table at the end of the day. For a neutral try a Berber, or for a bit of colour I rather like this Pilar Rug.

Add a couple of vases to bring out the pink of the cushion and decorate the table/desk and garnish with a lap top and note book. I have these in black but the yellow is very pretty and will bring a much needed hint of sunshine to a winter desk.

So there you are – all kitted out to work from home during the winter months.

The link to the video is here if you fancy watching.