Last Updated on August 26, 2024 by teamobn
While it provides numerous perks, working from home also comes with a fair set of challenges. Some of these may include boredom, monotony, distractions, and little or no physical interaction with colleagues or peers. This may have a huge impact on your mood, concentration, and creativity, ultimately affecting your productivity. Thankfully, there is a solution to most of these issues… call it coffee if you guessed right!
If you’re a coffee-lover, you have multiple reasons to set up a coffee corner in your home office. One or several good cups of Joe each day can help enhance your productivity while working from home in various ways. It has been shown to help increase energy levels, reduce stress, improve mental focus, enhance memory, and elevate mood. With a coffee corner in your office, you will also save time since you won’t have to pop into the kitchen each time you need a few sips from your favourite drink.
But how do you go about setting up a home office coffee corner? Here’s a handy checklist you could use.
Contents
1. A Good Coffee Maker and Other Equipment
A coffee machine is one of the first things you should think about when creating a coffee bar in your home office. A great coffee maker will help you save time, money, and energy by allowing you to prepare your favourite cup of coffee in a flash. You won’t always have to order coffee or rush to the nearest café anytime you need a K-cup.
Now, there are many different types of coffee machines in the market to choose from. These range from drip coffee makers to manual espresso machines, and bean-to-cup coffee machines, just to name a few. Other coffee-making tools you may need include:
- Coffee grinder
- Mixer
- Milk Frother
- Blender
- Electric kettle
2. Dedicated Space for Your Coffee Bar
Once you gather the coffee-making tools of the trade, the other important thing to do is choose a dedicated space for your coffee corner. While doing so, consider the items you want to place in your coffee corner. You may also need to add shelving that will hold your coffee goods securely.
You can even add lighting overhead to mimic the look of a trendy café. This is where you’ll place things like your coffee grounds, beans, sugar, milk jars, cups, and so forth. If your budget is a bit low, you can consider using cardboard boxes to create your coffee shop in the home office corner.
If you want thorough and reliable guidance, consider hiring a professional from a reputable source. By this, you can secure dependable advice on designing the space for your coffee bar. It will be an expenditure worth making.
3. A Toaster
Including a toaster in your coffee station not only improves your choices for snacks but also gives your coffee breaks some degree of convenience. Having the ability to quickly create a warm snack will greatly improve your mood and productivity, whether your morning is calm or you pause midday.
Here’s how a toaster might become absolutely essential for your coffee corner arrangement:
Choosing the Right Toaster for Your Coffee Corner
Think on the kinds of snacks you like with your coffee to choose the ideal toaster for your coffee corner. Perfect for a light breakfast or a fast snack, a pop-up toaster is great for rapidly creating crispy toasts. Smaller home offices would be a perfect fit for this straightforward, quick, space-efficient model.
A convection toaster provides flexible cooking powers for those who want a more sturdy choice. Along with toast bread, it can bake and cook a range of foods including pizza, lasagna, and even meat. This kind of toaster is great for a coffee corner that doubles as a mini-kitchen since it offers more snack choices for longer working hours.
Integrating the Toaster into Your Coffee Corner
One should consider where to place their toaster in their coffee corner. Make sure it’s away from any sensitive equipment or documentation and next to an outlet. You might want to think about including a little space close to the toaster specifically for cooking tools and ingredients for simple access. This arrangement preserves a functional and orderly coffee corner.
Benefits of Having a Toaster in Your Coffee Corner
Including a toaster in your coffee corner offers not only convenience but also a fresh approach of savoring your coffee time. Combining your coffee with a warm, toasted sandwich or a fresh slice of pizza will help to make your break more fulfilling. This improvement to your coffee corner will help your home office to seem more friendly and comfortable, so promoting a more pleasant and effective working space.
4. Coffee Corner Furniture
When designing your home office coffee corner, you may opt to include a small relaxation area for your coffee breaks. Including comfortable furniture will help you recharge and re-energize before facing the next task. You can include a comfy sofa or a rocking chair alongside a coffee table. Having a creatively designed mini-shelf can be a plus since you’ll have space to stash your coffee ingredients and other items.
If you’re a bit short on your budget, this DIY guide from OBN can help you give a makeover to your coffee table affordably. Of course, the types and sizes of furniture you include will depend on the space you have.
5. Coffee Mugs and Other Paraphernalia
Having set up a sizable coffee bar, there is one more thing you can’t afford to forget. How and where will you be serving your coffee? Of course, you will need one or several coffee mugs depending on your specific needs.
Having 3 or so coffee mugs is advisable, especially if you occasionally receive guests or clients in your home’s workspace. If you prefer having more, you can consider getting a cup organizer or mug rack that will easily fit in your cabinet or coffee bar.
Apart from adding convenience to your daily coffee prep routine, displayed mugs in a rack make your coffee station more elegant and stylish. What’s more mug racks and cup holders come in many different shapes and sizes, including versions that can be hung on the wall
Alongside these, make sure to have the essential utensils nearby, including a few spoons, a bowl, and canisters to store ingredients like cinnamon and biscotti. A few napkins stashed near your coffee corner will come in handy for those times when messes happen.
6. Coffee-Making Ingredients
Depending on how you like your coffee, the essential ingredients will range from coffee beans to grounds, sugar, milk, and water. Whichever you consider your favourite among the popular types of coffee, keeping the basic ingredients nearby will help save time and effort each time you want a warm cup of ‘Jo. Here’s a quick list of the basic coffee-making ingredients you need to keep in your coffee station:
- Coffee beans (preferably fresh)
- Pre-ground coffee (if you don’t have a grinder/coffee machine)
- Milk
- Sugar; if you love it sweet
- Water (mineral or distilled)
7. Personalized Décor
Your home office will look and feel much better if you create a coffee corner reflecting your own taste. Customizing décor helps you turn this utilitarian area into a comfort and creative inspiration center for your office. These suggestions will help your coffee corner to be both fashionable and unique:
Add Natural Elements
Your coffee corner can get life and color from including natural components like a little indoor plant or a flower vase filled with fresh flowers. These little details not only enhance the area but also help to improve the air quality, so enhancing the refreshment value of your coffee breaks. Select indoor plants that demand little care and will be as useful as they are decorative.
Choose Themed Wall Décor
Wall décor that accentuates your taste and interests will help to improve the atmosphere of your coffee corner. Think about using wallpaper featuring images or patterns connected to coffee, including abstract art that captures the spirit of the beverage or vintage coffee ads or coffee beans. This can center your workplace such that it catches people’s attention and starts a conversation.
Display Art and Personal Items
Showing personal items or artwork that speaks to you will help you really claim the space. This could call for handcrafted objects adding a personal touch, inspirational quotes, or framed pictures. Surrounded with objects with personal meaning, your coffee corner becomes a haven within your home office.
Explore Lighting Options
The mood of your coffee corner can be quite changed by appropriate lighting. Install soft, warm lights to create a cosy, inviting environment or choose changeable lighting fittings depending on the time of day or your mood. Good lighting improves the general look of your coffee corner in addition to providing a functional need.
Personalizing your coffee corner with careful and fashionable décor will transform a basic coffee station into a lovely haven that stimulates your imagination and output all through the day.
Endnote
When it comes to workplace productivity, the benefits of coffee are arguably too many to overlook. This is why having a dedicated coffee corner in your home office is essential. When looking to create one, the above few pointers should come in handy.
