Blog : IDEA

Domestic Alternative Materials: a Revolution of the Imagination

Domestic Alternative Materials: a Revolution of the Imagination

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / Photograph: THINKK Studio /

Taking a closer look at creative industries, we think you will agree that “materials” take priority over any other matter. Hence, a project codenamed “Domestic Alternative Materials” was born to research into the innovation, introduction, and improvement of new products needed for the manufacture of goods and articles. By creating products that are original and unique, it takes design to the next level and helps reduce waste as natural raw materials become scarce and hard to come by.

Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK StudioDomestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio

Domestic Alternative Materials is a nice little collab that turns everyday things into items of higher quality and value. These include empty seashells, crab shells, glass bottles, water hyacinth fibers, coconut husks, coconut shells, betel nut fibers, even fabric scraps from the garment factory.

It’s amazing how a little bit of imagination can give scraps and litters new life. Together, the team transform trash into new products that the industry needs, among them faux metal bars and imitation wood that can be used as alternative materials for furniture making and light fixtures.

Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio

Like the wake-up call to a growing menace to the environment, the project causes us to look back at the trail of garbage left behind by commercial and industrial activities.

Hence to reduce waste, it makes perfect sense to transform those otherwise useless objects into alternative materials that can be put to good use again and in more creative ways.

Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio

The works of Domestic Alternative Materials are on show as part of a greater event known as Bangkok Design Week 2021. It’s a show designed to create an awareness among the people, architects, designers and consumers about the need to reduce waste and conserve the environent.

Despite disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it provides the opportunity to appreciate a revolution of the imagination that results in a stunning array of unconventional materials for the creative industries.

Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK StudioDomestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio Domestic Alternative Materials a Revolution of the Imagination THINKK Studio


Project: thinkkstudio (www.thinkkstudio.com)


Homework Smart Fabrics: Solutions Beyond Beautification

Homework Smart Fabrics: Solutions Beyond Beautification

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story & Photograph: Courtesy of Homework /

Homework offers all-around knowledge about smart fabrics for solutions beyond beautification: Fireproofing, waterproofing, and long-term sun resistance.

Materials used for house décor and furnishings in the modern era need to do more than simply add beauty: they must also be more comfortable, convenient, and easy to use.

This includes fabrics we normally think of as decorative that have been developed to have fire-resistant and waterproof properties and – especially for outdoor furniture – high tolerance for sunlight, rain, and ocean salinity.

Today’s smart fabrics have evolved beyond old limitations to be more beautiful, durable, and adaptable to many new uses.

Fire-resistant fabrics

For the safety of people and property, in the near future fireproofing will be legally required for many types of equipment and materials, including fabrics. Modern production of fire-retardant cloth involves treating the fibers with fireproofing chemicals before color-dying the cloth and weaving it into sheets.

The admixture of these chemicals will not only make the fabric slower to burn but can also add as much as five years to its life. This can help save lives by giving more time to persons escaping a burning building, but also has the simpler advantage that the material can be washed and ironed an unlimited number of times.

This method is superior to earlier, more conventional fire-protection coating, where fabrics stored in either air-conditioned rooms or spaces with a lot of humidity will gradually lose such a coating within 7-8 months, reducing its effectiveness. 

Fire-resistant fabrics; 01 Design No. 10216, 02 Design No. 10257, 03 Design No. 10258 / Note: 100% polyester fabrics are material of choice for curtains, throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.

TIP

NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 701  is a standard used in the United States of America and approved by international designers. 

Waterproof fabric

Waterproof fabric is more appropriate for furniture upholstery or wall covering than for drapes, since they are more likely to experience liquid spills. Upholstery with waterproof qualities has to be strong and have a long-term resistance to water.

For more effectiveness the cloth is woven in a special, loose way, using polyester fibers with gaps between that allow waterproofing chemicals to penetrate, be absorbed in, and fully adhere to them.

Properly waterproofed smart fabric must be able to hold water for at least 35 minutes without any seeping through, and maintenance should be easy: stains should be quickly removable by wiping with a damp cloth, after which the furniture should be as beautiful as before.

Waterproof fabric / Impact Collection; 04 Design No. 1788/07, 05 Design No. 1788/20, 06 Design No. 1788/03; width 57″ (145 cm) / Martindale >25,000 Rubs. / Note: 100% polyester fabrics are material of choice for curtains, throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.

TIP

Homework’s waterproof upholstery fabric has a Martindale value of more than 25,000 rubs, higher than the general standard of 20,000 rubs. great waterproofing, and also extremely durable. 

Outdoor fabrics

Acrylic smart fibers have enabled production of new fabrics for outdoor use because they have qualities that ordinary cloth does not: resistance to sea salinity and strong sunlight.

Color is added along with chemicals to produce “dyed acrylic” thread whose color remains fresh, beautiful and lasting for 5 years or more with no significant maintenance required even when subjected to air pollution, sunlight, and sea water.

Collected dust, dirt, and even pen marks can be easily wiped away with a damp cloth.

Outdoor fabrics / Oxford Outdoor Collection; 07 Design No. 1838/03, 08 Design No. 1838/05, 09 Design No. 1838/06; Composition: 100% Solution-dyed Acrylic / Finish: Water Repellent / width 61″ (155 cm) / Martindale >25,000 Rubs. / Note: 100% Solution-dyed Acrylic fabrics are material of choice for throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.

TIP

Smart fabrics designed for outdoor use are generally quite tough, and can feel uncomfortable to the touch. Homework avoids this problem by weaving its fabrics so that fibers are slightly spaced apart, giving the product flexibility and a comfortable feel even with heavy use.


Information and fabrics courtesy of HOMEWORK FABRICS

Contact information:
No. 9 Yaek 9 Soi Petchakasem 112, Khwaeng Nong Khang Phloo, Nong Khaem District, Bangkok 10160, Thailand
Tel: +662-119-7888
Fax: +662-810-8091
Email: marketing@goldhousedecor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homework.th
www.goldhousedecor.com


 

Homework Fabrics with Style; Warm, Relaxing Tropical Elegance

Homework Fabrics with Style; Warm, Relaxing Tropical Elegance

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story & Photograph: Courtesy of Homework /

Modern tropical is one of decorating styles that have become popular across the country. It’s a style that takes into account the warm and humid climate characteristic of the Region. This is abundantly clear in the way tropical décor materials sourced directly from the locality are being put to good use in so many ways. They include wood that promotes relaxing and peaceful feelings, floating furniture crafted of natural materials, home décor accessories, and fabrics for furniture upholstery, throw pillows, and curtains in striking colors and textures. Their simple yet elegant appearances bespeak a cool, contemporary style that’s classic in its own special way, a style that’s quite capable of answering many decorating needs.

Polyester fabrics look their best not only in home furnishings and decorative accessories, but also in business establishments from hotels to retail shops, where not seriousness but a friendly, relaxing and pleasant manner is everything and everlasting. For that, there are polyester fabrics to suit every decorating need. Here are some of the qualities worth considering.

TYPES OF FABRIC

The Modern tropical style is well suited to the warm and humid climate typical of the Region’s highlands and seaside environments. Polyester fabrics come in handy as the material of choice for their ability to resist exposure to a range of weather conditions, from moisture to bacterial and fungal contamination. These unfavorable conditions can have negative effects on consumers. To avoid problems, polyester fabrics are recommended because they are made of plastic fibers that do not absorb moisture. Unlike natural fibers, polyester does not accumulate humidity, which reduces the chance of bacterial and fungal contamination in fabrics.

MOOD AND TONE

The tropical decorating style evokes the image of bright sunlight and cool temperatures that accompany every rainfall. That sounds like a first good impression that most people have. To create interior design that will ring the bell, materials that provide a decorative and textured surface are of great significance. That’s not all. Materials for furniture upholstery and curtains in complementing colors and design are important, too. Together, they combine to make the interior living space feel warm and welcoming. There are plenty of ways to match colors. Whether it’s visual harmony or outstanding visual contrast, the choice is yours.

FABRIC PROPERTIES

Humidity in the air is among factors contributing to fungal and bacterial growth. Hence, it makes perfect sense to go for polyester when it comes to interior decorating. Polyester is great for curtains, furniture upholstery, blankets and throw pillows. It’s undergone testing to prove its worth. Thanks to its many outstanding attributes, polyester has remained a popular material of choice in a variety of applications. Its benefits are not limited to just interior décor or furniture. Some polyester fabrics are capable of serving multiple purposes. For information about polyester usage, consult the product catalog and label that comes with the fabrics.

Polyester Material of Choice for Modern Tropical Décor

01 Design No. 9554/05: width 110″ (280 cm)

02 Design No. 8072/03: width 54″ (137 cm)

03 Design No. 3151/07: width 60″ (150 cm)

04 Design No. 10056/103: width 55″ (140 cm)

05 Design No. 10051/105: width 55″ (140 cm)

06 Design No. DANE/104: width 54″ (137 cm)

 

Note: 100% polyester fabrics are material of choice for curtains, throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.


Information and fabrics courtesy of: HOMEWORK FABRICS

 Contact information:
No. 9 Yaek 9 Soi Petchakasem 112, Khwaeng Nong Khang Phloo, Nong Khaem District, Bangkok 10160, Thailand
Tel: +662-119-7888
Fax: +662-810-8091
Email: marketing@goldhousedecor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homework.th
www.goldhousedecor.com


A Fabric Guide to Home Decoration

A Fabric Guide to Home Decoration

/ Bangkok, Thailand /
/ Story: Ektida N. / Photograph: Supawan S. / Styling: Worawat T. / Graphic Design: Pornpailin Nateetip /

“Fabric” is one of the most popular materials used in home decoration. It’s preferred for an enormous richness of sizes, colors, and types of textiles as well as design patterns to suit every need. There’s a variety of fabrics that are developed for the purpose of interior decoration. We call them HOME TEXTILES

 

 

Home Textiles come in 2 categories: One for the curtains, the other for furniture upholstery.

HOME TEXTILES

CURTAIN FABRICS

In general, three types of materials are used in curtain making. They include: Nontransparent fabric (the innermost layer), Shade fabric (the one in the middle), and Sheer fabric (the outer layer adjoining the windowpane). Of the three layers, it’s the dark curtain that has the most influential visual effects that set the mood of the room. Factors that affect how you feel range from a palette of colors, to design patterns, to the thickness of the textile.

3 Things to consider in choosing the right textile for your curtains 

Beauty

Curtains are a decorating material that is replaced the least often of all types of home furnishings. Some may never get changed at all. That being said, it’s extremely important to get it right the first time – especially the nontransparent layer. Besides the beauty of the fabric, style matters. It makes your heart sing to have beautifully hung curtains that answer your lifestyle needs and fit in perfectly with the furniture. Together, they set the atmosphere and style options in the same direction.

Fabric Types

The material most appropriate for making curtains is polyester fabric. Made from plastics, it’s easy to blend with other fibers and less likely to allow moisture to build up. This in turn makes it fungal and bacterial resistant.  Apart from that, it stays beautiful for a long time because the color doesn’t fade easily. It’s machine-washable, and can withstand steam-press iron up to 165° Celsius.

Safety

For safety, choose materials that are covered by Ministry of Industry quality standards, which ascertain that the chemical process used in dyeing textiles are formaldehyde-free and lead-free. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of the chemicals is known to cause cancer. Start your search with countries of manufacturing, for example Thailand, or Australia, where safety regulations on toxic chemicals are strictly enforced. 

UPHOLSTERY FABRICS

Durability takes the highest priority over other matters when selecting fabrics for furniture upholstery. The fabrics chosen for this specific task must be highly capable of withstanding friction and enduring heavier weight than can the materials made for curtains. While curtains are meant to be beautiful, upholstery fabrics are made to last. They have pride of place as soft, padded coverings on the furniture, the headboard, even the wall. Like the curtains, upholstery fabrics should be polyester, which is easy on the eye, and easy to keep clean. And the choice isn’t limited to just upholstery. There is polyester to meet every specific need, be it water-resistant, mold-and-mildew resistant, or fire-retardant, even the kind that suppresses noise.

HOME TEXTILESWhy100% Polyester?

// Made from plastics, polyester fabric has certain qualities which prevents moisture from accumulating, resulting in exceptional ability to resist to fungus, molds, and mildew. It’s easy to keep clean and retains colors much longer than other material. That’s what makes it ideal for furniture upholstery, throw pillows, and curtains. //

HOME TEXTILES

USEFUL TIPS

// Choose fabric that’s appropriate for the work to be done. Refer to information on the label accompanying the material for certain.  //

 

NOTE: Check the product code for dimensions, type of fabric, and usage guidelines by referring to information underneath this picture.

HOME TEXTILES

01
Design No. ES044
Width: 300 cm.
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains

02
Design No. 10023/102
Width: 55 “ (140 cm.)
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains, Throw pillows, Furniture upholstery

03
Design No. 10016/102
Width: 60 “ (150 cm.)
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains, Throw pillows, Furniture upholstery

04
Design No. 10041/114
Width: 55 “ (140 cm.)
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains, Throw pillows, Furniture upholstery

05
Design No. : 1692/01
Width: 60 “ (150 cm.)
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains, Throw pillows, Furniture upholstery

06
Design No. 10063/116
Width: 55 “ (140 cm.)
Composition: 100% Polyester
Usage: Curtains, Throw pillows, Furniture upholstery

 


Information and fabric details courtesy of HOMEWORK FABRICS

Contact information
9 Yaek 9 Soi Petchkasem 112,
Khwaeng Nong Khang Phlu, District of Nong Khaem,
Bangkok 10160, Thailand
Tel: +662-119-7888 Fax: +662-810-8091
Email: marketing@goldhousedecor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/homework.th


 

 

7 Skylight Design Ideas for Homes

7 Skylight Design Ideas for Homes

/ Story: Samutcha Viraporn / Photograph: Living ASEAN Press Room /

The main benefit of having a skylight is all the natural light you get from it. Nobody likes being holed up in a dark or dimly lit home, especially at night. Well thought-out skylight designs provide your home with extra ventilation and minimize heating, cooling, and lighting costs. Here are some great ideas for energy efficient skylight designs that might interest you.

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/modern-tropical-house/


 

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/edgy-modern-house-triangular-design/


 

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/steel-house-2/


The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/brick-house-for-a-tropical-climate/

 


 

 

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/7743/


 

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/8618/


 

The project’s full article: http://livingasean.com/house/compact-house-where-the-old-tells-a-new-story/


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10 Great Plants for Tropical Rainforest Landscaping

10 Great Plants for Tropical Rainforest Landscaping

How do you do tropical rainforest landscaping? Use high-tolerant plants that grow well in heat and humidity. Living ASEAN has put together the following list of 10 tropical species that are generally easy to find in all ASEAN countries:

/// ASEAN ///
  Photography: Rithirong Chanthongsuk, Sitthisak Namkham

Bromeliads (Urn Plant): these are ornamental plants with beautiful flowers, slow-growing, easy to care for, and drought-resistant. They do well both where there is a lot and a moderate amount of sunlight. If one gets a lot of sun, the leaves become more and more colorful. Bromeliads give off oxygen during the night and absorb carbon dioxide, making them especially suitable for bedroom placement.

 

Spikemoss fern (Selaginella Involvens): a ground cover, this is also known as “medical spikemoss” or “peacock fern.” It’s fan-like, with rounded, flat, bushy leaves, and often found in dense forest around steep mountain slopes or near rocks that get moderate sun.

 

Left: Begonia: represented by many species, it thrives in humid forests, and is thought of as a forest flower. There are both edible and are inedible varieties., For an an alternate sour taste, edible varieties can be used instead of lime in tom yam soup. The inedible varieties have velvety leaves.

Right: Fan palm (Palas Payung): the standout feature of the fan palm is its wide, spreading leaves, resembling folding fans. It can reach four meters in height. Leaves end in sharp, thorny points.

 

Left: Staghorn Fern (Climbing bird’s nest fern): this fern has climbing roots and thick, green leaves covered with fuzzy hair. The leaf ends fork, resembling a stag’s antlers. For their beautiful and unusual shapes, and their moisturizing quality, they’re often used as ornamental plants.

Right: Coriander-Leaf Fern (Sphenmeris Chusang): this ground fern, found along the face of earthen cliffs or in foothills, does well in shade or indirect sunlight. The petioles about 30cm long, and leaves are delicate and reminiscent of coriander.

 

Left: the Bead Tree (Elaeocarpus Grandiflorus) has a forest habitat. With gray-brown bark and thick, green, oval-shaped leaves, it produces white flowers with a light fragrance. It’s often found growing on the sides of waterfalls.

Right: Australian tree fern (Dicksonia Antarctica): easy to grow, this rapidly growing fern with a chubby trunk grows in places that are humid, but not too wet. Its leaves grow out bushy and beautiful, but it produces neither flower nor fruit.

 

Left: The round-leaved banyan (Ficus Annulata Blume) stands out amid a bed of spikemoss. Leaves are round and small, dark green, with smooth edges. It produces a round berry-like fruit, yellow-orange when ripe. It’s considered a good-luck tree, associated with wealth. It grows best in dim to medium sunlight.

Right: Simpoh ayer (Dillenia Suffruticosa): this medium-sized shrub flowers white and is often used in house decoration. In its native to Malaysia, ayer thought to bring good luck. At full size it’s about 8-10 meters tall.

 


 

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9 Best Ideas for Gorgeous Internal Courtyards

9 Best Ideas for Gorgeous Internal Courtyards

Internal courtyards allow nature to participate in creating comfortable living spaces. They brighten things up, bring fresh air in, and give indoor room a warm, inviting appeal. The inner courtyard can be beautifully integrated into the house plan. Here are some of the best ideas for gorgeous interior courtyards. Check this out.

/// ASEAN ///

Link : http://livingasean.com/house/open-plan-urban-home-home-renovation/


Link : http://livingasean.com/house/concrete-house-enchanting-surprise/


Link : http://livingasean.com/house/box-shaped-concrete-house-vietnam/


Link : http://livingasean.com/house/house-around-tree/


10 Patio Designs for Tropical Climates

10 Patio Designs for Tropical Climates

Whether it’s a porch, pool or patio, you can turn your outdoor space into a relaxing tropical retreat. There are passive cooling techniques you can use to create thermal comfort. They include skills in building orientation, shading, and choice of materials that don’t store much heat but dissipate heat quickly. Here are some useful design ideas compiled by Living ASEAN.

/// ASEAN ///

Link: http://livingasean.com/house/wooden-thai-house-in-the-lanna-tradition/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/waterside-home/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/vacation-home-out-in-nature/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/awesome-rural-house-farm/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/loft-house-extraordinary-interior/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/box-shaped-concrete-house-vietnam/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/modern-tropical-way/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/living-in-symbiosis/


Link: http://livingasean.com/garden/artificial-grass-garden-tropical-touch/


Link: http://livingasean.com/house/modern-tropical-house-simple-living/

 

Inspirational Office Design Ideas

Inspirational Office Design Ideas

A beautiful office can be an important element in inspiring good work. Here we give you five examples of exciting and creative office design in Bangkok.

/// Thailand ///

– Rabbit Digital Group –

An old aluminum warehouse on Banthat Thong Road now has a new and different look: its 1500 square meters of interior space now houses the chic new office layout of the Rabbit Digital Group. About 60 percent of the common area inside is reserved for a skateboard yard, ping-pong tables, snooker, a pantry, and a big communal table which can be used either for lunchtime celebrations or for brainstorming sessions where cool ideas are dreamed up, but that’s not all: everyone walking in to work passes through the chic industrial charm of this common area, and just experiencing the design is enough to unconsciously promote creative thinking. The building’s structural lines are painted black and offset by furnishings made of bright new materials: a steel stair, stainless steel slide, and natural rubber tree wood surfaces, in an open “doublespace” setting whose relaxed feeling is reinforced by living trees. It’s easy to forget this is an office!


 

– Charcoal Design –

When its old office could no longer provide needed functionality for the increasing numbers of people using it, Charcoal Design decided to relocate and renovate a 30-year-old house on a 400-square-meter property as its new workspace. Existing rooms were torn out and replaced with a spacious area that provided not only functional support for work teams, architects, interior designers, and graphic designers, but also convenient private work areas, and with enough space to accommodate a larger workforce in the future. Huge cement beams above the spacious, airy work hall reach out alongside a walkway that connects to a meeting room centered around the same glass table Company executives used in the former office. The atmosphere here is designed for the kind of ambience you might find in a bar or coffee shop, with greenery to relax the eyes.


Scaleup Architects

Scaleup Architects

Scaleup Architects

Scaleup Architects

– V Office –

The old place was just a studio, but now you’ll find V Office – of the VCAN group of companies – a workplace remarkable not only for its form inside and out, but for its unique and unforgettable character. This 5-storey building with a total space of 1,321 square meters took 3-4 months to design, and nearly a year to build. Completely redone, nothing was left of the old appearance. Now it’s open and uncluttered, with surfaces of brick and unfinished cement. The building façade features three-dimensional repetitions of the “V” motif in copper-colored aluminum composite attached to the steel building structure, creating beautiful patterns that work both to screen the sunlight and to give privacy, while giving the building its memorable standout look.


 – Baiyah Studio –

This small architectural company built its office on a 60-square-meter property with a budget of just 800,000 baht and design and construction together taking only 5 months. The primary design requirement was to reduce electrical use, so the architects took maximum advantage of natural light and ventilation. To limit dependence on air conditioning systems, circulation within the building was designed to run generally through every space and room, so heat would be released rather than trapped. There are many strategies to protect against heat entry into a building, and architects took into consideration which times different sections received more or less use, positioning bathrooms, kitchen, and reception hall as a buffer toward the west, which gets the most heat in the afternoon, to keep office areas cool and comfortable during the day. Outside, a vertical garden covers the walls, acting as natural heat insulation.


– Designqua –

Am old 5-storey Sukhumvit area row building dating back to the 1980s with double arches in front and 600 square meters of usable space has become a charming example of architectural design. Behind a unique façade long familiar to the locals, a new office hides some incredibly charming design work, the brainchild of Malina Palasthira, a talented architect with the Designqua company. Looking for a site near a SkyTrain station where work could be done for a reasonable budget while still having enough space for herself and the 8-person design team, she found this place. To make it economical, some of the space was transformed into two differently styled Airbnb rooms to accommodate intercontinental travelers. The building owner wanted to keep the “retro” building façade, but much of the cramped inside was converted into a spacious, open office. Inside is a “flying table” work desk 8.3 meters long and designed to appear as if floating in the middle of the room. Working utility systems are intentionally exposed, for an open look which shows the beauty inherent in the systems themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

Workspace Ideas for Freelancers

Workspace Ideas for Freelancers

Armed with technology, the right skills, and a can-do attitude, more people are working freelance from home now. If being independent is your style, here are some ideas for your workspace.

/// ASEAN ///
Story: Ronnapa Nit, Ektida N., Gobbi Chirawat, Monosoda, Osatee


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– Natural light matters –

Studies have shown that exposure to natural light improves performance in the workplace, not to mention overall well-being. Avoid the pain and discombobulated feelings that come with working in dim light conditions or under fluorescent lights during daylight hours. It’s a good idea to set up a workspace near windows. But too much sun exposure can make your eyes weary. So, windows should be on the side or behind your desk, or you can hang curtains to block out the heat and minimize glare. Reflections on walls and your computer screens can cause eye strain. Remember. Sunshine is healthy in moderation.


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– Clever update under the stairs –

Don’t hesitate to experiment with new design updates if you live in a small house. You are only limited by your own imagination. Thinking unconventionally, you can turn the nook under the stairs into a hip workspace. That little space there has enough room for a 40-centimeter-wide work desk. Put in a few electrical outlets over the desktop for easy access, and you are good to go. Facing solid walls may make you feel boxed in, but the trade-off is worth it. You get a lot done in the comfort of your home.


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– Take it to the next level, literally –

Living in a home with high ceilings, you have the advantage of vertical space that can be updated to serve a wide variety of functions. How about putting in a mezzanine and use it as your private workspace? You may need to install extra layers of ceiling insulation because it’s slightly warmer up there, especially as temperatures increase during the day.


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– A little privacy counts a lot –

Working from home has its disadvantages. Some freelances find it hard to stay focused since it’s easy to get distracted by all kinds of things and people, from kids to family members to next door neighbors. Calm the distractions by putting in glass partitions or window coverings. A good way to keep the blaring and talking noises out, heavy curtains promote a sense of concentration and a little privacy. No more hustling to the workplace every day, you have more time for the family.


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– Make it fun and creative –

Say, you have a home with double high ceilings, but you don’t like the standard mezzanine because the floor is too thick. Go for something more exciting and creative. At three meters high, put in a hammock-style rope mesh suspended by cords at the ends. Soon you find yourself airborne chilling out in the comfort of your home. Researching in the supine position makes your brain work smarter and lightning fast. But if you’re a freelance musician, it is a good idea to soundproof your room properly before your start rehearsing.


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– Straightforward down-to-earth approach –

If all else fails, you can always get work done on the floor. That looks to be a sensible solution where office furniture is scarce and hard to come by. Just don’t make yourself too comfortable. It’s important to stay motivated if you want to work from home. Make sure your “shop floor” is adequately lit.

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