How to give your desk a makeover

Working from home has given many of us the freedom to have our workspaces exactly as we would like them. Anya Cooklin-Lofting shares her tips for jazzing yours up

Say goodbye to grey and boring tables that you can't help but just hate (Poole Pottery)

The more I speak to people about working from home, the more I am convinced that it is a long-overdue benefit for those it suits. Yes, it took some adjusting, but the huge positives are ones it will hurt to give up when we all make our way back into the office. Beyond the time-richness we have found in the absence of commuting and the deliciously close proximity to fridges stocked with food other than colleagues’ week-old sandwiches, what has given me most pleasure is my busy little desk (read: dining room table) bursting with trinkets, notebooks, plants and mugs. So many mugs.

This reverence for my own, carefree (but highly curated, Insta-worthy, obviously) desk has come as The Office Group (TOG), a coworking space provider with design-led offices in London, Bristol and Leeds, published a report claiming that desks will need to act as one of the first lines of defence against the spread of the virus, and so will have to be dramatically pared down for safety on our return to offices. According to the report, 97 per cent of TOG members will be back in its buildings as soon as possible, considering a separate office space essential to their work. On reading this, I found myself mourning the delightful semi-chaos of my workspace, dreading the bare, bleached surfaces of office furniture.

Let there be light: don’t burn the midnight oil without a lamp (Matilda Goad)

However, Nasim Köerting, head of design at TOG, believes that safety and style when it comes to desks are mutually exclusive. Although the personal clutter has to go when we find ourselves sharing office spaces again, Köerting says that there are ways to give your Covid-safe workspace some personality. Air purifying plants such as ferns, snake and Swiss cheese plants are top of the list, alongside scent diffusers to help keep staff calm in what could be a highly stressful and uneasy environment after having spent so long safe at home. When my time comes, Köerting’s suggestions will be present on my office desk, but while I’m still working from the dining table (fridge proximity and all!), I’ll be upping the ante on my clutter.

So, while we are able, I implore you to take your WFH desk to the next level. Desk candy is on the menu until we are forced to abandon the physical manifestations of our personalities in aid of the fight against the spread of the virus. First up is candles.

The sheer joy of lighting a candle at your workspace is unbeatable. There is something about the flicker of the wick that urges me on, fuelling my productivity. While the candle is burning, I’m on the clock but totally calm. A super-stylish option could be the brand new Malin + Goetz tomato candle, a welcome respite from the more traditional candle scents. The minimalistic, almost medical quality of the typography on the glass will give your desk a touch of cool. Cooler still, the natural wax blend has a slow, clean burn that lasts a generous 60 hours.

A candle will keep your desk cosy and smells great too (Malina and Goetz)

Next on my must-have list of desk inessentials are decorative flourishes that inspire you, or simply turn your desk into a workspace you really want to spend time in for hours every day. Jugs and vases from Anissa Kermiche, Hay and Poole Pottery look fantastic filled with some fresh blooms, while tole trays for trinkets, water glasses and stationery give your worktop interesting layers. Ceraudo, Vinterior and Etsy have a range of unique vintage options that look great paired with contemporary nicknacks.

On a more practical level, lighting is hugely important. If you frequently find yourself burning the midnight oil, invest in a beautiful table lamp that looks just as fabulous turned off as it does switched on. Matilda Goad’s woven bases and scalloped shades will bring a welcome whimsy to any desk, while Andrew Martin’s offering from lighting manufacturer Visual Comfort will give your workspace a Mad Men-esque gravity.

A final suggestion for your pick-n-mix selection of desk candy is a trusty notebook. As offices go paperless in line with Covid-19 guidelines, the end of the office notebook is nigh. Papier is a solid go-to for any notebook needs, including hardback and softcover notebooks, diaries and planners. Its recent collaborations with British interior designer Matthew Williamson and nightwear brand Desmond & Dempsey make for existential crisis level decision-making, the sort that has always accompanied my stationery shopping experiences.