What should I decide first in a home office remodel?

A home office remodel is joinery plus a lighting plan. The desk becomes part of the wall, the storage goes vertical, and — since half the room's job is now being a background — the wall behind the chair gets as much thought as the one in front of it.

What goes wrong most often?

The desk facing a window, so the camera exposes for the light and the face goes dark. Shelving stopped at picture height, wasting the most useful storage in the room.

Will it work in a small home office?

In an alcove under 6ft wide, run the desk the full width and take the shelving to the ceiling above it. A freestanding desk in a small office wastes the two inches at each end that make it feel built-in.

Can I see it on my own home office before starting?

Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.

How to Light a Home Office

The layer people skip, and the one that makes the rest of the work visible. Built-in desk, real storage, and a wall you can be seen against.

BeforeAfter

1
The plan
Three jobs: task light on the desk surface, a soft frontal source at face height for calls, and something on the back wall so the video background has depth. A downlight overhead does none of these and creates screen glare.
2
What it has to light
The elements the work touches — built-in desk and returns, shelving to ceiling, cable management, task and background lighting — are what the lighting has to make legible. Finishes chosen under a showroom's light and lit badly at home look like different materials.
3
Where lighting goes wrong here
The desk facing a window, so the camera exposes for the light and the face goes dark.

Questions

What should I decide first in a home office remodel?: A home office remodel is joinery plus a lighting plan. The desk becomes part of the wall, the storage goes vertical, and — since half the room's job is now being a background — the wall behind the chair gets as much thought as the one in front of it.
What goes wrong most often?: The desk facing a window, so the camera exposes for the light and the face goes dark. Shelving stopped at picture height, wasting the most useful storage in the room.
Will it work in a small home office?: In an alcove under 6ft wide, run the desk the full width and take the shelving to the ceiling above it. A freestanding desk in a small office wastes the two inches at each end that make it feel built-in.
Can I see it on my own home office before starting?: Yes — photograph the space and run it through the Studio. It is generated imagery, so compare the render against your photo rather than treating it as a plan.

How to Light a Home Office

The plan

What it has to light

Where lighting goes wrong here

Questions