Home Office Trends You'll See Everywhere In 2021

This year slowed us down more than we could ever have expected, encouraging us to pivot our attentions more inwards, towards our homes. One area that has received most of our interior design love has been our work space, as a result of 2020 forcing many of us to work from home for an extended period of time. Whether you have an entire home office to yourself, or simply have a dedicated corner of your abode to work from, this space has proven critical for many of us in making the successful transition to WFH.

Part of that transition has involved designing our new work spaces. Just as fashion and beauty have yearly trends, interior design does, too, and we're excited to see what 2021 will bring us remote workers. But until then, all we can do is predict and try to get ahead of the curve. Keep reading for some major inspiration for a 2021 home office makeover.

We're so over the trend of the sterile looking, all-white office space. If there's anything 2020 has taught us, it's that life's too short not to express ourselves through color, and we predict that offices in 2021 will echo this sentiment. In addition to the aesthetic, design professionals say that adding color into your office acts as a way to replace the lack of coworkers and their subsequent personalities. So if you're missing said personality, make up for it with loud rugs, fun decorations, and beautiful accent walls.

"With the recognition that we're in this WFH phase for a while longer, 2021 is an invitation to bring more joy and cheer into your home office with a more playful and vibrant palette," Heather Goerzen of Havenly tells MyDomaine. "Much like the rest of home design, we expect to see a rise in colorful home office accents, from bold rugs to statement chairs."

"During the pandemic when it was difficult for some to get their daily dose of nature, people started bringing the outdoors in with natural materials in their home," says Julie Busby, founder of the Busby Group at Compass in Chicago. Studies have shown that the presence of indoor plants in our spaces are greatly beneficial to our health, both physically and mentally. In fact, productivity can improve by as much as 15 percent through the presence of plants alone.

NASA research shows that houseplants can remove up to 87 percent of air toxin in 24 hours as a result of their release of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide, according to NBC News. And in addition? They simply look gorgeous and add the most beautiful light and life into a space. While indoor plants have always been essential parts of office decor, we anticipate them being even more prevalent in the upcoming year.

We've all been there: you're about to hop onto your Zoom call when all of a sudden, you realize your background isn't particularly aesthetically pleasing. Well this exact scenario is what has inspired interior designers to predict that 2021 will see a surge of stylish walls like we've never seen before, complete with intricate bookshelves, well-styled galleries, or a quirky looking lamp that lights us up in just the right way.

Prediction: WFHers are going to plan out their Zoom backdrops like never before through the use of beautiful interior design. "As working from home accelerates the merging of the professional with the personal, we can use our home office spaces as a way to foster connection while we are apart," Habiba Koroma, principal of Biba K. Design, shared with MyDomaine. "I predict that in 2021, home office areas will be much more intentionally planned and considered."