Herman Miller blog: Lifework » home offices

Top 10

Cerentha Harris — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 10:34:01 +0000

1. Well Appointed Desk for their coverage of the home office.

2. Dezeenscreen for their lovely video on the Sharing Plug – a new plug that offers a good solution to home office cable chaos.

3. Hongkiat for their post on 5o great work stations.

4. Unclutterer for their round up of organizing tips.

5. 20×200 for their great collection of affordable art. Perfect for sprucing up the home office.

6. MarketingTech Blog for their infographic on the rise of the mobile worker. We certainly aren’t alone!

7. Scientific America ran an interesting article in early January on the mobile worker and how technology is aiding the transition from office to home office.

8. Desire to Inspire for the crazy workspaces post.

9. Chictip has a good post on home office set ups.

10. The Selby for his coverage of Olaf Hajek’s home and home work space.

The Playlist: Writer, Editor, and Musician Zinzi Edmundson

Amy Feezor — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:56:50 +0000

We always like to get a peek at music mixes from actual musicians, which is why we’re thrilled to present this week’s Playlist from Zinzi Edmundson, one-half of the Los Angeles-based duo Kisses and editor for FOAM Magazine. Listen up to what’s playing now in the home office she shares with boyfriend/bandmate Jesse Kivel and their dog (and office assistant) Ruby.

What do you listen to while you work? Depending on what I’m doing, I’ll either listen to nothing, to white noise, or to some music! When I’m writing, I find it really helpful to listen to white noise. There’s a great website called Simply Noise that plays several different “temperatures.” Otherwise, I’ll aurally stalk my friends on Spotify or play a record.

How do you listen? My white noise routine is all about focus, so those are on my eschuché headphones (a gift!). If I’m venturing outside my own brain, I’ll play on our not-particularly-audiophile-friendly speakers. I have a 25-foot 1/8-inch jack that snakes its way around the room to my laptop. Sort of unrefined.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I love using Spotify, even though I’m a musician and should probably be boycotting it. It’s got almost everything I ever feel like hearing and it’s a great way to discover new stuff (especially if you try to avoid music blogs).

Does music influence your work? Well, it definitely influences my work in my band! Jesse (my boyfriend and bandmate) and I always play each other different songs that are capturing our attention at a given moment.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? Mostly from friends or from Jesse. I don’t have a lot of patience for most music blogs and they don’t necessarily cater to my tastes. I feel like the accuracy with which I can find something I like is always much higher if a friend tells me about a band… OR if I’m at a show for a band I already like, a lot of times the opening bands will be of a similar ilk.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? Again, probably my own. I’m also completely brain-obsessed with David Byrne. I keep thinking I’ll get tired of his tweaky antics, but I never do!

ZINZI’S PLAYLIST

The Electrician, Princeton

Organized Scenery, Au Revoir Simone

Mikelah, Superhumanoids

Open Rhythms, Bodies of Water

For You, Bruce Springsteen (I can’t help myself!)

When I Hear Music, Debbie Deb

Bad Street, Twin Sister

Temecula Sunrise, Dirty Projectors

It Never Entered My Mind, The Embassy

Never Understand, The Jesus and Mary Chain

Baby Can’t Stop, Lindstrøm and Christabelle

Flashlights, Mystery Claws

When Am I Going To Make A Living, Sade

The Great Curve, Talking Heads
Images: Zinzi Edmundson

Where Would You Like to Work?

Cerentha Harris — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:55:41 +0000

We are moving house soon and I will be setting up a new place to work (look out for my posts on setting up a home office in a rental!) In the meantime I am drawn to the following projects – clearly deeply impractical for me and my family, but each is so beautifully designed. The thread that times them all together is this amazing feeling of serenity they all evoke. If you could choose anywhere to work where would that place be? Send pics to me at cerentha@mac.com

1. Malcolm Fraser Architect’s via Dezeen. An artists retreat in Glen Nevis, Scotland (above and below).

2. Mumford Pool House by Jonathan Parks. Via Architizer (below).

3. Terunobu Fujimori’s tea house in Chino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (photographed by Edmund Sumner). Via Dezeen (below).

4. Residential art gallery for a Los Angeles home by XTEN Architecture. Via Architizer (below).

How to Succeed Going Solo

Cerentha Harris — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:37:05 +0000

The Wall Street Journal just ran an interesting piece by Richard Greenwald on the rise of freelancers and consultants. “The implications for the American workplace are profound. Imagine one in four workers, of all collars, working on a contingent basis. Whole career paths and professions have shifted from stable full-time jobs with definable career ladders and benefits to almost completely contingent work forces that shift from project to project.”

It’s fascinating and Greenwald offers some very good advice, including the following – “…successful consultants say that having a work space separate from your living space is crucial. Clients do not want to have an important phone conference interrupted by a nagging two-year-old, a TV in the background or the sounds of street traffic. Most freelancers I spoke to have a space in their home that is solely for work—a bunker, as it were.”

I like the idea of a bunker. If you’ve got any bunker-like work spaces send them in – we’d love to see them.

The home office above is from Steven & Chris – Decor on a Dime series.